Nine Walla Walla University students will attend the regional Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival in Denver Feb. 20-24. The week-long festival will feature workshops on acting, directing, entertainment business, reading, and performance. Student and professional drama productions will be showcased. The WWU students, eight of whom are drama minors, have the opportunity to learn from professionals in the theater business.

“This offer is a great benefit for networking with other theater students and theater professionals,” said David Crawford, professor of communications and director of the drama program. Crawford will accompany the students to Colorado and will direct several student-written productions.

Two students who performed in the university’s recent production of “Little Women” have been nominated for the Irene Ryan Acting Scholarship. They will compete against other performers at the festival for a chance to compete nationally in Washington D.C., and potentially earn a full scholarship for a master’s program.

The Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival has been held annually since 1969. It aims to promote college theater and provide opportunities for beginning theater professionals to grow. The national festival is held in Washington D.C. at the Kennedy Center and regional festivals are held on college campuses around the nation.  

“Most importantly, I believe this festival gives students the knowledge that theater is an opportunity for a future career,” said Crawford, “Many times when we live in the small bubble of our university culture, a career in the arts seems like an unrealistic goal. This reveals to the students that there are thousands of people every year who make the arts a foundational part of who they are. Our students can too.”

Posted February 15, 2017