Students Compete at Kennedy Center Festival

Jack Murphy and Amberlin McCormick
Tuesday, February 5, 2019
Theatre students compete at the KCACTF Region 4 in Spartanburg.

Theatre students Jack Murphy and Amberlin McCormick, pictured here in last fall’s production of Twelfth Night, are competing at the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival Region 4 for the Irene Ryan Acting Scholarship. Now in its 50th year, the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival (KCACTF) is a national program to benefit college theatre students. The program supports eight regional festivals in January and February and a national festival in April.

KCACTF Region 4 consists of colleges and universities from Alabama, Georgia, Florida, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Southern Virginia. The 2019 regional festival is being held at the University of South Carolina Upstate in Spartanburg, S.C, February 4-9.

The Irene Ryan Foundation awards 16 regional and two national scholarships annually. In addition to the scholarship audition, the regional festival offers workshops, symposia, and performances for attending students.

For their auditions, Amberlin and Jack will perform monologues and scenes with fellow students Amber Coleman and Mia Todarello. Theatre student Helen Sanders is also attending the festival, competing for an award in dramaturgy.