UCM Theatre and Dance Recognized by Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival

By Alex Greenwood, June 27, 2024

WARRENSBURG, MO – University of Central Missouri (UCM) Theatre & Dance received several regional Kennedy Center recognitions for the production "Remember the Dance,” one of four productions invited to perform at the Region V Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival (KCACTF) in Des Moines, Iowa in January.

 

KCACTF announced National Production Awards for work showcased at the 2024 Regional Festivals at the National Festival in Washington, D.C. this past April.

 

Written and directed by UCM Assistant Professor of Theatre Dr. Aaron Scully and co-directed by Chair of Theatre & Dance Ashley Miller-Scully, the production earned several honors.

 

Special Achievement in Movement or Choreography was awarded to faculty choreographers Ashley Miller-Scully and Francois Des Marteau, as well as student choreographers TiJhana Hines, Addison Rutherford and Shanna Sinow.

 

The overall production received the Citizen Artist Award, which recognizes programs in higher education using theatrical production to promote long-term societal impact in artistic terms, encouraging empathetic exploration of the complex cultural and physical world, and advocating for justice on campus and throughout the world.

 

KCACTF is a national theatre program involving 18,000 students annually from colleges and universities across the country. Since its inception, KCACTF has given more than 400,000 college theatre students the opportunity to have their work critiqued, improve their dramatic skills and receive national recognition for excellence. More than 16 million theatergoers have attended approximately 10,000 festival productions nationwide.

 

Jenise Cook, UCM assistant professor of theatre, was also recognized as the KCACTF Region V recipient of the Acting Teacher of Excellence Award, awarded by the National Alliance of Acting Teachers. Due to being nominated for the regional award, Cook was granted membership into the National Alliance of Acting Teachers and became eligible for the national award.

 

“I am honored and grateful to receive this award, and I am excited and eager to continue educating and uplifting these talented students who are the future of theatre,” Cook said.

 

For more information about UCM Theatre and Dance, visit the website.