Theatre student wins Phi Kappa Phi scholarship

BATON ROUGE, LA— Melora Slotnick of Jonesboro was awarded a Study Abroad Grant worth $1,000 by The Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi. The daughter of Melina and Michael Slotnick, she is a theatre student at Columbus State University. Slotnick will travel to the United Kingdom to continue her studies and broaden her horizons.
This honor counts Slotnick among fifty students nationwide to receive the Phi Kappa Phi Study Abroad Grant. This program is designed to help support undergraduates as they seek knowledge and experience in their academic fields by studying abroad.

Founded in 1897 and headquartered in Baton Rouge, La., Phi Kappa Phi is the nation’s oldest, largest and most selective all-discipline honor society. Phi Kappa Phi inducts annually more than 30,000 students, faculty, professional staff and alumni. The Society has chapters on more than 300 select colleges and universities in North America and the Philippines. Membership is by invitation only to the top 10 percent of seniors and graduate students and 7.5 percent of juniors. Faculty, professional staff and alumni who have achieved scholarly distinction also qualify.

Theatre professor published in Dramatics magazine

In the first of two articles (January and May 2009) in Dramatics Magazine , CSU Technical Director Scott C. Parker describes the fundamental objectives of the lighting designer’s work, the designer’s process of script analysis, and the use of research to envision what the show should look like. This month, May 2010, he outlines the next steps: figuring out where to hang the lighting instruments and how to control them to achieve the effects shown in the rendering, and communicating those solutions to the stage crew who will hang the lights in the theatre.

Dramatics is the Educational Theatre Association’s magazine for theatre students and teachers. Published monthly nine times a year (September through May), the magazine contains practical articles on acting, directing, design, and other facets of theatre; profiles of working professionals that offer insights into theatre careers; new plays; book reviews; news about new productions in New York and other major theatre centers; and a monthly calendar of EdTA events.

Faculty, Students receive Scholastic Honors

College of the Arts faculty and students were recognized at the Scholastic Honors Convocation April 16. Dr. Mariko Izumi, Assistant professor of Communication, received the Faculty Service recognition for Global Connections. Kariann Fuqua, Assistant Professor of Art, was recognized for Individual Contribution to Creative Activity.

Students recognized with departmental awards include:

Outstanding BFA (in studio Art) Student of the Year Award
Cassandra H. Lagmay

Outstanding BSEd (in Art Education) Student of the Year Award
Steven M. Tette

Outstanding MEd (in Art Education) Student of the Year Award
Virginia McCullough

Communication Award
Amelia Quinn

Music Major Award
Amanda Beard

Presser Award (Music)
Emily Vold

Theatre Arts Award
Abigail Hilton

Theatre Arts Education Award
Barrett Scroggs

Theatre Arts Design/Technical Award
Shane Harrison

Theatre Arts Performance Award
Edward Zaboroskie

Theatre Student Honored in National Competition

Edward Zaboroskie, CSU senior in Theatre Performance, was one of two actors selected for the National Partners of the American Theatre Classical Acting Award. He also was selected as alternate for an internship at the Shaw Festival at Niagara-on-the-Lake, NY.

Zaboroskie and his acting partner, Ansley Selman, earlier won the Region 4 Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival Irene Ryan acting competition and traveled to Washington DC in April to compete for the national title. This is the second year in a row that CSU Theatre students have advanced to the national level in the highest collegiate acting awards in the country. Nominees select an acting partner and perform two scenes, as well as a song or a monologue.

Bassoonist recognized in international competition

Constantin Barcov, B.M. 2008, was one of five bassoonists to advance to the finals of the Fox-Gillet Competition, held at the International Double Reed Society meeting in Norman, Oklahoma, USA, June 22-26, 2010. He was recognized with an Honorable Mention for his performance of a full recital program and a concerto.

Griffith takes top student research honor at SSCA

Brandon Griffith, a communication major at Columbus State University, received the “Top Paper” award at the 80th Annual Southern States Communication Association Meeting in Memphis, Tenn. His work entitled, “Toward a better story: A paradigm for positive Communication in ‘Lord of the Rings,’ was among the 111 honors papers accepted for presentation in SSCA’s Theodore Clevenger, Jr. Undergraduate Honors Division.

CSU Professor Selected for LaGrange National Biennial

Elizabeth Roberts McFalls, Assistant Professor of Art, was selected out of 438 submissions, as an artist in the XXVI LaGrange National Biennial. The exhibit hosts works by 118 artists from 39 states. J. Richard Gruber, PH.D., Director of the Ogden Museum of Southern Art, University of NewOrleans served as the juror. The exhibits runs from 2/26-4/17, 2010. For more information: www.lagrangeartmuseum.org