IOWA, KANSAS, MINNESOTA, MISSOURI, NEBRASKA, NORTH DAKOTA, SOUTH DAKOTA
KCACTF STANDS IN SOLIDARITY AND SUPPORT OF OUR BLACK STUDENTS, FACULTY, ARTISTS, AND CITIZENS
We pledge our resources to do our part to aid in the effort to dismantle institutional racism and
the inequities that have contributed to the divide that exists in our country. We believe the call
for action is critical at this time.
In August of 2019, KCACTF implemented the RED (Representation, Equity, Diversity Initiative
with a National RED Chair office and Regional RED chairs in all of our eight KCACTF regions.
The RED Chairs are at this moment at work to create an action plan for our organization. We are
committed to being part of the change. Look for additional information coming from our RED
leaders in the next few weeks.
We envision a world where the arts can offer healing, understanding, empathy, but above all can
tell all of our stories. KCACTF is determined to create safe and equitable spaces where every
person's story is heard and honored!
We are listening. We invite our theatre faculty, staff, and students across the nation to join us in
the anti-racist work of interrogating ourselves, our institutions, and systems in order to secure
justice for all.
National Committee of KCACTF
National Office of KCACTF
Learn More Here
the inequities that have contributed to the divide that exists in our country. We believe the call
for action is critical at this time.
In August of 2019, KCACTF implemented the RED (Representation, Equity, Diversity Initiative
with a National RED Chair office and Regional RED chairs in all of our eight KCACTF regions.
The RED Chairs are at this moment at work to create an action plan for our organization. We are
committed to being part of the change. Look for additional information coming from our RED
leaders in the next few weeks.
We envision a world where the arts can offer healing, understanding, empathy, but above all can
tell all of our stories. KCACTF is determined to create safe and equitable spaces where every
person's story is heard and honored!
We are listening. We invite our theatre faculty, staff, and students across the nation to join us in
the anti-racist work of interrogating ourselves, our institutions, and systems in order to secure
justice for all.
National Committee of KCACTF
National Office of KCACTF
Learn More Here
COVID-19 Statement
Dear KCACTF Community,
The National Committee of KCACTF recognizes that we are all finding it difficult to make definitive plans. Questions about safety and community abound. Decisions about the fall from our campus leaders vary and many of us are being told to prepare for a variety of possibilities. With production status in flux, we wonder how KCACTF can continue to be a robust part of your programs. Your national and regional leadership teams have been meeting regularly to discuss the safest and most rewarding ways to move forward in light of the COVID-19 crisis.
In these moments, it is helpful to revisit the mission and goals of our organization:
The Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival (KCACTF) is a national organization that exists to celebrate the educational and creative process of university and college theatre. KCACTF promotes professional standards and provides students and faculty with opportunities to bridge the academic and professional worlds. KCACTF honors achievements in diversity and excellence and encourages experiences in all areas of theatre.
The goals of KCACTF are:
These are our guiding principles in every discussion. It is our belief that new and innovative theatre forms will emerge from our current situation. Theatre will endure. By responding to the call to reimagine what theatre can be, we can make some choices that are proactive rather than reactive. KCACTF will retain its mission and goals while boldly visioning a response to our current circumstances.
Therefore, the KCACTF National Committee has made the following decisions:
We realize that this crisis continues to impact us all, some more than others, and we grieve the loss of life and in-person time with our students. We know that you have been stretched to provide the best experiences possible for your students with little time to prepare or conceive new methods of delivery. We see you, and we want to be a support and a source of hope. We are here to say that CREATIVITY is not cancelled! Let’s not restrict our imaginations with a structure that doesn’t fit our current situation. KCACTF is committed to being your partner through this time. We look forward to supporting and celebrating the new theatre emerging from you and all of your students.
Be safe, be well, and let your creativity soar,
KCACTF National Committee
National Office of KCACTF
The National Committee of KCACTF recognizes that we are all finding it difficult to make definitive plans. Questions about safety and community abound. Decisions about the fall from our campus leaders vary and many of us are being told to prepare for a variety of possibilities. With production status in flux, we wonder how KCACTF can continue to be a robust part of your programs. Your national and regional leadership teams have been meeting regularly to discuss the safest and most rewarding ways to move forward in light of the COVID-19 crisis.
