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Theatre Faculty, Students Take Top Honors at Regional Competition
Contact: Mike Greife
The University of Central Missouri Department of Theatre received top honors at the Kennedy Center American College Region V Theatre Festival at Iowa State University in January.
UCM students received honors 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 UCM students Alex McCale and Justin Barron.
The preliminary rounds of the Irene Ryan Acting Auditions included 298 students from around the region. This was pared down to 64 students, with Alex McCale, Kinsey Parker, Justin Barron and Ben Wendt advancing to the semi-final round. Kinsey Parker and her partner Devin Burns advanced to the final round of 16 finalists. Devin Burns received the Best Acting Partner Award for the semi-final round.
Faculty receiving Meritorious Service awards 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 was one of 12 productions out of more than 100 entries selected and showcased in the Regional Costume Parade.
The festival included 80 universities and more than 1,300 faculty and students from higher education theatre 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 thirty-three Central students attended the event.
