Two Cal State L.A. professors will be presented awards during the Region VIII Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival (KCACTF) to take place at the Los Angeles Theatre Center Feb. 12-15.
Hundreds of college and university thespians will be in attendance at the festival. The event offers an ever expanding array of award and fellowship programs and development opportunities that recognize outstanding achievement and foster continuing growth in acting, playwriting, directing, design and technical theatre, and many other art forms.
G. Shizuko Herrera, professor of theatre, will be honored with the Golden Medallion of Excellence for her extraordinary contributions to the teaching and producing of theatre and for her dedicating her time, artistry and enthusiasm to the development of the festival.
An Arleta resident, Herrera has been involved in technical theatre for more than 30 years. She has served as a design/technical faculty member at Cal State L.A.’s Theatre Arts and Dance department since 1989. In addition to teaching stagecraft, makeup, and design, she is currently serving as associate chair of theatre and dance and the principal undergraduate adviser for theatre and dance students. She serves as the Region VIII-Circuit Three design coordinator for the festival, and is a member of the United States Institute for Theatre Technology.
Herrera has worked at a number of equity waiver and professional houses, most notably with the East West Players (EWP) at the David Henry Hwang Theatre. Her affiliation with EWP has spanned more than 20 years. She is the recipient of the Rae Creevey Community Service Award, an L.A. Ovation Award in Lighting for EWP’s production of Sweeney Todd, and a Backstage Garland Award in Lighting for EWP’s production of Pacific Overtures.
Tanya Kane-Parry, professor of theatre and dance, will be honored with the Association for Theatre in Higher Education/Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival’s Award for Innovative Instruction. The award is presented in recognition of Kane-Parry’s demonstrated ability to discover new pathways for student success in the field of theatre.
An Echo Park resident, Kane-Parry is the artistic director of the performance group, Opera del Espacio, and teaches acting, voice for actors, Viewpoints, contemporary dance, and experimental theatre at Cal State L.A.
At Cal State L.A., Kane-Parry has directed several plays and operas, as well as mentored students to develop new performance works and productions. Off campus, she has taught nationally and internationally at Roosevelt College, the Directors Lab West, The Tel Aviv Opera, as well as in Argentina, Mexico, Peru, Brazil, France and Russia.
Her professional background includes directing and choreographing numerous productions in theatre, dance and opera locally and globally. She has even worked as an assistant director at the Los Angeles Opera, Houston Grand Opera and L’Opéra National de Bordeaux.
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02/11/14