CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – Three students from the theatre program at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi received national recognition at the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival (KCACTF) held Monday, April 14, through Sunday, April 20, in Washington, D.C.

The annual competition involves 18,000 students from more than 600 colleges and universities throughout the nation, where theatre departments and student artists showcase their work.

The A&M-Corpus Christi award winners were:
Marshall Carby, senior theatre major – Carby took top honors in the directing category, winning the Society of Stage Directors and Choreographers Student Directing Fellowship. At the national festival, Carby was one of eight student directors required to present a directorial concept for William Shakespeare’s “Macbeth” and direct a staged reading of a new 10-minute play. As the winner of the student directing contest, Carby will receive a $1,000 grant and a full tuition waiver to the two-week Kennedy Center Summer Intensive Workshop on Collaborative Process led by world-renowned designer Ming Cho Lee.

Francesca Eaddy, senior theatre major – Eaddy, acting partner to senior theatre major Daniel Mirsky, received special recognition in the Irene Ryan Scholarship Competition. For her performance of scenes from Shakespeare’s “Richard III” and Frederick Stroppel’s “The Itch,” Eaddy was awarded the prestigious Sundance Theatre Lab Acting Fellowship, a three-week workshop, which offers professional playwrights and directors the time, space and support to develop new plays. In July she will perform in the acting ensemble at the Sundance Theatre Laboratory held in Utah.

Daniel Mirsky, senior theater major – Mirsky received a special commendation from the KCACTF 2008 National Selection Team recognizing his achievement at the regional festival in Huntsville, Texas. This award acknowledged excellence in acting for Mirsky’s performance of Aleister Crowley in the University production of “Anima Mundi” by Don Nigro.