UCM theater receives honors at Kennedy Center region festival
The University of Central Missouri Theatre Department received top honors at the Kennedy Center American College Region V Theatre Festival held Jan. 15-21 at Iowa State University in Ames, Iowa.
The festival included 80 universities and 1,300 faculty and students from theater departments in Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska, Iowa, North Dakota, South Dakota and Minnesota. The festival presents performances and scenes from invited productions from the top shows in the region and hosts acting, directing, design, playwriting, stage management, dramatic criticism and dramaturgy competitions. Six faculty members and 33 Central students attended the event.
Honors were received by Central students in the areas of costume design, scenic design, technical direction, directing and acting. Jennifer VanBuskirk won first place in Regional Costume Design and Mark Jacobsen won second place in Regional Technical Projects for “Ribbit.”
Troy Battle placed second in the Society of Stage Directors and Choreographers Society directing scenes. His actors included Central students Alex McCale and Justin Barron.
The Preliminary rounds of the Irene Ryan Acting Auditions included 298 students from around the region. This was paired down to 64 students; four Central students advanced to the semifinal round. These students included Alex McCale, Kinsey Parker, Justin Barron and Ben Wendt. Kinsey Parker and her partner Devin Burns advance to the final round of 16. Devin Burns received the Best Acting Partner Award for the semifinal round.
Students and faculty also received Meritorious Achievement awards. Award winners included Professor Julie Mollenkamp for direction of “The Clean House,” the cast of “The Clean House” for Ensemble Acting, Matt Elliott for scenic design for “The Three Musketeers” and Alex Ragan for Sound Design for “The Three Musketeers.” Assistant Professor Ronnie Chamberlain’s costume designs for “The Three Musketeers” were showcased in the Regional Costume Parade.
