SU Theatre Students Named Among Best at Kennedy Center Festival

SALISBURY, MD---Salisbury University theatre students recently were named among the best in the mid-Atlantic during the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Region II Festival at Indiana University of Pennsylvania.

Senior Ryan Bailey of Clarksville, MD, won the Region II Excellence in Lighting Award for his design for SU’s fall Bobbi Biron Theatre Program production of Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

Sophomore Jeremiah Copeland of Delmar, DE, was a runner-up in the festival’s Irene Ryan Acting Scholarship competition, earning a $500 award. (He performed with scene partner Patrick Gover.) Copeland also earned a Voice and Speech Trainers Association Vocal Excellence Award.

Junior Alli Payne of Rehoboth Beach, DE, also vied in the scholarship competition. (She performed with scene partner Caroline Lewis.) Payne and Copeland were two of only 32 semifinalists selected from some 200 entrants. Copeland was one of 16 semifinalists.

Both were nominated for the competition for their performances in A Midsummer Night’s Dream at SU. In that production, Copeland portrayed Nick Bottom, while Payne played Hippolyta and Oberon.

Freshman Georgia Fried of Rhodesdale, MD, was selected as the Region II national finalist in costume design for her work on SU’s fall production of Branden Jacobs-Jenkins’ Appropriate.

She is one of eight costume design students throughout the U.S. to be invited to exhibit her work at the national Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival in Washington, D.C., this April. The award also qualifies her for consideration for scholarships, internships and other professional opportunities.

In all, several hundred campuses were represented at the festival, which included schools from Maryland; Delaware; Washington, D.C.; New Jersey; New York; Pennsylvania; Ohio; and West Virginia. Dr. Matt Saltzberg, assistant professor of theatre, accompanied the SU students to the event.

For more information call 410-543-6030 or visit the SU website at www.salisbury.edu.