Theatre major to compete at KCACTF

Shelby Vander Molen, a Northwestern College senior majoring in theatre and writing from Pella, Iowa, will travel to Washington, D.C., to compete in the O’Neill Critics Institute at the national Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival (KCACTF) April 15–20.

Vander Molen was selected to advance to the national festival after competing in the Region 5 KCACTF. Her competitors will be graduate or undergraduate winners from KCACTF’s other seven regions.

While in the nation’s capital, Vander Molen will attend KCACTF workshops and plays, writing responses to the plays under the mentorship of theatre critics such as Bob Mondello from NPR. One of the eight participants will be awarded a scholarship to attend this summer’s Eugene O’Neill Theatre Center Critics Institute to study with leading professional newspaper and magazine critics from across the U.S.

Also a playwright, Vander Molen wrote “Some Five Women,” which was selected for performance at the Region 5 KCACTF. She is the fifth Northwestern theatre major to advance to the national KCACTF. Previously, students competed in the areas of acting, costume design, lighting design and stage management.