Student Wins Sound Design Award at Regional Theatre Festival

Student Gianna Agostino has received “Top Honorable Mention,” in the sound design category of the Design, Technology, and Management competition at the Region IV Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival (KCACTF). Agostino, a senior music major and theatre minor, was recognized for her sound design for the Department of Theatre production of The Corona Caesar podcast.

KCACTF is a national program for college and university theatre students, organized by the education department of the Kennedy Center in Washington DC, that seeks to support excellence in theatre education for the next generation of artists. Each year, some 18,000 students nationwide participate in its programs. Region IV represents nine states across the southeastern United States, plus Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The Region IV festival was held virtually February 4-7.

Agostino competed against more than 40 submissions from eight states. In addition to her “Top Honorable Mention,” the competition’s second highest award, she was one of a handful of student designers and technicians from the region selected to receive a scholarship to attend the Stagecraft Institute of Las Vegas this summer. Her work also qualifies for submission into the KCACTF national competition this spring.

Originally planned as a traditional staged production, The Corona Caesar is an innovative presentation of Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar, constructed entirely online and released as a five-episode audio podcast. In an interview in January, Agostino said that the audio format made her work as sound designer even more challenging and interesting.

“That opened up a lot of doors for me to explore and learn more about sound design and audio technology that I wouldn’t have had otherwise, which was a great way to see how we could adapt during such a difficult time.”

This is not Agostino’s first sound design award. Last February, she won first place in the sound design competition at the 71st annual Southeastern Theatre Conference (SETC) Convention for her work on the theatre department’s staged production of Far Away.

“I’m delighted to hear that Gianna is getting the recognition her work so richly deserves,” said Robinson Distinguished Professor of Shakespeare Andrew Hartley, who directed The Corona Caesar. “I expect this to be one of many such accolades in what is sure to be a brilliant future.”