Kennedy Center Announces 2011 Scholarship Recipients

The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts is proud to announce the national awardees of the 43rd annual Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival (KCACTF), April 18-23, 2011. Through their success at regional festivals in January and February 2011, students from universities and colleges across the United States secured their places at last week's national festival and the opportunity to earn awards and scholarships.

Developed by Roger L. Stevens, Kennedy Center Founding Chairman, the KCACTF is dedicated to encouraging, recognizing and celebrating the finest and most diverse work produced in college and university theater programs. The eight regional festivals and national festival provide an opportunity for college and university theater departments to present their work, especially new or student-written work, and to receive outside assessment. Since its establishment in 1969, the KCACTF has reached more than 18 million theatergoers, students and teachers nationwide.

The recipients of the awards, scholarships, and fellowships announced at the national festival at the Kennedy Center are listed below.

THE IRENE RYAN ACTING SCHOLARSHIPS
Each year the KCACTF selection panel reviews up to 300 nominees chosen from thousands of
submissions nationwide. This year, two winners from each region were invited to attend the national festival to audition for the national scholarships. Each of the 16 finalists received a $500 scholarship and a week-long, expenses paid trip to the national festival, where a judging panel made up of leading artistic directors, actors, producers, and casting agents viewed presentations of monologues, short scenes, and songs. The panel awarded two scholarships of $3,000.

This year, the Irene Ryan Acting Scholarships went to Clayton Joyner, assisted by Zachary Powell,
Illinois State University and Daniel Molina, assisted by Kelly Rogers, Savannah College of Art and
Design. The regional finalists and their acting partners were eligible for additional scholarships, fellowships, and awards. The recipients were as follows:

The Mark Twain Scholarship for Comic Performance went to Cody Strand, University of South
Dakota.

The Williamstown Theatre Festival Apprenticeship went to Matt Mercurio, University of
Florida.

The CSU Summer Arts Scholarships to Oregon Shakespeare Festival went to Hannah Sturges, California State University, Fullerton.

The CSU Summer Arts Scholarships to Michael Chekhov went to Tyler Hudson, partner to Cody Strand, University of South Dakota.

The CSU Summer Arts Scholarships to Steppenwolf Theatre Company went to Rebecca Tucker, partner to Hannah Sturges, California State University, Fullerton.

The Actors Theatre of Louisville Apprentice Company Scholarship went to Maggie Raymond, University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point.

The Shakespeare Theatre Company Acting Fellowship went to Matthew McGee, California State University, Fresno.

The VASTA [Voice and Speech Trainers Association of the Americas] Award for Vocal Excellence went to Kelly Rogers, partner to Daniel Molina, Savannah College of Art and Design.

Dell'Arte International School of Physical Theatre Mad River Festival Scholarship went to Kimberly Fairbanks, Villanova University.

Dell'Arte International School of Physical Theatre Training Program Scholarship went to Matthew Bagley, Western Connecticut State University.

The National Partners of the American Theatre Classical Acting Award, presented in association with the Shaw Festival went to Kimberly Fairbanks, Villanova University.

The Margolis Method Summer Intensive Fellowship went to Keylee Koop, partner to Oscar Cabrera, Texas State University.

THE KEN LUDWIG PLAYWRITING SCHOLARSHIP is sponsored by American playwright Ken Ludwig, whose works include Lend Me A Tenor and Crazy For You. The scholarship is awarded each year to an undergraduate or graduate student playwright who shows great promise in playwriting.
The recipient of the 2011 Ken Ludwig Playwriting Scholarship is Gabriel J. Dean, University of Texas at Austin.

THE NATIONAL PARTNERS OF THE AMERICAN THEATER PLAYWRITING AWARD
This playwriting award, in its second year and sponsored by NAPAT, recognizes an outstanding playwright selected from eight nominated playwrights. The award recipient received an expenses-paid residency to attend the "Playwriting and Transition to Media" seminar at the University of Nevada-Las Vegas, led by Sean Clark, an alumni of the Michael Kanin Playwriting Awards program and the writer/producer of Early Edition, Slider, Coach, and Evening Shade.

The recipient of the National Partners of the American Theater Playwriting Award is Mikala Hansen, Western Michigan University for Viking-American.

THE BARBIZON AWARDS FOR EXCELLENCE IN SCENIC, COSTUME, AND
LIGHT DESIGN

All national Barbizon Award recipients received an honorarium of $500 and an expenses paid twelve-day trip to the Prague Quadrennial, the international showcase of theatrical design in Prague, Czech Republic. In addition, recipients were eligible for design fellowships to the O'Neill Theater Center's National Playwrights' Conference and the Shakespeare Theatre Company Costume Internship. The United States Institute for Theater Technology (USITT) will publish information on the national design winners in Theater Design and Technology. The recipients in each category are listed below.

