Mar. 24, 2023
CWU Theatre Arts students shine at annual festival
CWU Theatre Arts student Genavive Anderson won the Student Dramaturgy Award at last month's KCACTF conference in Spokane. (Photos by Frankie Benka)
Central Washington University Theatre Arts student Genavive Anderson took center stage at last month’s Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival (KCACTF) Region 7 conference in Spokane, earning the LMDA/KCACTF Student Dramaturgy Award and a trip to next month’s national conference.
A number of her classmates also produced award-winning performances, but the CWU student highlight for at the weeklong conference was Anderson’s award, which recognized her contributions to the conception, development, and production of Central’s fall production of Everybody. As a dramaturg, she provided the cast and crew with vital knowledge, research, and interpretation about the Brandon Jacobs-Jenkins play.
Anderson will be the Region 7 representative at the KCACTF national festival in Washington, D.C., the week of April 17. She could be joined by Theatre Production major Sequioa Good, who earned honorable mention in Stage Management for her work on Everybody. Good’s accomplishment qualified her to be an alternate regional representative to the national event.
Also performing well at the February 19-24 conference in Spokane were Theatre Performance majors Claire Bowder and Marcus Wolf, who were finalists in their individual acting categories, and Cate Shelton-Jenck, who was a semifinalist for acting. In addition, the cast and crew from CWU’s presentation of Everybody was one of four productions invited to perform at the festival.
“We had a wonderful week, and we are so proud of all who participated,” said CWU Theatre Arts Department Chair Christina Barrigan. “And we look forward to what CWU Theatre Arts takes to the region next year.”
CWU Senior Lecturer Jerry Dougherty provided the non-student highlight at the conference when he was presented with the KCACTF Gold Medallion Award, described as the “most prestigious regional award” given by the organization. Read more about Dougherty’s accomplishment in a separate article.
2023 Kennedy Center Awards for Region 7 — CWU students:
- Genavive Anderson: Won the LMDA/KCACTF Student Dramaturgy Award and will be the Region 7 representative at the national festival in Washington, D.C., next month. Her work was on the fall production of Everybody by Brandon Jacobs-Jenkins.
- Sequioa Good: Honorable mention for Stage Management, making her an alternate regional representative to the national festival. The work submitted was her stage management book for the fall production of Everybody.
- Marcus Wolf: Finalist in the Irene Ryan Acting Award competition for his performance of Monologues from Red by John Logan and Bob: A Life in Five Acts by Peter Sinn Nachtrieb; and a scene from I and You by Lauren Gunderson.
- Claire Bowder: Finalist in the Musical Theatre Initiative for her performance of “Warm All Over” from The Most Happy Fella; “Someday” from The Wedding Singer; and “The Life I Never Led” from Sister Act.
- Cate Shelton-Jenck: Semifinalist in the Irene Ryan Acting Award competition with her performance of a monologues from Lost Girl by Kimberly Belflower and Lemons, Lemons, Lemons, Lemons, Lemons by Sam Steiner, and a scene from I and You.
Media Contact: David Leder, Department of Public Affairs, David.Leder@cwu.edu, 509-963-1518