Twenty-five Arcadia students participated in the Jan. 2-6 Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival (KCACTF) for Region II at Cleveland State University and Playhouse Square in Ohio. The festival gave students the opportunity to strengthen and showcase their theater skills through workshops, activities, and competitions.

Damien Figueras ’16, Kishia Nixon ’15, Jillian Schwab ’15, Sidney Shaulis ’17, Alexa Simone ’15, and Grace Szczepkowski ’15 were among the 256 students who competed for the Irene Ryan Acting Scholarship. Schwab became one of 16 finalists and won the Voice and Speech Teachers of America award for her work during the competition. Szczepkowski also participated in the Student Directing Institute while Kristopher Karcher ’17 served as dramaturg (literary adviser to theater staff) for The W Trilogy, a play by Kathleen Burke that earned a One-Act Play award for KCACTF Region II, during the National Playwriting Program. Emma Ditnes ’15, Ryker Fry ’15, Maia Gilmour ’18, Logan Kuba ’16, Christian Ortiz ’16, and Isabelle Sacks ’18, were selected for roles in one-act play readings after a competitive audition process.