Theatre Arts Students and Faculty Score Big at Region VIII American College Theatre Festival

Theatre arts students from Utah State University won a number of major theatre design awards at the Kennedy Center/American College Theatre Festival Region VIII conference held in Phoenix, Ariz., announced department head Colin Johnson.

 

Graduate student Darrin Brooks, also a lecturer in the interior design program at Utah State, won the regional Barbizon Award for his costume designs for the Utah State Theatre production of Hay Fever, presented in December. This honor earns him an invitation to the national festival in Washington, D.C., to present, in workshop, his designs with top professional designers from Broadway, Johnson said. Brooks also took first place in the Regional Scene Design Award for his design of Antigone, presented in spring 2004. He earned a summer scholarship to attend the prestigious summer arts theatre study program at Fresno State College in July.

 

Macylynne Perrone won the Regional Costume Design Award for last summer’s Old Lyric Repertory Company production of The Hollow.

 

The Utah State Theatre Children’s Theatre production of Holes garnered two awards for students. Becky Dawson won the Regional Lighting Design Award and Kacey Udy won the Regional Properties Design Award.

 

Tami Eastman received an Honorable Mention and Book Award for her sound design for The Laramie Project.

 

Each year adjudicators from every circuit or state respond to the work of approximately 200 college and university productions, Johnson said.

 

In addition to the student awards, two Utah State theatre arts department faculty were recognized at the festival. Nancy Hills was a faculty nominee to a workshop in New York City during the summer of 2006. Her costume designs will be presented at the national convention of the United States Institute of Theatre Technology in March. Johnson received the Excellence in Theatre Education award, recognizing his service to the discipline.

 

The program’s production of The Laramie Project was honored with an invitation to be performed at the festival. It was one of six productions, out of 50-60 participating entries in the southwest and California, that was so honored. The productions performed at the regional festival are considered for performance at the national festival held at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., in April. This is the third consecutive year that a production from Utah State has been invited to the regional festival.

 

Besides Utah, Region VIII includes Nevada, Arizona, California and Hawaii/Guam. The Theatre Arts Department received travel support from the College of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences at Utah State. The department hosted the KC/ACTF regional festival in 2003.