Kit Prelewitz of Henrietta among students from the Nazareth College Theatre and Dance Department who placed in the 2015 American College Theater Festival competition

2015 Jan 26

Each year the Nazareth College Theare and Dance Department participates in the American College Theater Festival, a nationwide program sponsored by the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. The Festival is divided into eight separate geographical regions throughout the country, and Nazareth College is in Region 2, which encompasses the mid, west and southwest parts of New York, as well as Ohio, West Virginia, the northern part of Virginia, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, and Washington D.C. This year's Region 2 Festival was held in Cleveland, Ohio January 2-6, 2015, and Nazareth entered 15 students into the competition.

The centerpieces of this annual event are the Irene Ryan Acting Scholarship Auditions, commonly known as the IRs, and the Musical Theater Initiative competition, or MTI. Thirteen Nazareth College students -- eight nominees and five partners -- participated in the IRs. Nazareth Senior Hannah Karpenko and her partner, Junior Gerald Owen, made the third and final round of the competition, placing them among the top 16 of 228 pairs of contestants; and at the closing ceremonies Gerald was awarded the Festival's Best Partner Certificate, recognizing him as the strongest partner for an IR nominee in the entire field of competitors.

In the MTI, 61 competitors, including 10 Nazareth College students, vied for spots in the final round of 16, and five of the final 16 were Nazareth college students: seniors Tess DeFlyer, Hannah Karpenko (winner of the 2014 MTI competition), and Katie Sweeney; junior Seth Hatch; and sophomore Kit Prelewitz.

Faculty members Corinne Aquilina and Matthew Ames accompanied the students.

All Nazareth College Theater and Dance Department students who participated in the festival perform their work on Monday, January 26 at 6 p.m. in the Masters Family Community Theater (room A13), located in the lower level of the Nazareth College Arts Center. This event is free and open to the public.