BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) Department of Theatre production of “Intimate Apparel,” by Lynn Nottage, has been chosen for the Region IV Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival (KCACTF) XXXIX, to be held Feb. 6-11, on the Georgia Southwestern State University campus in Americus, Ga. “Intimate Apparel,” acted and designed entirely by students, is one of only six shows chosen for the festival from among 60 participating entries in the 10-state region.

UAB will perform the play at the festival Thursday, Feb. 8. To prepare, the cast and crew will present the play at 2 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 3, in the Alys Stephens Center’s Sirote Theatre. The non-ticketed showing is general admission with donations accepted.

The KCACTF Regional Festival also recognizes individual student achievement. For “Intimate Apparel,” Robin Reed of Mobile is nominated for the Irene Ryan Acting Scholarship Award. Barbizon Design Award nominees are Skye Geerts of Birmingham, costume design; Jonathon Offutt of Bossier City, La., scene design; Sarah Jordan of Jacksonville, Fla., lighting design; and Dustin Cañez of Northport, audio design. Sherrie Potter of Birmingham is nominated for the stage management award.

Nominations for excellence in performance and design also were made for UAB Theatre productions of the past year. Nominees for the Irene Ryan Acting Scholarship Award are Tobie Windham of Birmingham and Stefannie Azoroh of Huntsville for “The Piano Lesson”; Luke Harlan of Birmingham for “The Praying Mantis”; Liv von Oelreich of Skåne, Sweden for “The Doctor In Spite of Himself”; and Ethan Feigel of Hattiesburg, Miss., and Valerie Wynn of Montgomery for “The Playboy of the Western World.” Offutt is nominated for the Barbizon Lighting Design Award for “The Doctor In Spite of Himself.” Harlan will participate in the KCACTF Student Director’s Project.

Winner of the 2004 New York Drama Critics Circle and the Outer Critics Circle Awards, “Intimate Apparel” is a deeply moving portrait of Esther, a middle-aged African-American seamstress who lives in a boarding house for women. Esther sews intimate apparel for clients who range from wealthy white patrons to prostitutes. The play offers poignant commentary on an era when the color of one’s dress, and of course skin, determined whom one could and could not marry, sleep with or even talk to in public.

Directing the play is Cheryl Hall, with vocal direction by Marlene Johnson. The student cast is Stefannie Azoroh of Huntsville as Esther, Alicia Vaughan of Birmingham as Mrs. Dickson, Lee Anne Mitchell of Birmingham as Mrs. Van Buren, Luke Harlan of Birmingham as Mr. Marks, Robin Reed of Mobile as Mayme and Keith Pettway of Montgomery as George. Student designers for the show are Jonathon Offutt, scene designer; Sarah Jordan, lighting and EFX designer; Skye Geerts costume designer; and Dustin Cañez, audio designer. Student Sherrie Potter is stage manager.

Through state, regional, and national festivals, KCACTF participants celebrate the creative process, see each other’s work and share experiences and insights within the community of theater artists. The KCACTF honors excellence of overall production and offers student artists individual recognition through awards and scholarships in playwriting, acting, criticism, directing and design.

Each year, regional festivals showcase the finest of each region’s entered productions and offer a variety of activities, including workshops, symposia and regional-level award programs. A panel of three judges selected by the Kennedy Center and the KCACTF national committee judge regional festival productions. These judges in consultation with the artistic director select four to six of the best and most diverse regional festival productions to be showcased in the spring at the annual noncompetitive national festival at the Kennedy Center, all expenses paid.

Since its inception, KCACTF has given more than 400,000 college theater students the opportunity to have their work critiqued, improve their dramatic skills and receive national recognition for excellence. More than 16 million theatergoers have attended approximately 10,000 festival productions nationwide.

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