A record number of Linfield College theatre students were honored at the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival (KCACTF) Feb. 17-22 at the University of Oregon in Eugene.
Students earned meritorious achievement certificates, acting honors, musical theatre honors and scholarships to attend summer institutes at the regional conference, where they competed with graduate and undergraduate students from more than 75 other colleges. Linfield has attended the festival for more than three decades.
Five Linfield students were nominated to compete in the Irene Ryan Acting Competition based on plays performed at Linfield College. From more than 240 participants, nominees Antoine Johnson ‘19 and Melory Mirashrafi ‘19 advanced to the semi-final round of 32 nominees with partners Nicole Tigner ‘22 and Lucy Gordon ‘22. Johnson and Tigner advanced to the final round of 16.
Mirashrafi, Mihretabe Gizaw ‘20, Calder Ifft ‘21 and Elise Martin ‘20 competed with 140 students from various schools in the Musical Theatre Singing Auditions, where students sang a two-minute selection from a musical theatre piece. Mirashrafi and Martin advanced to the final round of 16 students.
In the Design, Technology and Management Expositions (DTM Expo), three Linfield students presented posters and promptbooks of their work on Linfield’s November production, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Liam Home ‘20 and Erika Glas ‘20 received Certificates of Meritorious Achievement and Nathan Dillon ‘20 earned the SPAM (The Society of Properties Artisan Managers) Award for Excellence in Property Design. Home also received a Certificate of Achievement from Vectorworks for his lighting design potential, as well as his own Vectorworks programming software package, worth more than $2,000.
Katherine McCann ‘22 competed in the Collaborative Theatre Challenge, which pairs student designers with a playwright to visualize a new play. McCann received the Frances Todd Fellowship from the Seven Devils Playwriting Conference in McCall, Idaho. The fellowship includes a three-week summer training intensive where she will design scenery for four new plays while working alongside the playwrights.
Glas, McCann, Clementine Dorsey ‘21, Claire Harris ‘22 and Alyx Enanoria ‘19 competed in the Technical Theatre Olympiad. Students compete in a timed series of events designed to assess skills in the various disciplines involved in theatre production. McCann finished second in the Thimble and Crosby event and third in knot tying. The Linfield team, collectively, placed third in the team knot tying challenge.
Gordon, Tigner, Martin and Sam Hannigan ‘21 participated in the Improvisation Olympix, where teams compete in improvisational games similar to those on the television show, “Whose Line Is It Anyway?”
In addition to recognizing work, the festival provides students a chance to network with theatre professionals. One session enables students to interview or audition for internships at prestigious theatre companies or programs, including The Actors Theatre of Louisville, the Stella Adler Acting Conservatory, B Street Theatre of Sacramento and the California State University Summer Arts Institute (CSI). Johnson and Mirashrafi each received invitations to apply to several institutions. Johnson received a two-week fellowship this summer to attend the “Shakespeare and Swords Intensive” at CSI in Fresno, Calif.
Linfield Theatre Arts faculty and staff Janet Gupton, Lindsey Mantoan, Derek Lane, Rob Vaughn and Laurel Peterson presented workshops, mentored students and attended all events.
