KU Department of Theatre & Dance announces its 2023 award and scholarship recipients

LAWRENCE — The Department of Theatre & Dance at the University of Kansas recognized 59 students for academic merit and contributions to departmental performances at its year-end awards ceremony in May.

“Scholarships make a tangible difference in students’ lives and their ability to learn and grow,” said Henry Bial, professor and chair. “In addition to helping defray the rising costs of college attendance, scholarships and awards give us the opportunity to recognize and encourage outstanding performance. We are grateful to all those who have chosen to invest in the future of theatre and dance through their gifts to our various scholarship funds.”

The Kilty Kane Award, given in recognition of outstanding contributions made to the University Theatre, was presented to Diego Rivera-Rodriguez, a Lawrence native who completed his bachelor's degree in theatre performance and film production. The Kuhlke Humanitarian Award was presented to Asher Suski, an Ames, Iowa, native who completed bachelor's degrees in theatre performance and linguistics, for humanitarian service to the department. Both awards are named for actors (Jerome Kilty and William Kuhlke, professor emeritus) credited with memorable performances as guest artists in Murphy Hall.

The Key Collaborator Award, given in recognition of outstanding contributions to the University Dance Company, was presented to its inaugural recipient, Anna Hastings, of Olathe, who completed a bachelor's degree in dance. The Elizabeth Sherbon Award, named for the retired KU professor who established the dance major at KU, was presented to an outstanding dance student. This year’s recipient was Cullen Krishna, a Bellevue, Nebraska, native and KU dance and ecology double major.

The awards and scholarships listed include financial support totaling over $200,000.

Scholarship and award recipients are as follows:

Kansas

• ShonMichael Anderson, Wichita, Charles "Buddy" Rogers Scholarship, Loren Kennedy Ambassador
• Giavonni Armstrong, Topeka, Patricia Joyce Ellis Drama Scholarship
• Katelyn Arnold, Topeka, Patricia Joyce Ellis Drama Scholarship
• McKenna Bizal, Overland Park, General Dance Scholarship
• Morgan Blanton, Wichita, General Dance Scholarship
• Elliot Bowman, Topeka, Julie Damron-Dittmer Scholarship
• Quintin Castro, Larned, Brian Ten Eyck Davis Award
• Renee Cyr, Lawrence, Donald and Betty Dixon Scholarship in Theatre, Susan Tisdall Niven Scholarship, Ethel Hinds Burch Outstanding Returning GTA Award
• Hayden Daugherty, Wathena, Gerhard Zuther Memorial Award for Dramatic Scriptwriting, Loren Kennedy Ambassador, Alexis and Craig Stevens Performing Arts Scholarship
• Johnny Dinh Phan, Overland Park, Jump Start Award
• Sofia Dunkelberger, Wichita, General Dance Scholarship
• Sydney Ebner, Shawnee, Lee Family Scholarship in Dance
• Zoe English, Mission, John David Lentz Memorial Scholarship
• Coy Garrett, Lawrence, Loren Kennedy Ambassador, Sally Six Hersh Memorial Scholarship
• Sophia Harrison, Topeka, Dance General Scholarship
• Anna Hastings, Olathe, Jump Start Award, Key Collaborator Award
• Cooper Holmes, Overland Park, New Theatre Guild: Don Knotts Scholarship
• Olivia Laycock, Wichita, Patricia Joyce Ellis Drama Scholarship
• Edmund Ludlum, Topeka, Claire Reinhold Scholarship in Theatre, Patricia Joyce Ellis Drama Scholarship
• India MacDonald, Topeka, Jack B. Wright Award
• Connor Maloney, Wichita, Friends of Theatre & Dance Reese Saricks Scholarship, Loren Kennedy Coordinator, Loren Kennedy Scholarship, Moxie Talent Agency Scholarship, Glenn Bickle Award
• Knox McClendon, Topeka, Marilyn Hunt Scharine Award, Allen Crafton Memorial Scholarship, Julie Damron-Dittmer Scholarship, Stephanie Ann Smith Memorial Scholarship
• Olly G. Mitchell, Maize, Dorothy and Benjamin Glick Scholarship, New Theatre Guild: Jackie and Curtis Stokes Scholarship
• Alexis Mullen, Wichita, Donald and Betty Dixon Scholarship in Theatre
• Jordan Nevels, Overland Park, Loren Kennedy Ambassador, New Theatre Guild: Dodie Myers Brown Scholarship, Social Activism Award, Kari Wahlgren Theatre Scholarship
• Katie Noll, Overland Park, Lee Family Scholarship in Dance, Dance General Scholarship
• Gretchen Ott, Derby, Adah Hagan Clarke Scholarship in Theatre
• Jordan Ray, Topeka, Alexis and Craig Stevens Performing Arts Scholarship, Loren Kennedy Ambassador
• Ella Rhuems, Pittsburg, Claire Reinhold Scholarship in Theatre
• Molly Richardson, Lenexa, Janet Hamburg Dance Scholarship
• Diego Rivera-Rodriguez, Lawrence, Kilty Kane Award
• Eliana Rundus, Lenexa, Juanita Strait Scholarship
• Anna Shelton, Hesston, Lee Family Scholarship in Dance, Loren Kennedy Ambassador
• Jordan Stoehr, Cheney, Margaret Bushong and Suzanne Calvin Scholarship
• Jonathan Wall, Iola, New Theatre Guild: Dennis D. Hennessy & Richard Carrothers Scholarship, Patricia Joyce Ellis Drama Scholarship
• Maya Welde, Overland Park, Dorothy and Benjamin Glick Scholarship, Margaret Bushong and Suzanne Calvin Scholarship
• Lolly Winsor, Junction City, Julie Damron-Dittmer Scholarship

