Twenty-one students from Fitchburg State University took part in the recent Kennedy Center American College Theater Region 1 Festival, where several were recognized for acting, directing and technical achievements.
Fitchburg State has long participated in the festival, sending students from the Communications Media Department’s theater and technical theater concentrations to compete against peers from across the country. Its graduates have gone on to award-winning careers in theater, film and television.
Among the honorees at the recent Region 1 Festival:
- Allison Thompson of Melrose received The Best Director Award for the “Ten-Minute Play Festival’
- James Mcgarry of Highland Lake, N.Y. received the coveted invitation for the Next Up Review & Response Session for Up and Coming Writers for “The Ghost” in the Short Stage Play Category
- Chris Brennan of Fitchburg received the Communication with Actors Award for Directing.
- Chris Brennan of Fitchburg, Lina Kherallah of Fitchburg, and Gabriel Mangrum of Fitchburg received 1st Runner-Up in the Directing Showcase for their scene from “The Language Archive” by Julia Cho
- Noah Barnes of Merrimack, N.H. received 1st Runner-Up for the Aspire Award for his Original Theater Company proposal.
- Colby Hairston of Melrose was selected to Stage Manage the Invited Scenes Showcase
The following KCACTF Awards and Nominations were for the university’s Main Stage production of “It's a Wonderful Life” that was performed on campus in December:
- Marco Grogan of Brockton, Lina Kherallah of Fitchburg, and Gabriel Mangrum of Fitchburg were nominated for the National Irene Ryan Acting Scholarship
- The cast and crew received the Regional Merit Award for Excellent Ensemble
- Colby Hairston of Melrose was nominated for the National Stage Management Award
- Allison Thompson of Melrose received the Regional Merit Award for Directorial Assistance
- Cole Wilkinson of Methuen received the Regional Merit Award for Sound Technician
The Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival (KCACTF) honors excellence of overall production and offers student artists individual recognition through awards and scholarships in playwriting, acting, criticism, directing, and design. Started in 1969 by Roger L. Stevens, the Kennedy Center’s founding chairman, the KCACTF is a national theater program involving 18,000 students from colleges and universities nationwide which has served as a catalyst in improving the quality of college theater in the United States. The KCACTF has grown into a network of more than 600 academic institutions throughout the country, where theater departments and student artists showcase their work and receive outside assessment by KCACTF respondents.