Several cast members from last fall’s campus production of Decision Height: Sarah Peterson ’16, Yasmeen LaTore ’16, Madeleine Buttitta ’15, and Emma Sperka ’12.

Hollins Theatre, Playwright’s Lab rack up Kennedy Center honors

In March, the Hollins Theatre production of Natasha Trethewey’s (M.A. ’91) Bellocq’s Ophelia was awarded four high national honors by the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival: “Distinguished Production of a New Work, “Distinguished Performance and Production Ensemble,” “Distinguished Scenic Design,” and “Distinguished Choreography,” the last by Lexi Martin Mondot ’12.

In addition, Meredith Levy ’12 (now a student in Hollins’ M.F.A. program, Playwright’s Lab) received the high honor of the National Partners of the American Theatre Playwriting Award and the regional David Shelton Award for her original script, Decision Height. Kevin Ferguson, also a student in the Playwright’s Lab, was named a national finalist for the John Cauble Award for Outstanding Short Play for his work, Losing Sight.

The awards were presented in April at the national Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival in Washington, D.C. The annual event recognizes outstanding theatrical work by colleges and universities from eight regions throughout the country.

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Chanice Holmes, a sophomore in Visiting Assistant Director of Dance He Jin Jang’s Movement III class, dances inside the huge installation Deep Six (crimson), by artist Liz Miller, in the Eleanor D. Wilson Museum. Museum Director Amy Moorefield and Jang collaborated to bring the class to the museum in February. Students danced in all three galleries, devising movements appropriate to each exhibition.

Visit www.youtube.com/hollins to see the dancers in action.

Milestones

This year we celebrate the anniversaries of four signature programs. The January Short Term, which offers students the option of internships, classes, or travel/study excursions, began 45 years ago; the Jamaica Service Project marks 25 years of making a difference in the lives of the citizens of Lucea; and the Hollins Critic celebrates 50 years of publishing literary essays, book reviews, and poetry. The Nancy Thorp Poetry Contest also celebrates its 50th anniversary. Read more about the contest in A Responsive Ode to Nancy Thorp.

Associate Professor of Classical Studies Tina Salowey and students outside the Aphaia Temple on the island of Aegina during the J-term 2013 trip to Greece.

Darla Lindsey ’15 participated in this spring’s Jamaica Service Project, volunteering in Lucea Primary School. All alumnae, regardless of class year, are invited to celebrate the Jamaica Service Project’s 25th anniversary at a reception on June 1, 2013.

Go to www.youtube.com/hollins to see the 2013 Short Term videos.

Johnna Henry ’15, an art history major, spent January at the Southeastern Center for Contemporary Art in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, in an internship sponsored by Judy Lambeth ’73.
Photo: Olivia Body ’08

Communication studies major Kristina Akers ’13, editor of The Hollins Columns, spent J-Term at The Roanoke Times in an internship sponsored by Erica Myatt ’97, M.A. ’98.
Photo: Olivia Body ’08

Marissa Shelton ’14 gets friendly with a serpent during the Snakes, Science, Superstition, and Society Short Term class taught by Associate Professor of Psychology Bonnie Bowers.

Courtney Chenette ’09 (right), a lawyer with Newman Ferrara LLP in New York City, sponsored Emily Wood ’13, a double major in international studies and gender and women’s studies.

Trudy Stevens ’14 in the Short Term Installation class taught by Assistant Professor of Art Jennifer Anderson.
Photo: Olivia Body ’08