It’s a wrap– the 2017 eight regional festivals organized by the Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival (KCACTF), a national program organized to celebrate college theater in the United States, have officially ended. Since 1969, KCACTF has helped students develop their creative and technical skills. As a part of KCACTF’s mission, the program holds eight regional festivals annually for students offering workshops, discussions, scholarships, and award programs.
This year, we donated a professional license of Vectorworks Spotlight software to a winner of the Design, Technology, and Management category at each of these festivals. So, we’d like to take a moment to congratulate these emerging entertainment designers who took center stage for their work.
“The KCACTF awards provide us a wonderful opportunity to continue our mission of empowering and supporting young designers to fuel the future of the industry,” said Alice Lowy, marketing programs director at Vectorworks. “We admired all of the winning projects, and can’t wait to support these students as they embark on their professional careers.”

The festivals ran from January 3 to March 4, 2017. Congratulations to all the winners, listed below:
- Region 1: James McLoughlin from Southern Connecticut State University for his sound design work on “The Boyfriend.”
- Region 2: Emma Cummings from Slippery Rock University for her scenic design work on “Dark North” and “Hungry Jane.”
- Region 3: Anna Janicek, a University of Wisconsin-Parkside graduate for her lighting design of “Hedda Gabler.”
- Region 4: Bronwyn Teague from University of Southern Mississippi for her lighting design of “The Seagull.”
- Region 5: Isaac Sawle, a Minnesota State University Mankato graduate, for his technical direction of “Frankenstein 1930.”
- Region 6: Bradley Taylor from Oklahoma City University for his lighting design of “The Crucible.”
- Region 7: Stephanie Lutz, Los Medanos Community College graduate, for her lighting design of “Project Serenity” by The Drama 52 Ensemble.
- Region 8: Sabrina Michelle Reed of Scottsdale Community College for her realized scenic design of “Reeling,” and her theoretical scenic design of “Technicolor Life.”

“Computer-aided drafting is a major component of my work as a technical director. It allows me to efficiently and accurately interpret scenic designs and generate shop drawings. It also provides the advantages of rapid editing and flexibility when sharing documents,” said Sawle, winner from region five of the KCACTF. “This award will enable me to continue refining my drafting ability and style as I prepare to re-enter the professional world. It is quite exciting to be a recipient of this award.”
Learn more about how we empower students to step up to the spotlight with free educational software, our Vectorworks Design Scholarship, academic grants, and more here.