KU News Release

LAWRENCE — Seven students and alumni of the University of Kansas and one faculty member earned top honors at the Region 5 Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival held Jan. 17-23 at Johnson County Community College in Overland Park.

One graduate student and two recent graduates will compete for national awards at the American College Theatre Festival, to be held April 12-17 at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C.

Benjamin R. Smith, Rose Hill, and Feloniz Lovato-Winston, Lawrence, are advancing to compete for the David Mark Cohen Playwriting Award. Both are fall 2009 graduates in creative writing. Smith’s play is titled “What Really Happened,” and Lovato-Winston’s play is titled “Dogsh*t Ballet.”

Elizabeth Banks, master’s student in scenography from Sweetwater, Texas, will compete for the Barbizon Award. She won the Region 5 Barbizon Award for Theatrical Design Excellence for her lighting design for the University Theatre’s production of “Macbeth” in October. Banks is the fifth KU master’s student to win the Region 5 Barbizon Award. The competition is sponsored by Barbizon Inc., a premier theatrical supply house specializing in advanced lighting for professionals in the field. The designs are appraised on the basis of quality, effectiveness, originality and rendering techniques.

Paul Stephen Lim, Chancellors Club Teaching Professor of English and artistic director of the English Alternative Theatre, received a certificate of merit for being “an outstanding producer and mentor” for student playwrights at KU.

Region 5, one of eight Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival regions, includes schools in Kansas, Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota and South Dakota. Final selections for the national festival will be made in late February after all the regional competitions are held.

Regional award winners are listed below by hometown, major, level in school, parents’ names and previous schools attended.

BUTLER COUNTY
From Rose Hill 67133
Benjamin R. Smith will compete for the national David Mark Cohen Playwriting Award. He has received three KU degrees: a summer 2007 bachelor’s degree in English, a fall 2007 bachelor’s degree in journalism and a fall 2009 master’s degree in creative writing. He is the son of Kelly and Shirley Smith and a Rose Hill High School graduate.

DOUGLAS COUNTY
From Lawrence 66046
Feloniz Lovato-Winston will compete for the national David Mark Cohen Playwriting Award. She received a bachelor’s degree in creative writing from KU in fall 2009.

From Lawrence 66049
Ken Willard, a nondegree-seeking student in English in fall 2009 at KU, won the top prize for one-act play reading with his play, “Before the Scaean Gate.” Willard has a bachelor’s degree from Fort Hays State University and bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Pittsburg State University. He is a graduate of Lakeland High School in Rathdrum, Idaho.

SALINE COUNTY
From Salina 67401
Thomas Hardy, senior in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, won second prize for his reviews of plays presented at the regional festival in the National Critics Institute. He is the son of Randall and Saralyn Hardy. He earned a bachelor’s degree in English from KU in spring 2009. He is a graduate of Salina Central High School.

IOWA
From Huxley 50124
Elizabeth “Biz” Grim, master’s student in theatre design (scenography), won second place in the regional Graduate Design Competition for her lighting designs for the “Elektra” student project. She also received a certificate of achievement for her costume and scenic design for “The Glass Menagerie” staged in November at KU. She has a bachelor’s degree from Northwestern College in Orange City, Iowa.

TEXAS
From College Station 77844
Caleb Stroman, master’s student in theatre design (scenography), received two certificates of achievement for his University Theatre work in 2009. One recognized his costume designs for “The 13 Clocks,” produced in September. The second award honored the costumes and hair and makeup design for “How To Succeed in Business Without Really Trying,” staged in February and March. Stroman has a bachelor’s degree from Texas A&M University-College Station.

From Sweetwater 79556
Elizabeth Banks, master’s students in theatre design (scenography), won the Region 5 Barbizon Award for Theatrical Design Excellence. Banks has a bachelor’s degree from McMurry University in Abilene, Texas.