The Barbizon Award for Excellence in Costume Design went to Carlie Crawford, Middlebury College.

The Barbizon Award for Excellence in Lighting Design went to Meghan Gray, Colorado State University.

The Barbizon Award for Excellence in Scenic Design went to Christopher and Justin Swader, Ball State University.

THE KCACTF AND ALCONE MAKE-UP DESIGN AWARDS

The KCACTF and Alcone Make-Up Awards give outstanding student designers national recognition and the opportunity to exhibit their work at the Kennedy Center. The 2011 KCACTF and Alcone Make-Up Design Award went to Karen Billingsley, University of Central Missouri. Honorable Mention went to Molly Hill, Utah State University.

The Sound Design Award went to Joshua Fehrmann, Sam Houston State University. Mr. Fehrmann received a residency at the O'Neill National Playwrights' Conference in Waterford, Connecticut as the resident sound assistant.

THE NATIONAL PARTNERS OF THE AMERICAN THEATER AWARD FOR
DESIGN EXCELLENCE

This award is presented to one of the Design Award finalists who displayed their work at the Kennedy Center. The Design Excellence Award is co-sponsored by the Korean National University of the Arts (KNUA.) The 2011 recipient, Rachel Finn of Southern Methodist University, will spend an expense-paid week in Seoul, Korea attending theater design and traditional arts classes, visiting various design studios, and attending performances.

THE O'NEILL PLAYWRIGHTS' CONFERENCE DESIGN AND STAGE MANAGEMENT FELLOWSHIPS
Recipients of the O'Neill Playwright's Conference Design Fellowships received a residency in their respective design field at the O'Neill National Playwrights' Conference in Waterford, Connecticut. The Fellowship for lighting design went to James Eishen, University of Minnesota Duluth. The Fellowship for scenic design went to Jeffrey Kmiec, University of Virginia. The Fellowship for stage management went to Michelle Elias, University of Michigan. The Fellowship for sound design went to 

THE SDC STUDENT DIRECTING FELLOWSHIP
Britannia Howe of Southern Utah University received a grant of $500 from the Society of Stage Directors and Choreographers to offset the costs of a professional development opportunity, to be arranged in consultation with Ms. Howe.

THE LMDA DRAMATURGY AWARD
IN ASSOCIATION WITH THE ASSOCIATION FOR THEATER IN HIGHER EDUCATION
Susanne Parker of Clemson University received a one-year membership in ATHE (Association for Theater in Higher Education), a one-year membership in LMDA (Literary Managers and Dramaturgs of the Americas), and will attend the O'Neill National Playwrights' Conference as member of the literary staff.

THE O'NEILL NATIONAL CRITICS INSTITUTE SCHOLARSHIP
Georgia Young of Texas State University received a full fellowship to attend the Eugene O'Neill Theatre Center during its National Playwrights' Conference in July 2010, working with leading professional newspaper and magazine critics from across the United States. In addition, Andrew Vitalo of Pennsylvania State University-Berks and Jessica Drake of Westmont College both were recipients of a partial fellowship from the Critics Institute to attend the summer institute program.

KENNEDY CENTER EDUCATION DEPARTMENT
For more than 35 years, the Kennedy Center Education Department has provided quality arts experiences for students, teachers, families, and the general public throughout the United States. In the past year, the Center's education programs have directly impacted more than 11 million people. The resources of the Department focus on producing, presenting, and touring performances and educational events for young people and their families; school- and community-based residencies and other programs that directly impact teachers, students, administrators, and artists through professional development; systemic and school improvement through the arts and arts integrated curricula; partnerships; creating and providing educational materials via print and the Internet; the development of careers in the arts for young people and aspiring professionals; and strengthening the management of arts organizations. For more information, visit the Center's web site at www.kennedy-center.org/education.

KCACTF SUPPORT
The Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival, part of the Rubenstein Arts Access Program, is generously funded by David and Alice Rubenstein.

This program is also supported by the U.S. Department of Education; the Dr. Gerald and Paula McNichols Foundation; The Honorable Stuart Bernstein and Wilma E. Bernstein; and the National Committee for the Performing Arts.

The Rosa Parks Playwriting Award is made possible by Beatrice and Anthony Welters and the An-Bryce Foundation.

The U.S. Department of Education supports approximately one-third of the budget for the Kennedy Center Education Department. The contents of this document do not necessarily represent the policy of the U.S. Department of Education, and you should not assume endorsement by the Federal Government.

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