LyaNisha Gonzalez’s play “Black Girl, Interrupted” received first runner-up for the Kennedy Center’s Paula Vogel Playwriting Award.

Four students from Texas Tech University's School of Theatre & Dance, housed within the J.T. & Margaret Talkington College of Visual and Performing Arts, will travel to Washington, D.C. in April to participate with students from around the nation in the Kennedy Center's American College Theatre Festival (KCACTF).

Each year, students from universities in Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, New Mexico and Texas share their talents in acting, design, directing, playwriting, musical theatre, devised theatre, dramaturgy, journalism/advocacy, and arts leadership at the KCACTF Region VI festival. Winners from each region advance to the national festival in Washington, D.C.

This year, four students from the School of Theatre and Dance, the most in recent memory, will head to the Kennedy Center to represent Texas Tech. Mark Charney, director of the School of Theatre and Dance, who holds national offices in criticism and dramaturgy remarks, "This represents an extraordinary accomplishment. Rarely do you find one school that excels in so many disparate areas. It speaks to the strength of our program and mentors."

Graduate students Dori Bosnyak and Jacob Henry will participate in arts administration and sound design, respectively; and undergraduate student Luke Weber will participate in the Musical Theatre Initiative.

"Black Girl, Interrupted," a new play by doctoral student LyaNisha Gonzalez, was selected as the national runner-up for the Kennedy Center's Paula Vogel Playwriting Award. In addition to attending the national festival, LyaNisha receives membership in the Dramatists Guild and the Playwrights' Center of Minneapolis.

In addition to these award-winners, several other students were recognized at the Region VI Festival and will venture around the nation to advance their studies. Graduate student Bill West-Davis will travel to the Stagecraft Institute in Las Vegas for a one-week masterclass for his work in technology and design. He is also the recipient of the National Partners in American Theatre Award, as is visiting assistant professor Ross Fleming who won the Mentor Award. Doctoral student Eric Eidson received the ATHE Prize for Innovative Teaching and will travel to the Association for Theatre in Higher Education conference in Orlando, Florida.

The School of Theatre and Dance was also recognized for excellence in the Devised Theatre Initiative (Cory Lawson, Christie Connolly, Eric Eidson, Paul Kortemeier, Lydia McBee Reed, Terall Miller, Steven Weatherbee, Alex Webster, Leah White); Excellence in Collaboration and Design for the production of "Elephant's Graveyard" (Bill West-Davis, Ian Olsen, Emilia Richardson); participation in the Tech Olympics (Ross Fleming, Mallory Prucha, Darin Moody, Jared Roberts, Bill West-Davis, Jacob Henry, Ian Olsen, Kelly Murphey); and Musical Theatre Scholarships for two students in our musical theatre program (Daniel DiPinto, Luke Weber).