College of the Sequoias Theatre Arts students recently brought home top honors from the Kennedy Center/American College Theatre Festival. From February 9-16 of this year, 32 COS Theatre Arts students attended the 48th Annual Regional Festival in Honolulu, where they enjoyed a variety of activities, including workshops, symposia and regional-level award programs, hosted by the University of Hawaii and Chaminade University.
The Kennedy Center/American College Theatre Festival is the only year-round program in the United States dedicated to the training and advancement of theatre training at the college level. College of the Sequoias is a proud participant in Region VIII, which includes schools from California, Arizona, Nevada, Utah, Colorado, Hawaii and Guam. In addition to the learning and training COS Theatre Arts students received during the event, several students brought home individual honors and awards.
Eleven nominees and their partners represented COS in the preliminary round of the Irene Ryan Acting Scholarship Competition, going up against more than 300 partnered teams from schools throughout the region. COS Theatre Student Christopher Dorado and partner, Brittney Burris, were one of only 32 teams selected to advance to the semi-final round and ultimately competed in the final round, performing before an audience of more than 1,100 people.
Out of the hundreds of students who participated in the Next Step Auditions, COS student Becka Cole, was honored with a $1,000 scholarship to attend California State University Summer Arts, an opportunity for students to participate in workshops with top industry professionals.Cole will be participating in the Art of the Sword workshop this summer, focusing on stage combat.
Two COS students, Cheyenne Breshears and Madeline Evans, auditioned for and were cast in a ‘devised performance,’ working with students from other schools to conceive, rehearse and perform an entirely original one-act play in less than 48 hours. Their production was awarded with top honors.
Finally, COS’ own Rebekah Robles and Caleb Robbins were selected from dozens of students to compete in the Musical Theatre Initiative, in which young singers workshopped solo pieces with James Gray, a top Broadway director/choreographer, and then perform for all of the attendees. Her incredible rendition of, “I Can Do Better Than That,” from “The Last Five Years,” earned her the honor of co-representing all of Region VIII at the National Festival at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC this April.