CWU Theatre Arts Junior Awarded $35,000 Betty Evans Shakespeare Scholarship

Kylie Rose, a Central Washington University theatre arts junior was awarded the $35,000 Dr. Betty Evans Shakespeare Scholarship. Rose, a native of Kelso, Washington, will attend a university in London to further her studies in classical acting.

"I'm looking at several institutions, such as the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art and the British American Drama Academy,” said Rose. “I’ll have to audition for a place with one of them.”

The conditions of the scholarship require Rose to complete a scholarly project in addition to studying classical Elizabethan and Jacobean theatre performance—“I’ve always loved Shakespeare,” she related, “so this is basically a dream come true.”

“For my project I plan to analyze how dialect impacts character, and develop a regional dialect book using the phonetic IPA (International Phonetics Association) symbols and including regional voice recordings.”

Rose has had a long and illustrious career at CWU, having performed in productions such as Challenger and The Red Curtain Revue. She was a featured actor for Leavenworth Summer Theater in 2013 as Liesl in The Sound of Music and Judah's Wife in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. She has also been involved in Central’s Women’s Choir, Vocal Jazz 2, the Central Theatre Club, Sharks with Legs Improv, and Swing Cats, a swing dance club.

In 2013, she joined the University Learning Support Services as a writing tutor—“possibly because of my lingering desire to teach. I love tutoring because it gives me the chance to serve as a catalyst for change, movement, and growth.”

When attending Kelso High School, she participated in choir and theatre, and upon graduation in 2011 Rose came to CWU seeking a degree in music education—but the lure of the stage proved to be too strong. She is pursuing a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Performance, and plans to attend graduate school to obtain a master’s degree in either speech pathology or acting and directing.

The Betty Evans Shakespeare Scholarship was established by the Dr. Betty Evans Estate to honor the memory of the revered theatre arts professor. Up to $35,000 for the academic year is available to fund a worthy project of one year's residency. The scholarship requires rigorous academic and performance requirements and is awarded only once every two years, and then only if the exacting criteria are met. A New Zealand native, “Dr. Betty” (as she was fondly called) joined the CWU faculty in 1967. A prolific writer and performer, she was a veteran of more than 40 stage roles, and penned numerous plays and poems.

Media Contact: Valerie Chapman-Stockwell, Public Affairs, 509-963-1518, valeriec@cwu.edu