WASHINGTON D.C.—Three Peggy Dow Helmerich School of Drama students attended the National Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival held in Washington, D.C., in April. Drama students Calley Luman, David Ball and Emily Burke received a special invitation to the national festival as representatives from the KCACTF Region 6 festival in San Angelo, TX in February.
Hundreds of schools and thousands of students from across the country participate at state and regional festivals for the right to showcase their work at the national KCACTF held every April at the Kennedy Center.
Calley Luman, a drama performance senior from Yukon, OK, won the Classical Acting Award at the national completion, which includes an apprenticeship with the Shakespeare Theatre of Washington D.C. Luman, with her scene partner David Ball a junior from Stephenville, TX, were nominated to compete at the national level for her top performance in the Irene Ryan Acting Scholarship Auditions at the regional competition. Luman is the first woman to ever be awarded the apprenticeship with the DC Shakespeare Theatre.
In the area of Design, Technology and Stage Management, Emily Burke, a senior from Keller, TX, who received the National Stage Management Fellowship at the regional competition, attended workshops taught by master teachers and professional artists working in theatre.
“The entire faculty and staff of the Helmerich School of Drama are immensely proud of our students for their continued success with the Kennedy Center competition,” said Tom Huston Orr, director of the school. “OU has established a decade's worth of awards and citations, unmatched by any other university dramatic training institution in the country. I want to personally commend our faculty for their commitment to this endeavor. Their efforts as coaches and mentors are simply Herculean. We are eternally grateful for the continued devotion and support of President and Mrs. Boren, Regent Max Weitzenhoffer and the dedicated leadership of Dean Holt. “
The Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival is a national organization that exists to celebrate the educational and creative process of university and college theatre. The center promotes professional standards and provides students and faculty with opportunities to bridge the academic and professional worlds. It also honors achievements in diversity and excellence and encourages experiences in all areas of theatre.
