Several M.F.A. students in the Hollins University Playwright’s Lab were honored at The Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival (KCACTF) Region IV Festival on February 4-8, 2025, at the University of North Carolina Greensboro. Over the past decade, the Playwright’s Lab has received numerous KCACTF accolades for plays written by Hollins students and for productions mounted by the Hollins theatre department.

James Harvey Stone is a finalist in the 10-minute play category for his play We Meet at Ralph’s, one of six 10-minute plays invited to the 2024 regional festival and under consideration for a national nomination. Stone, the 2024 KCACTF Region IV David Shelton Award winner, had a full production of his play The Greenhouse presented at the 2025 regional festival, mounted in collaboration with William & Mary’s theatre department.

Alex Voeller was a runner-up for the 2025 David L. Shelton award for a full-length play. Stephanie Goldman received meritorious achievement in playwriting for The Caregiver.

Ben Abbott and Veatch are the two regional festival nominees in national consideration for the John L. Cauble Award for Excellence in One-Act Playwriting, following the regional festival’s one-act play competition. Each of the three one-act plays invited to this year’s regional KCACTF were by Hollins playwrights, the second time in festival history that all three one-act plays were written by Hollins playwrights: Abbott for Nuptial Mass; Goldman for The Caregiver; and Veatch for Twenty-Something Teenager.

“The best measure of the success of our program is the success of our students,” says Todd Ristau, director of the Hollins Playwright’s Lab and a multiple winner of the national Kennedy Center Gold Medallion, one of the most prestigious awards in theater education.

“KCACTF’s recognition has been a tangible way to demonstrate student success in a broad range of categories, which gives students the confidence to continue to pursue their dreams. As a direct result of our participation in KCACTF, many of our students have gained a national reputation along with additional professional opportunities such as productions and publications.”