Other states and countries

• Marzi Ashrafian, Iran, Susan Tisdall Niven Scholarship, Theatre General Scholarship, Graduate Studies Scholarship
• Sergio Alicea Roman, San Juan, Puerto Rico, Theatre General Scholarship, Graduate Studies Scholarship
• Sara Baird, Tulsa, Oklahoma, Ethel Hinds Burch Outstanding New GTA Award
• Sofia Bilbao Bardier, Montevideo, Uruguay, Julie Damron-Dittmer Scholarship
• Tiffani Brooks Hagan, Spartanburg., South Carolina, New Theatre Guild: William and Penny Gamm Scholarship, Susan Tisdall Niven Scholarship, Ethel Hinds Burch Outstanding New GTA Award
• Cherish Diamond, Grandview, Missouri, Patricia Joyce Ellis Drama Scholarship
• Allison FitzSimmons, Lincoln, Nebraska, Loren Kennedy Ambassador, Richard Kelton Memorial Scholarship
• Jonah Greene, Fayetteville, Arkansas, Adah Hagan Clarke Scholarship in Theatre, Donald and Betty Dixon Scholarship in Theatre
• Stephanie Hartz, Orwigsburg, Pennsylvania, Janet Hamburg Dance Scholarship
• Myles Hollie, Richmond, Virginia, Alexis and Craig Stevens Performing Arts Scholarship, Loren Kennedy Ambassador
• Alex Hunt, Farmington, Minnesota, Edna Bulkeley Dance Scholarship
• Cullen Krishna, Bellevue, Nebraska, Elizabeth Sherbon Award, Patricia Joyce Ellis Scholarship
• Taiane Lacerda, Florianopolis, Brazil, David E. Blackwell Scholarship
• Bella Lind, Solvang, California, Shirley and Tom P. Rea Memorial Award
• Webster McDonald, Jamaica, Ambrose Saricks Family Scholarship, Sally Six Hersh Memorial Scholarship, Joseph R. Roach Dissertation Research Award, Theatre General Scholarship
• Cailan Niswonger, Flower Mound, Texas, Harry B. Craig Dance Scholarship, Bernadette Robinson Scholarship
• Molly Robinson, St. Louis, Missouri, Barbara Nordling Dance Scholarship
• Sloane Smith, Littleton, Colorado, Loren Kennedy Ambassador, Betty Joe Lorbeer McMillen Ballet Scholarship
• Asher Suski, Ames, Iowa, Kuhlke Humanitarian Award
• Rory Sweedler, Louisville, Colorado, Elizabeth Sherbon Scholarship
• Farrukhbek Varisov, Tashkent, Uzbekistan, Margaret Bushong and Suzanne Calvin Scholarship, Patricia Joyce Ellis Drama Scholarship
• Lindsay Webster, Novi, Michigan, Laura Louise Pryor Award, Ethel Hinds Burch Outstanding Returning GTA Award.

The Department of Theatre & Dance is one of three departments in the School of the Arts. As part of the KU College of Liberal Arts & Sciences, the School of the Arts offers fresh possibilities for collaboration between the arts and the humanities, sciences, social sciences, international and interdisciplinary studies.