Trinity Valley Community College Theatre Department brings home multiple awards from Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival (KCATCF) Region 6 in Abilene, TX.

At the end of February, colleges and universities from Texas, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Arkansas, and Louisiana that consist of Region 6 gather for workshops, showcase the finest regional productions, networking, interviews, and celebrate student’s work. The core of what KCACTF does as an organization is provide the opportunity for students to have feedback and training opportunities from industry professionals and professors from across the country, Head of Technical Design at TVCC and KCATCF Region 6 Co-Chair Elizabeth “Biz” Nelson explained.

In November 2023, TVCC Theatre Department’s production of Fahrenheit 451 was entered as a participating entry in KCATCF, and respondent’s chose three students as Irene Ryan Acting Scholarship nominees. Fahrenheit 451 was recognized with an invited scene to be presented at the festival and received meritorious achievements for design.

The Irene Ryan Acting Scholarship Nominees were:

Riley O'Donnell for Guy Montag

Kamden Magee for Fire Chief Beatty

Raelin Evans for Professor Faber

Meritorious Achievement Awards went to:

Meritorious Achievement in Poster Design - Kalae Richey

Meritorious Achievement in Set and Costume Design – Elizabeth “Biz” Nelson

O’Donnell, Magee and Evans all entered self-taped monologues into the preliminary round of auditions. The preliminary round of auditions consisted of 109 entrants from two-year and four-year institutions, as well as graduate programs. Magee advanced to the semi-finals. Out of the 109 entrants, only 32 students were chosen to advance to the semi-finals. While O’Donnell and Evans didn’t advance to the semi-finals, as participants of the preliminary round, they had the opportunity to work with and learn from actor Ebrin R. Stanley, who currently portrays Hercules Mulligan/James Madison in the Broadway musical Hamilton. Magee then advanced to the final round which consisted of only 16 students from the original 109 entrants. In the final round, Magee was asked to perform two monologues and a scene with Evans. Magee was recognized for his monologue and awarded for Outstanding Monologue.

Design, technology, and management students are allowed to enter work for national consideration if one of the shows from the previous season cycle was entered and responded to by a KCACTF Region 6 respondent. Students that enter their work for national consideration will receive a valuable response from a panel of design, technology, and management professionals from across the country and work for notable companies.

The following TVCC students entered their design, technology, and management work for consideration:

Sav Holloway – Makeup and Hair Design for Clue: The Musical

Micah Peeples – Set Design for Clue: The Musical

Kaitlyn Sanders – Stage Management for Fahrenheit 451

Callisto Roe – Lighting Design for Fahrenheit 451

Callisto Roe’s lighting work for Fahrenheit 451 was recognized as a lighting design finalist, and they were awarded the Sheilagh Carmichael Award and the Jane Childs Legacy Award. The Sheilagh Carmichael Award is an award to honor Sheilagh Carmichael who devoted 32 years towards mentoring the efforts of student in stage design, production, and performance at San Jacinto College - South Campus. This award specifically goes to a two-year student to celebrate design excellence and comes with a $100 check. The Jane Childs Legacy Award is an award in honor of Jane Childs who co-founded the Stagecraft Institute in Las Vegas with her husband Don Childs. The recipient of this award is a first-time presenter that exhibits excellence in both design and presentation ability. The students that enter their work in the design, technology, and management expo not only creates a digital and physical display, but they present their process and design choices to the panel of respondents. The Jane Childs Legacy Award specifically is a recognition that can be selected from any of the design, technology, and management expo areas and from any student level. This is an important opportunity for students to network, investigate potential programs, and recognize that the work that they are doing at TVCC is on par with 4-year counterparts, Nelson explained.

“Craig and I are so incredibly proud of Callisto and Kamden and all our students,” Nelson exclaimed. “They all had an amazing week of growth, encouragement, and celebration. We both understand the opportunity and value this experience is for our students; we’ve had several students over the years discover their next step in their educational and professional careers at KCACTF.”