In these moments, it is helpful to revisit the mission and goals of our organization:
The Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival (KCACTF) is a national organization that exists to celebrate the educational and creative process of university and college theatre. KCACTF promotes professional standards and provides students and faculty with opportunities to bridge the academic and professional worlds. KCACTF honors achievements in diversity and excellence and encourages experiences in all areas of theatre.
The goals of KCACTF are:
- To encourage, recognize and celebrate the finest and most diverse work produced in university and college theatre programs;
- To provide opportunities for participants to develop their theater skills and insights;
- To improve the quality of college and university theater in America.
These are our guiding principles in every discussion. It is our belief that new and innovative theatre forms will emerge from our current situation. Theatre will endure. By responding to the call to reimagine what theatre can be, we can make some choices that are proactive rather than reactive. KCACTF will retain its mission and goals while boldly visioning a response to our current circumstances.
Therefore, the KCACTF National Committee has made the following decisions:
- We will continue to uphold the mission and goals of KCACTF by celebrating and fostering the finest student work.
- There will be no in-person regional festivals in 2021. Each region is exploring alternative ways to celebrate and engage our students, faculty, and staff. We will invite our student leaders to be an important voice in our next steps.
- In-person production responses are suspended for the remainder of 2020, however we support and encourage alternate ideas for remote responses. These details are being discussed.
- We will waive all production entry fees for the fall of 2020. Schools that have already submitted payment from spring 2020 entries that did not have a response due to cancelling or postponing of the production may either count those fees toward a future production, donate the payment, or request a refund by contacting the Regional Chair.
We realize that this crisis continues to impact us all, some more than others, and we grieve the loss of life and in-person time with our students. We know that you have been stretched to provide the best experiences possible for your students with little time to prepare or conceive new methods of delivery. We see you, and we want to be a support and a source of hope. We are here to say that CREATIVITY is not cancelled! Let’s not restrict our imaginations with a structure that doesn’t fit our current situation. KCACTF is committed to being your partner through this time. We look forward to supporting and celebrating the new theatre emerging from you and all of your students.
Be safe, be well, and let your creativity soar,
KCACTF National Committee
National Office of KCACTF
Welcome to The Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival
Region 5!
As Chair of our great Region, it is my pleasure to welcome you to an organization that has shaped many lives in its rich, 50-year history. Region 5 is literally in the heart of KCACTF and we cannot be more proud of the art and the people that happen in the middle of the country! Whether you are new to us or an old pro I encourage you to click on the “About” tab and do some browsing. There you will find the mission of KCACTF as well as the goals and description of your current leadership team and the national handbook. Please - get to know us! Many of us have had life-changing experiences with KCACTF as students and we are now continuing this rich tradition as volunteers with the organization. There is a little something for everyone, so please explore our website and, as always, if there are any questions, please don’t hesitate to ask!
W. James Wood
South Dakota State University
Region 5 Chair
Region 5!
As Chair of our great Region, it is my pleasure to welcome you to an organization that has shaped many lives in its rich, 50-year history. Region 5 is literally in the heart of KCACTF and we cannot be more proud of the art and the people that happen in the middle of the country! Whether you are new to us or an old pro I encourage you to click on the “About” tab and do some browsing. There you will find the mission of KCACTF as well as the goals and description of your current leadership team and the national handbook. Please - get to know us! Many of us have had life-changing experiences with KCACTF as students and we are now continuing this rich tradition as volunteers with the organization. There is a little something for everyone, so please explore our website and, as always, if there are any questions, please don’t hesitate to ask!
W. James Wood
South Dakota State University
Region 5 Chair
The Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival Diversity and Inclusion Statement
The Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival affirms its commitment to policies and practices of promoting inclusion and diversity in its leadership, both regional and national, as well as in its programming. We pledge to nurture talent in all areas of the theater based solely on merit and achievement. We encourage production respondents to avoid discriminatory comments and embrace the variety of artistic choices generated by the diversity of perspective that exists on college campuses across the country. We promote collegial exploration of new ideas, supported by a clear understanding of long-held artistic practices, fully respecting the communicated intentions of the playwright. We encourage discourse that effects positive change in the ways that under-represented groups are portrayed onstage, and we oppose acts of cultural appropriation and character depictions that deepen existing cultural divides. We embrace the idea that diversity in experience and perspective makes our organization stronger and more relevant and is therefore essential to our educational mission of training the future artistic leadership in American theater.
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