The Theatre Festival in Fullerton, California is a great opportunity for theatre majors to demonstrate their skills and be rewarded for their efforts. Every year, the festival honors remarkable accomplishments in theatre, promising students in the entertainment industry, and those with a minimum of 2.5 GPA. The selection is made by a committee of theatre arts staff appointed by the president of the Theatre Department. In addition to the awards, the University of Idaho also won first place at the festival's Technological Olympics with a team consisting of Jared Sorensen from Portland (Oregon), Mason Chadd from Meridian, Valerie Denton from Meridian and Stephanie Lutz from Oakley (California).
The scholarship is used to promote education and professional growth of the student in theatre. Navarro, for his part, also received a scholarship from the Association of Voice and Speech Instructors, as well as a one-year internship at the Shakespeare Theater Company in Washington D. C. The trio and more than 55 students from the University of Michigan represented the Faculty of Letters, Arts and Social Sciences at the Region 7 festival, held in Denver in February. In the field of design, LaTasha Tobias from Rancho Cucamonga, from CSUF, obtained an internship at the O'Neill Institute for the summer, as well as an invitation to attend the Broadway lighting masterclass in New York in May.
During the week-long Region 7 event, UI students joined colleges and universities in Alaska, Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, Northern California and Nevada. They competed for scholarships and awards in interpretation and design and participated in workshops and seminars on new methods and techniques in theatre. Students secured their place at the national festival during the regional competition held in February at Cal State Fullerton. From February 15 to 20, the Kennedy Center American University Theater Festival (KCACTF), in Region VII was held in Reno, Nevada. The University of Idaho was well represented in numerous categories.
Sophomore Andrew Yoder from Boise won the National Award for Excellence in Sound Design for his work interpreting U of I from “A Kind of Alaska”.Three students from the Department of Theater Arts at the University of Idaho were selected to participate in the National Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival (KCACTF) in Washington D. Emily McQuarrie, Chris Mueller, Rachel Rosenfeld, Mattie Rydalch, Lauren Simon and Annie Staats were chosen to move to nationals based on their work in scene design, costume design, direction, dramaturgy and theatrical journalism. The Department of Theater Arts also offers merit-based scholarships each spring to winners of the Student Art Exhibition in several different categories. Two theater students from the University of Idaho and a theater team won top prizes at the Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival regional competition. The criteria for these awards include outstanding performance in theatre, promise in the entertainment industry and a minimum of 2.5 GPA.
