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Press Release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
December 17, 2014
47th Annual Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival
Welcomes 1,100 Students and Faculty from
Colleges and Universities from
Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, Southwest New York,
Ohio, Pennsylvania, Northern Virginia,
Washington, D.C., and West Virginia
at the Region Two Festival
January 2–6, 2015
Co-Hosted by Cleveland State University and Playhouse Square, Ohio
Full-Scale Productions Presented by: Albright College,
Alvernia University, Carroll Community College,
Cleveland State University, George Washington University,
Grove City College, Slippery Rock University, and University of Toledo
(WASHINGTON, D.C.)—Cleveland State University and Playhouse Square will host 1,100
students and faculty from colleges and universities from Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey,
southwest New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, northern Virginia, Washington, D.C., and West
Virginia at the Region Two festival of the 47th annual Kennedy Center American College
Theater Festival (KCACTF) January 2–6, 2015. This is the first of eight consecutive, weekly
celebrations of excellence and achievement in theater in higher education. Individual
participants and full-scale productions are eligible for awards in a number disciplines
recognizing excellence in the art and craft of theater. Individual awardees and representatives
from selected productions will be brought to Washington, D.C. for an expense-paid trip to
the national festival April 13–18, 2015 at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing
Arts. A comprehensive listing of awardees will be announced in mid-March 2015.
Productions invited to be showcased at the Region Two festival are presented by Albright
College, Alvernia University, Carroll Community College, Cleveland State University,
George Washington University, Grove City College, Slippery Rock University, and
University of Toledo. The eight invited productions were selected from 63 eligible
productions from the region.
Now in its 47th year, the KCACTF national festival will bring together award-recipients
from regional festivals around the country to the Kennedy Center April 13–18, 2015. The
national festival includes master classes with leading artists from the American theater, an
opportunity for the student participants to engage with colleagues from across the nation,
attendance at productions at leading Washington D.C. theaters, interviews, and auditions for
scholarship and residency opportunities, and the national award ceremony recognizing:
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The Hilton Award for Outstanding Production of a Play, a Musical, a Classic,
a New Play
The Hilton Award for Outstanding Devised Work
The Hilton Award for Outstanding Scenic, Costume, Lighting, and Sound Design
The Hilton Award for Outstanding Choreography
The Hilton Award for Outstanding Direction of a Play, or a Musical
The Hilton Award for Outstanding Performances by an Actress and Actor
REGION TWO PARTICIPATING PRODUCTIONS:
Albright College (PA)
Maelstrom by Jeffrey Lentz and Cocol Bernal
Alvernia University (PA)
Low Level Panic by Clare Mclntyre
Carroll Community College (MD)
The Last Days of Judas Iscariot by Stephen Adly
Guirgis
The Dybbuk by S. Ansky
Cleveland State University (OH)
George Washington University (D.C.)
Vanishing Point by Jeri Kroll, adapted by
Leslie Jacobson
Grove City College (PA)
Red by John Logan
Slippery Rock University (PA)
Scab by Sheila Callaghan
University of Toledo (OH)
The Adding Machine by Elmer Rice
ABOUT THE KENNEDY CENTER AMERICAN COLLEGE THEATER FESTIVAL
Developed in 1969 by Roger L. Stevens, the Kennedy Center’s founding Chairman, the
KCACTF encourages and celebrates the finest and most diverse theatrical productions from
colleges and universities nationwide. Through the regional and national festivals, the KCACTF
celebrates the achievements of theater programs, individual students, and faculty of colleges and
universities throughout the United States.
The eight regional festivals provide opportunities for colleges and universities to showcase their
finest work to diverse audiences of theater students and faculty from their regions. In addition to
the invited productions, students and faculty attend workshops, master classes, juried design
expositions, seminars, summer stock and graduate school auditions, and other professional
development opportunities that build bridges between higher education and the professional
theater community. In July 2014, the Eugene O’Neill Theater Center along with the Kennedy
Center, National New Play Network, and Stage Directors & Choreographers Foundation
announced the start of the National Directors Fellowship (NDF), a five-year joint initiative which
will fast track the professional development of 25 early-career stage directors. As part of this
year-long fellowship, the 25 fellows will attend the MFA Playwrights’ Workshop and Directing
Intensive, led by NNPN and KCACTF.
