EUGENE–Two dozen University of Oregon theater students returned with several awards from the recent Kennedy Center/American College Theatre Festival Region VII Conference held in conjunction with the Northwest Drama Conference in Anchorage, Alaska.

Rowan Morrison, who acted in last spring’s University Theatre production of "The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby," captured a spot in the prestigious Irene Ryan Acting Finals at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., in April.

In addition, Morrison, a senior theater arts major from Eugene, was again named Best Classical Actor in the six-state competition, an award he won last year as well.

The University of Alaska, Anchorage, hosted the annual conference and competition during the week of Feb. 12. University faculty and students from Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Washington and Wyoming participated in the event which ended with rave reviews for a performance by Absolute Improv, the university’s improvisational comedy troupe.

Most of the UO students were competing in the Irene Ryan Acting Competition for scholarships and a chance to represent the Northwest at the national competition this spring in Washington, D.C. A regional judge had nominated each competitor from one of the Robinson Theatre plays of the past year.

The UO students nominated for the Ryan competition included:

• From "Top Girls," Bekki Barnhart, a senior theater arts major from Portland, and Minnie Goode, a senior theater arts from Tualatin, and their partners Rich Brown, a doctoral degree student in theater arts from Lenox, Iowa, and Tyler Boeh, a junior mathematics major from Portland.

• From last spring’s production of "The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby," Quinn Mattfeld, a junior theater arts major from Camas, Wash.; Rowan Morrison; Kathryn Reese, a junior theater arts major from Cottage Grove; Yasmin Ravard, a sophomore theater arts major from Lake Oswego; and Curtis Williams, a senior theater arts major from Gresham, and their partners Rachel Aanestad, a Community Education Program student from Ketchum, Idaho; Deb Greer, a doctoral degree student in theater arts from Riverside, Calif.; Darlene Dadras, a junior theater arts and Romance languages major from Milwaukie; Lauren Armstrong, a junior theater arts major from Portland; and Sam Super, a junior theater arts major from Clackamas.

• From "She Stoops to Conquer" earlier this season, Kim Bates, a sophomore theater arts major from Eugene, and Brian Henderson, a senior philosophy major from Sacramento, Calif., and their partners Kirsten Schmieding, a senior psychology and theater arts major from Eugene, and Amanda Dumler, a junior advertising major from Beaverton.

• From the original plays that made up "New Voices" in the Robinson Theatre Second Season this year, Eli Levine, a freshman undeclared major from Portland, and Mitra Anoushiravani, a senior theater arts and political science major from Milwaukie, and their partners Ian Hanley, a junior theater arts major from Portland, and Amanda Dumler.

Others attending the conference included Wayne Bund, a sophomore theater arts major from Boring; Kim Harmon, a senior theater arts major from Newbury Park, Calif.; and Steen Mitchell, a master’s degree student in theater arts from Eugene.

From the first round of the Irene Ryan competition, which included almost 150 entries, Morrison and partner Greer, Ravard and partner Armstrong, and Reese and partner Dadras advanced to the semifinal round of 32.

Morrison and Reese then moved into the final round of 16 from which Morrison emerged as one of two nominees to represent the Northwest at the Kennedy Center in April.

Student writers from the University of Oregon also did very well.

Don LaPlant, a doctoral degree student in theater arts from Springfield, won the best scholarly paper award for graduate students with his paper entitled "The Domination of Pentheus." Greg Thorsen, a senior theater arts major from Medford, won the same award for undergraduates with a paper titled "The Hybrid id is the Truth."

Harmon received an honorable mention for the Critic’s Workshop.

Bund, Dadras and Reese were among 10 playwrights selected from 68 entries to present their plays in the 10-minute play contest, with Reese taking second place. In addition, Brown was selected as Best Director of a 10-minute play and will go to Washington, D.C., to direct one of the national finalists in the 10-minute play competition.

In the ACTF design competition, Mitchell was second in the Scene Design category for her designs for the University Theatre production of "She Stoops to Conquer."

Robert Barton, a UO theater arts professor since 1980, received a Northwest Drama Conference Teaching Recognition Award. The award goes to those who have "taught, promoted and sustained the theatre arts in higher education" for at least 25 years. Barton previously taught at the University of Maryland and Bowling Green State University.

In addition, Jack Watson, associate professor and theater arts department head, completed his three-year term as president of Kennedy Center/American College Theatre Festival Region VII Conference. Next year’s conference will be held at Western Washington University in Bellingham.

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