FTC Theatre Division Gets to the Finals @
The Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival!

(L. to r. Bermudez, Padavan, Belo, McKeon, Zinn, Lin)

This year, for the 50th anniversary Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival, seven current Five Towns College students, and one recent alumnus participated in both the Irene Ryan Acting Award and the Richard Maltby Jr. Musical Theatre scholarship competitions. This is a recognized and esteemed college level theatre event that many students look forward to year after year.

FTC students Tyler Belo (junior), Ashley Bermudez (junior), Dylan Bivings (senior), Giancarlo Estrada (junior), Stephanie Lim (senior), Ryan McKeon (junior), Christian Padavan (freshman), Renee Shubert (recent grad), and Julia Zinn (junior) spent a week at Western Connecticut State University performing material that they had prepared with faculty mentor Ronald Land during the month of January.

FOUR students made it to the finals of the Musical Theater competition. They were Mr. Belo, Ms. Bermudez, Mr. McKeon and Ms. Zinn. This was an awesome accomplishment for them! Tyler Belo was the only student at the festival to place in the finals of the Ryan and Maltby competitions, garnering first runner-up in the Ryan Acting Award (a $500 award), and 2nd runner-up in the Maltby Award. FTC is very proud of him and the other students, too.

Professor Land was a workshop presenter at the Festival, providing a vocal technique Master Class for musical theatre students. The Five Towns College Theatre Division looks forward to our students and faculty participating in the festival again next year.

To learn more about the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival (KCACTF), go to www.kcactf.org.