Since its establishment 47 years ago, KCACTF has reached millions of theatergoers and made
important contributions to the professional development of countless college and university
theater students nationwide. This year, eight regional festivals will be hosted by the following
institutions: Cleveland State University co-hosted by Playhouse Square, University of
Wisconsin–Milwaukee, Normandale Community College, Cape Cod Community College,
Darton College, Dixie State University, Central Washington University, and Angelo State
University.
EDUCATION AT THE KENNEDY CENTER
The Kennedy Center retains its commitment as the nation’s cultural center to educating and
enlightening children and adults in Washington and around the country. The Center’s
national education programs include: Ensuring the Arts for Any Given Child, which works
with 14 municipalities and their school districts around the country to develop a long-range
strategic plan for arts education; ARTSEDGE, a website that offers standards-based materials
for use in and out of the classroom, Partners in Education, which forges relationships
between an arts organization and its neighboring school systems to build effective arts
education programs for teachers and teaching artists; Kennedy Center Alliance for Arts
Education Network works with 33 state organizations on arts education policy issues;
Explore the Arts, which provide insight into the cultural and historical context of the works
presented on stage and sparks dialogue between audiences and the artists who have created
the performances through participatory workshops, demonstrations, panels, master classes,
and open rehearsals; and the Kennedy Center Stephen Sondheim Inspirational Teacher
Awards, which acknowledge teachers of grades K-12 whose efforts have made a significant
impact on their students.
In and around DC, the Kennedy Center’s programs include Changing Education
Through the Arts, a program that works with 15 schools in the area to affect long-term
change in school culture through professional learning in arts integration; Professional
Development Opportunities for Teachers, which trains Washington-area educators to teach
the arts or other subject areas through the arts; and Washington, D.C. Partnership Schools,
where the Center provides resources and teaching artist residencies to 20 elementary, junior,
and senior high schools in Washington, D.C. The Center also mounts more than 100 events
and performances of theater, music, dance, and opera throughout the season for more than
100,000 local school-aged children.
In addition, the Center offers multiple skill development programs for young artists and
professionals both locally and nationally, including the National Symphony Orchestra’s
Youth Fellowship Program, Summer Music Institute, and High School Competition;
Washington National Opera’s Domingo-Cafritz Young Artist Program, Opera Institute for
High School Students, and Kids Create Opera Partnership; the biennial New Visions/ New
Voices forum for development of new plays for young people; Exploring Ballet with
Suzanne Farrell; Betty Carter’s Jazz Ahead; VSA’s Playwright Discovery Program, Young
Soloists, and Visual Arts Programs; arts administration internships; and the Kennedy Center
American College Theater Festival which directly impacts thousands of university and
college theater students and faculty.
FUNDING CREDITS
The Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival, part of the Rubenstein Arts Access
Program, is generously funded by David and Alice Rubenstein.
Additional support is provided by The Honorable Stuart Bernstein and Wilma E. Bernstein;
the Blanche and Irving Laurie Foundation; the Dr. Gerald and Paula McNichols Foundation;
The Harold and Mimi Steinberg Charitable Trust; Hilton Worldwide; and Beatrice and
Anthony Welters and the AnBryce Foundation.
Education and related artistic programs are made possible through the generosity of the
National Committee for the Performing Arts and the President’s Advisory Committee on the
Arts.
For more information, please visit the
Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival website.
Discover the Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival on social media:
#KCACTF15
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PRESS CONTACTS:
Brittany Laeger
(202) 416-8445
[email protected]
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Stephanie Stohler
(202) 416-8446
[email protected]