Mansfield Resident Attends Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival

This article was posted by Elyssa M. Millspaugh. It was reported and written by Read Media.

A group of Eastern Connecticut State University students attended the Region 1 Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival (KCACTF) from Jan. 29 - Feb. 2. The event was held in Hyannis, MA.

Corey Welden '13 of Mansfield Center, was one of the attendees. Welden's major is Theatre. Welden auditioned at the festival and won a half-tuition ($1,000) scholarship towards the Commonwealth Shakespeare Internship program to take place this summer. 

He also competed as an Irene Ryan Acting Scholarship partner at the festival. The students were accompanied by Ellen Faith Brodie, professor and director of theatre; J.J. Cobb, assistant professor of acting; Kristen Morgan, assistant professor of set design; and Chase Rozelle, professor of technical theater and technical director.

According to Professor Brodie, "Eastern's theatre program is proud of the talents, intelligence, curiosity, commitment, cooperation, and enthusiasm demonstrated by our students through their participation in KCACTF workshops; acting, technical, and design competitions; and performances. The fact that our students also won awards at the festival is a bonus as well as an acclamation that our Theatre program is attracting and providing properly for these bright lights in our midst."

Started in 1969 by Roger L. Stevens, the Kennedy Center's founding chairman, the Kennedy Center American College Theater (KCACTF) is a national theater program involving 1,800 students from colleges and universities nationwide that 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.

Through state, regional, and national festivals, KCACTF participants celebrate the creative process, see one another's work, and share experiences and insights within the community of theatre artists. The KCACTF honors excellence of overall production and offers student artists individual recognition through awards and scholarships in playwrighting, acting, criticism, directing, and design.

In January and February of each year, regional festivals showcase the finest of each region's entered productions and offer a variety of activities, including workshops, symposia, and regional-level award programs. Since its inception, KCACTF has given more than 400,000 college theater students the opportunity to have their work critiqued, improve their dramatic skills and receive national recognition for excellence. More than 16 million theatergoers have attended approximately 10,000 festival productions nationwide.