Culver-Stockton Theatre Production Chosen to Compete for National Honors

Culver-Stockton Theatre Production Chosen to Compete for National Honors

CANTON, Mo.—A scene from Culver-Stockton College’s theatrical production of William Shakespeare’s  “Much Ado about Nothing” has been selected for a competitive performance at the Region V Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festitval (KC/ACTF). This year’s festival is  hosted by the University of Nebraska at Lincoln, Jan. 20-26. This scene was one of only eight selected from over 250 productions across Region V (which includes seven states) to be included as a Meritorious Invited Scene nominee. Culver-Stockton did not apply for this honor, and was nominated by a KC/ACTF respondent. This marks the fourth occasion this honor has been bestowed on a C-SC production, the first in three years to do so.

Act IV, Scene 1 was chosen for competition at the festival. The scene is comprised of two student actors: Nicholas Johnson, senior theatre major from Fieldon, Ill., will play Benedick and Anna Nytes, senior psychology major from Quincy, Ill., will play Beatrice. Dr. Fonzie Geary, assistant professor of theatre at Culver-Stockton, is the director.

The Meritouroious Invited Scene is not the only nomination C-SC  received for this year’s KC/ACTF. Nick Johnson is also an Irene Ryan nominee for his performance in “Barefoot in the Park.” Other nominees and the productions they were nominated for are listed below:

Tim Maples, senior musical theatre major from Chicago, Ill., for “Much Ado about Nothing” and “The Diary of Anne Frank”; Jason Epley, junior theatre major from Quincy, Ill., for “Much Ado about Nothing” and “Barefoot in the Park”; Ian Sodawasser, junior musical theatre major from Davenport, Iowa, for “Assassins”; Kathy Holstein, senior arts management major from Branson, Mo., for “Assassins”; Hollyann Lillie, senior musical theatre from Rockford, Ill., for “Kiss Me, Kate”; Kirsten Sindelar, senior musical theatre major from Sherrard, Ill., for “Kiss Me, Kate”; and Alex Cole, sophomore arts management major from Union, Mo., for “The Diary of Anne Frank.”

The goals of the Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival are to encourage, recognize and celebrate the finest and most diverse work produced in university and college theater programs, as well as to improve the quality of college theater in America. The KCACTF is comprised of eight geographic regions in the United States and honors excellence of overall production and offers student-artists individual recognition through awards and scholarships in playwriting, 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. Regional festival productions are judged by a panel of three judges selected by the Kennedy Center and the KCACTF national committee. These judges select four to six of the best and most diverse regional festival productions to be showcased in the spring at the annual noncompetitive national festival at the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C.