THE MARRIAGE OF BETTE AND BOO: Reno Bound!

The Marriage of Bette and Boo, a recent production of HSU's Department of Theatre, Film and Dance, has been invited to perform and compete at the regional Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival [KCACTF] competition in Reno, Nev. in February. This is the first time since 1997 that HSU has gone to the regional festival and the play is one of only four productions chosen from thirty-two entries to compete at this level for the opportunity to perform at the national festival at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington D.C. this April.

In addition to the entire 'Bette and Boo' production traveling to Reno to compete, student members of the cast, crew and design team have been selected to compete in their individual areas. Lanelle Chavez, Kyle Ryan, and Brittany Williams have been invited to compete for the Irene Ryan Award in Acting. Ali Beltramo and Genneveve Hood have been selected for their lighting and scenic design work to participate in the Barbizon Design competition. Awards of recognition of Meritorious Achievement were given to Henry Echeverria (Prop Master), Brian Pike (Stage Manager), and Gabriel Holman (Assistant Director).

KCACTF is a national theater program involving 18,000 students from colleges and universities nationwide that has served as a catalyst in improving the quality of college theater in the United States. The KCACTF has grown into a network of more than 600 academic institutions throughout the country, where theater departments and student artists showcase their work and receive outside assessment by KCACTF respondents. The United States is divided into eight regions and HSU is part of Region 7, which encompasses colleges and universities from Northern California (San Francisco, Sacramento and north), Northern Nevada, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Washington, and Alaska. Two respondents from Washington state evaluated HSU's production of 'The Marriage of Bette and Boo.

'A benefit performance will be held February 11th in JVD theatre to raise travel funds and to prepare the cast, crew, designers, and technicians to travel to Reno the week of February 14th through the 20th.

The play was written by Christopher Durang and directed by HSU Associate Professor Jody Sekas. It has been heralded as "one of the best productions ever staged on campus--or for that matter, anywhere in Humboldt County" by Beti Trauth, correspondent for the Humboldt Beacon. More information in posts below.