GCC Theatre Arts Department Earns Awards at Festival

Glendale Community College Theatre Arts Professor Jeanette Farr-Harkins was awarded the prestigious Kennedy Center Gold Medallion for Region VIII during the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival (KCACTF) last month in downtown Los Angeles.

Each year, the eight KCACTF regions honor individuals or organizations that have made extraordinary contributions to the teaching and producing of theatre and those who have significantly dedicated their time, artistry and enthusiasm to the development of the Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival. Region VIII includes colleges and universities in California, Arizona, Nevada, Utah and Hawaii.

Farr-Harkins was recognized for demonstrating a strong commitment to the values and goals of KCACTF and to excellence in educational theatre. Associate Professor and Co-Chair of the Theatre Arts Department, Farr-Harkins has taught at GCC since 2006, giving students rare opportunities by offering an Introduction to Playwriting course, as well as directing new plays in addition to established work.

“Working with living playwrights in our classrooms means that our students have access to these writers and they can ask questions they might only be able to guess with non-living writers. This not only gives an added respect for the collaborative art, but also, connects them to the possibilities of a network of artists.” Farr-Harkins said. Farr-Harkins is a playwright herself and a member of the Playwrights Union, Los Angeles, and of the Playwrights’ Panel with Antaeus Playwright’s Lab in Glendale.

Farr-Harkins has taught students in theatre arts who have excelled with the KCACTF organization, including two who have received regional and national recognition since the playwriting class has been implemented.

Wendy Ewan, who returned to GCC to pursue a theatre degree in preparation for her admission to Lesley University, is a regional finalist in both the ten-minute and one-act play categories in 2019 with her plays, Intervention and Mindgames. At a previous KCACTF, Ewan’s ten-minute play, developed as a part of Farr-Harkins’ Introduction to Playwriting class, advanced as one of four national finalists. The Kennedy Center provided Ewan with the opportunity to participate in workshops, master classes, and networking with Washington D.C. theatres. Ewan has worked with many students at GCC as an inspiration for her start-up theatre company, Scribe Stages, dedicated to developing and producing new works.

Also receiving accolades this year, theatre major Peter Von Sholly, who has previously earned KCACTF acting nominations, has received an accolade this year by advancing to the national finals in playwriting. Out of approximately 800 plays from colleges and universities around the United States, Von Sholly’s 10-minute play Whale will be presented in a staged reading at the National Festival at the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C. in mid-April.

“As with any instructor who sees how hard their students work,” Farr says, “I am over the moon and proud to see Peter receive this honor and participate in the opportunity.” Farr-Harkins describes the play as a “surreal examination at current events.” It involves a family who notices a large figure in the sky that looks to be a whale. Some are fascinated, while others ignore it and go about their daily business. There is no denying that whatever it is (and it is never answered in the play) is big.

For information on the GCC Theatre Arts Department go to www.glendale.edu/theatre