The Mesa Community College Theatre Arts and Film Department has again earned numerous awards of outstanding achievement at the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival (KCACTF), Region VIII, which was held at Los Angeles Theatre Center in California, February 7-12, 2011.

Numerous MCC student actors and designers were recognized for theatre excellence against stiff, head-to-head competition from 55 schools from Arizona, California, Nevada, Utah, Hawaii, and American Samoa. 40 schools in the competition were four-year universities, many of which entered graduate student actors and designers, and 15 were two-year institutions.

The theatre design competition, comprised of set, costume, sound, light and props design, began with over 100 entries from universities and colleges from California, Utah, Nevada, Hawaii and Arizona.  Out of the 21 design student chosen to move on to the final round, MCC attained seven entries, fully one-third to receive this honor. The seven finalists are: Aaron Dilley and Jesse Kinser for scenery, Tanner Crawford for lighting and sound, Travis Williams for make-up, Tammy Gilbert for technical direction and Tira Pool for property design with props winning first place for that category.

The Irene Ryan acting competition had over 280 entries, three being from MCC. Kristi Quiroz made it from round one to the semifinals, making her one of the top 30 performers. Both Kristi and Katie Augustyn (supporting actor) received a special acknowledgement of their talents.

In the category of Critic, MCC can say that they have the second most critical mind in five states! Devin Shawver, an MCC sophomore, was the Regional winner. First place went to a graduate student who is working as a professional critic for the Santa Barbara Independent.

Phillip Chandler was singled out as the most promising stage manager by the festival adjudicators in the category of stage management, and he participated as a stage manager for one of the festival productions from another school.

All actors received callbacks at the Next Step Auditions and multiple designers received job offers and much positive feedback on their work.

The faculty was also singled out for recognition. Kara Thomson, MCC Theatre Design Faculty, received the Award for Excellence in Theatre Education for her success at producing exceptional undergraduate design students from MCC.