3 Texas State students advance to American College Theatre Festival

Posted by Jayme Blaschke
University News Service
April 11, 2014

Three theatre students from Texas State University have advanced to the John F. Kennedy Center as national finalists via the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival program, making 2014 the fourth year in a row that the university’s theatre program has produced at least three Kennedy Center finalists.

This year’s national festival will be April 15-19 at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.

Graduate playwriting student Jordan Morille advanced in the Short Play category for his play Speedball. Morille is one of four national finalists, and this marks the second consecutive year he has advanced to the national finals − his one-act play, Thirty Deep, did so in 2013. Additionally, his entry in the Full-Length Play category, Love, Norman, was named runner-up and his entry in the 10-Minute Play category, Jackalope, was named regional finalist.

Graduate directing and theatrical production student Amelia Bahr placed first in the SDC Student Directing Initiative category for a scene from Tartuffe, performed by Kailyr Frazier, Joy Greenawalt and Kurt Engh. She is one of eight national finalists.

Undergraduate Brandon Rosen took first place in lighting design for Adrift in Macao. He is one of eight national finalists.

Other Texas State students recognized at the regional competition include Joy Greenawalt and Danezion “Zeke” Mills, regional finalists for the Irene Ryan Acting Award Scholarship; Melissa Utley, James Robert Moore and Daniel Anderson, regional finalists in the SDC Student Directing Initiative; Joey Saffren, first alternate in the Musical Theatre Initiative; Josh Samaniego, regional winner in Scenic Art for Adrift in Macao; Kevin Talley and Kevin Talley, regional finalists in the 10-Minute Play category, for Monogamy Cult and Orphan Warlord, respectively; and Kevin Talley, regional finalist in One-Act Play for Magic Kingdom.

From April 15-19, the finalists will attend the National Festival at the Kennedy Center, taking master classes with professional artists and see the work of their peers from across the country. In each category, they will be eligible for additional awards and professional opportunities.

Since 2001, Texas State has been recognized through the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival program with two Producers Awards, two National Selection Team Fellowships, 29 national finalists and six individual national award winners. In recent years, Texas State has also had four national finalists via the National Partners in American Theatre program, an organization now partnering with KCACTF in select categories.

For more information, please contact John Fleming at jf18@txstate.edu.