Source: Marci Maullar, 785-532-6878, marcima@k-state.edu

Thursday, Jan. 28, 2010

K-STATE THEATER STUDENTS AND FACULTY MEMBER EARN AWARDS FROM KENNEDY CENTER AMERICAN COLLEGE THEATER FESTIVAL REGION 5

MANHATTAN -- Work by two Kansas State University theater students and a K-State faculty member is being recognized by the Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival Region 5.

The festival, Jan. 17-23 at Johnson County Community College, featured 2,000 students from eight states competing in various areas of theater.

K-State's Joe Klug, junior in theater, Overland Park, received first place in the regional scenic design competition, while Dylan Harris, senior in theater, Wichita, received a meritorious certificate for her set design used in the fall 2009 K-State Theater production of "Speech and Debate.

Also recognized was K-State's Dwight Tolar, instructor of communication studies, theater and dance, who received a meritorious certificate for his work as director of "Speech and Debate."

Started in 1969 by Roger L. Stevens, the Kennedy Center's founding chairman, the Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival is a national theater program involving 18,000 students from colleges and universities nationwide and has served as a catalyst in improving the quality of college theater in the United States. The festival has grown into a network of more than 600 academic institutions throughout the country, where theater departments and student artists showcase their work and receive outside assessment by festival respondents.