Blinn Theatre Earns Kennedy Center Accolades for Acting, Stage Management and Lighting Design

The Blinn College – Bryan campus Theatre Program made a splash with its recent performance of “Antigone” in its Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival debut. Braden Baumbach (Katy) and Julie Cook (Buffalo) were each nominated for Irene Ryan Acting Awards, and Rebekah Reaves (Wylie) and Amber Parker (College Station) were nominated for Meritorious Achievement Awards. Baumbach played the old man/chorus and Cook played Antigone. Reaves was recognized for stage management while Parker was honored for lighting design. Blinn produced “Antigone” Oct. 16-18, drawing approximately 550 students and community patrons over three performances. The Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival (KCACTF) is a national theatre program involving 18,000 students from colleges and universities nationwide that has served as a catalyst in improving the quality of college theatre in the United States. KCACTF has grown into a network of more than 600 academic institutions throughout the country, where theatre departments and student artists showcase their work and receive outside assessment by KCACTF respondents. Irene Ryan Acting Nominations provide recognition and honor to outstanding student performers wishing to further their theater education.  Meritorious Achievement Awards are for students who go beyond and above in the collaborative process. More than 4,000 students are enrolled in Blinn’s Division of Visual & Performing Arts, which offers programs in architecture, arts, communication studies, music and theatre.  Registration is currently open for Blinn’s Winter minimester and Spring semester. The Winter minimester runs Dec. 19-23 and Jan. 5-15, and registration is available through Dec. 18. Registration for the 16-week Spring semester is open through Jan. 19, with classes beginning Dec. 20. For enrollment information and to learn about financial aid opportunities, visit: www.blinn.edu.