WCSU Wins 10 Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival Awards

The Western Connecticut State University Department of Theatre Arts hosted the Region One Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival (KCACTF) in late January for the third year in a row. The department once again came out strong by giving a public performance of the nominated fall theatre production, "Evita," in the MainStage Theatre of the Visual and Performing Arts Center.

Last year, "The Drowsy Chaperone" won the department 11 awards and an invitation for director Tim Howard and student Jillian Caillouette, of Meriden, to attend the national KCACTF festival in Washington, D.C., to accept the awards. This year's production of "Evita" won 10 awards, showing that once again the theatre arts department has an outstanding ability to gain national recognition.

Howard was overjoyed that his rendition of "Evita" again caught the attention and accolades of the Kennedy Center. "I'm so honored our production of "Evita" has been nationally recognized," he said. "It is one of my favorite musicals and I loved working with this amazing artistic team and talented students. We made some bold choices in the storytelling and I was very proud of the production. The Kennedy Center's acknowledgement of our work for three years in a row has filled our department with an excitement. We are grateful and will continue to strive for excellence."

WestConn's awards this year include:

• Distinguished Production of a Musical - "Evita"
• Distinguished Director of a Musical - Tim Howard
• Distinguished Choreography - Mary Ann Lamb and Tim Howard
• Distinguished Performance by an Actress in a Musical - Shaylen Harger
• Distinguished Performance by an Actress in a Musical - Olivia Kurtz
• Distinguished Performance by an Actress in a Musical - Alexandra Colavecchio
• Distinguished Performance by an Actress in a Musical - Kristen Muller
• Distinguished Performance by an Actress in a Musical - Jessica Schwartz
• Distinguished Performance by an Actor in a Musical - Johnathan Jordan-Agustin Magaldi
• Distinguished Performance by an Actor in a Musical - Mark Summer

Western Connecticut State University offers outstanding faculty in a range of quality academic programs. Our diverse university community provides students an enriching and supportive environment that takes advantage of the unique cultural offerings of Western Connecticut and New York. Our vision: To be an affordable public university with the characteristics of New England's best small private universities.