Announcements: College of Liberal Arts

MFA student Jason Knox to be honored at USITT

Rick Thomas honored with Murphy Award

Purdue students win awards at Kennedy Center Theater Festival

Four Purdue University theater students won regional honors at the Kennedy Center American College Theater Region III Festival this month.

Chris Holland, a master of fine arts candidate from Aliquippa, Pa., was the Region III winner of the Barbizon Award for Theatrical Design Excellence in Lighting for "The Women of Troy." He also received an honorable mention for Regional Lighting Design Project for "Titus Andronicus."

Shelby Newport, a master of fine arts candidate from Cedar Rapids, Iowa, was the winner of the Barbizon Award for Theatrical Design Excellence in Costumes for "The Women of Troy."

Both Holland and Newport will attend the national Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival in April in Washington, D.C.

Jake Mahler, a master of fine arts candidate from Minnetonka, Minn., won the Irene Ryan Acting Judges Award for Best Musical Performer.
Rebecca Bezaire, a senior in the College of Liberal Arts from Dublin, Ohio, won second place in the Kennedy Center Stage Management Award for "Six Degrees of Separation."

Russ Jones, the Purdue Theatre Department chair, said the university did well at the festival, with Purdue students making up five of the 19 finalists in the national-eligible design category, with 45 participating universities. Out of 250 actors participating, three of the 16 finalists in the Irene Ryan Acting category also were from Purdue, Jones said.

The Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival, which started in 1969, is a national theater education program that identifies and promotes quality in college-level theater production. In January and February of each year, eight 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.

FACULTY UPDATE: Two full-time faculty joined us last fall.

Gordon McCal l, Associate Professor, will serve as Head of Directing. Gordon comes to us from the Centaur Theatre, Montreal, Canada where he was artistic and executive director for the past 10 years.

Michael McNamara, Assistant Professor of Theatre, Lighting Designer, who comes to us from the southwest where he taught Stage Lighting and Technology for four years at the University of Arizona and frequently designed lighting for productions in both the Schools of Theatre and Music.

Welcome Gordon and Michael!