Musical Theatre Honors & Awards
2015-2016:
School of Performing Arts Director, Linda Starkey was awarded the Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival GOLD MEDALLION in January 2016. Akin to a lifetime achievement award, it is the organization's most prestigious award and a great honor in theater education.
"Smokey Joe's Café", a musical revue featuring the songs of legendary hit makers Mike Stoller and Jerry Leiber, plays homage to some of the most powerful and recognizable early icons of rock and roll such as The Drifters, The Coasters, Dion of Dion and the Belmonts, and of course, Elvis Presley. Performed at WSU in September 2015, it was one of six productions chosen from a seven state region to perform at the Regional Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival (KCACTF) in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Regional Kennedy Center Awards:
- Da'Merius Ford - the Open Jar Institute's National Music Theatre Scholarship for their Broadway Actor Intensive in NYC.
- Deiondre Teagle - Best Irene Ryan Partner in the Semi-Final Round.
National Kennedy Center Awards:
- "Smokey Joe's Café" - Distinguished Production of a Musical
- Keshana Yvette Cook - Distinguished Performance by an Actress in a Musical
- Da'Merius Ford - Distinguished Performance by an Actor in a Musical
- Marlo Griffith - Distinguished Achievement in Sound Design and Engineering
- Madi White - Distinguished Performance by an Actress in a Musical
- Associate Professor Amy Baker Schwiethale - Distinguished Director of a Musical and Distinguished Choreography/Movement Direction
- Assistant Professor Cate Wieck - Distinguished Costume Design