Emily Nash-Gray will compete against 10 other University of Idaho theatre arts students at the regional Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival Feb. 13 to 17, in Fort Collins, Colo.
Nash-Gray, a Master of Fine Arts student, was nominated for the Irene Ryan award for her portrayal of Maar in “Adoration of Dora,” produced by UI in October.
Nash-Gray said about 240 students in the region will compete for the award.
“So all 240 go through the first round, where basically we choose one scene with our partner that we do,” Nash-Gray said. “Then we are adjudicated on that by the judges, and they decide whether or not we go onto the semifinals in the next round.”
Nash-Gray said only 16 nominees make it to the final round.
“If you go into the semifinals, you do two scenes with your partner,” Nash-Gray said. “And then if they like you, then you move on to the finals and for the final round, you do your two (partner) scenes and your monologue all in a six-minute package.”
Only two finalists from this region — the winner and the runner-up — move on to the national festival in April at Washington, D.C., Nash-Gray said.
Nash-Gray said the scenes are chosen based on what works best with the actor’s talents and abilities.
“Sometimes the professors will have a scene that they think will suite you really well,” she said.
Nash-Gray said she has been working on her package since shortly after Christmas.
“I have a comedic scene, and then I have a more dramatic scene,” Nash-Gray said. “And then I have a monologue actually from Robert Paisley.”
As the festival approached, Nash-Gray said she met with her professors to get their feedback about what was and wasn’t working.
The author of “Adoration of Dora,” Lauren Simon, was nominated to go to the national competition for the David Mark Cohen National Playwriting Award.
“When there is a play entered into the college theater festival, the theater festival sent two judges to see the show in September,” Simon said. “After seeing it, they then chose whether or not to nominate it in certain categories, like, they would pick the best actors, or the best costume design.”
The script was sent to the national office, where it was chosen by a group of judges based only on the writing and not on the production, Simon said. Each of the eight regions nominates two plays for the national competition.
“I think then it is read in front of judges, and they decide,” Simon said.
UI MFA student Quinn Hatch’s 10-minute play “Coffee Talk” was also nominated for the regional competition.
“I submitted it and people from the region read all the submitted scripts, and the ones they like the most, they allowed to come to this festival,” Hatch said. “And what’s going to happen is they are going to have a stage reading, with actors at the festival.”
Hatch said the festival is helpful because judges will give him fresh feedback on his work regardless of the outcome.
“I get people who I don’t really know, who have professorial experience take a look at what I’ve done and give me some pointers,” Hatch said. “Maybe some new perspectives on what I need to do to help me further my career.”
Nash-Gray said the UI theatre arts department always takes the Kennedy festival seriously because the school has national respect.
“We are just hoping to make our school proud,” Nash-Gray said. “For athletes who go off and do their nationals for their competitions, it’s similar because it brings a lot of clout and respect to the university itself.”
Hatch said the festival is also a great way to see what others in the world of theater are doing around the country.
“Take workshops from people around the region and just expand your knowledge of theater,” Hatch said. “And meet people who are trying to do it too. Just like in any industry, knowing people is important. I always looked at it as an opportunity to get people to know my name.”