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By Sara Hinds

New year, same sweet success. 

ˮ����’s theatre department attended the  (KCACTF) Region V and returned home with multiple individual awards and honors among students and faculty in various disciplines. The annual awards festival took place in Des Moines, Iowa, from January 19-25, 2025.

Four ˮ���� students and an alum/faculty member won meritorious achievement awards for two of ˮ����’s spring 2024 productions: 

• Alexis McDaniel-Gates, senior | Costume Design — “The Delays”
• Cody Lee Crist, junior | Lighting Design — “The Delays”
• Olivia Nelson, sophomore | Wardrobe/Run Crew — “The Delays”
• Shandi Anderson ’04, Assistant Professor of Practice/Theatre Costume Specialist | Costume Design — “Fly By Night”
• Matt Benes, guest artist | Lighting Design — “Fly By Night”
• Kaidan Smith, senior | Props Design — “Fly By Night”

Two acting teams advanced to the semifinals in the Irene Ryan Acting Competition — which consists of nearly 300 regional acting students competing in three rounds of a monologue and scene presentation: 

• Ella Zubieni, junior, and MacKenzie Sanders, first year
• Katie Craig, junior, and Frankie McClaren, first year

At the closing ceremony, McClaren won Best Scene Partner in the Semi-Final Round. Sophomore Sam Feng won Emerging Excellence in Technical Direction for “Between the Lines.” 

Junior Jules Harlow participated in the Musical Theatre Intensive — a weeklong series of workshops and auditions — and was selected to perform in a cabaret performance at the end of the Festival.  

ˮ����’s consistent success at the KCACTF Region V Festival is a testament to the collaboration between faculty and students to produce high quality shows. ˮ���� competes in Region V with schools of all sizes in Nebraska, Kansas, Missouri, Iowa, North Dakota, South Dakota and Minnesota. Robin McKercher, professor of theatre, said normally 1,500 students from 90 colleges participate in the annual regional festival.

“They continue to amaze me, and they continue to blow me away by how they are able to compete against the biggest theatre programs in our region,” McKercher said.

The theatre program will soon have the infrastructure to match — and hold — their award collection. In early January 2025, the university officially broke ground on a new, $23 million performing arts center. Current sophomores and first-year students will reap the benefits of the new building as construction will be complete by summer 2026.