From Bossier Parish Community College are Madeline Hiers (Distinguished Actress), Ray Scott Crawford (Distinguished Director), and Jesse Kortus (Distinguished Actor) with the awards presented to them at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C. Right, Kortus, Crawford and Hiers receiving the awards at Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. Courtesy Photo
Students and staff of Bossier Parish Community College’s Theatre Program received seven awards for distinguished achievement earlier this month at the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C. The awards presented to BPCC Theatre artists recognize their contributions to the school’s production of The Turn of the Screw, as follows:
Distinguished Production of a Play – The Turn of the Screw
Distinguished Director of a Play – Ray Scott Crawford
Distinguished Scenic Design – David White
Distinguished Sound Design – David White and Ray Scott Crawford
Distinguished Lighting Design – Keith Bruce
Distinguished Performance by an Actress – Madeline Hiers
Distinguished Performance by an Actor – Jesse Kortus
Earlier this year, The Turn of the Screw ranked number one of five productions in the five-state Region VI of the KCACTF—qualifying it for consideration for national recognition. The National KCACTF Selection Committee and the KCACTF Artistic Director, Gregg Henry, reviewed all the plays chosen to be presented at all eight regional festivals (43 top productions this year from across the nation) to select the top national award recipients. The Turn of the Screw ranked as one of the top five productions and each artist is among the top five (six for the actors) chosen from all participating colleges, universities, and graduate schools in the nation for 2016.
Dr. Ray Scott Crawford, dean of Communication and Performing Arts at BPCC and director of the play, traveled to Washington, D.C. along with the two actors of the production, Jesse Kortus and Madeline Hiers, to receive the awards. In addition to performances and ceremonies, one of the highlights of the weekend for the three was a commedia dell’arte acting master class led by James Peck of the Dell’Arte Institution of Las Vegas (trainer to many of the Cirque de Soleil characters).
BPCC Media Coordinator Keith Bruce and Technical Coordinator David White received awards for lighting design and sound design, respectively. Also, White and Crawford received an award for sound and music design and execution for the show.
“KCACTF provides so many opportunities to student participants—performers as well as technical theatre artists. I remember ‘taking shows to festival’ or ‘hosting the festival’” when I was a student at Louisiana Tech or later at Texas Tech—years ago. BPCC has participated for six years now—our actors and singers have competed for scholarships and opportunities, we’ve entered productions as local and state participants, and have received state and regional recognition in the past,” Crawford said. “I am so very proud of our students’ achievements through these endeavors, but it is especially valuable for them to receive national notice and support. I want to thank our Chancellor, Dr. Rick Bateman for the opportunity to have taken these students to the Festival to receive their awards—the honor will be long remembered.”
“At BPCC, we could not be more proud of the faculty, staff, and students of our Communications and Performing Arts Division. Competing successfully against colleges and universities across the country provides a clear endorsement of the world-class learning experiences at BPCC and the commitment to artistic excellence in CAPA.” Dr. Rick Bateman said.
BPCC administration hold a special congratulatory reception in honor of the Theatre program at 2:30pm on Tuesday, April 26 in Building A, Room 230 on the College’s campus.
The BPCC Theatre Arts Program offers an Associate of Arts in Performing Arts with concentrations in Theatre, Musical Theatre, Music, and Church Music. The degree is the only 2-year Performing Arts degree in Louisiana. Advance registration for summer and fall semesters began April 19.
For more info about the BPCC Theatre Program, visit http://www.bpcc.edu/theatre or call 318-678-6021.