HAVERHILL — The Northern Essex Community College Theater production of “Hurricane Diane,” featuring Newbury resident Gwynnete Glickman, just won nine national awards from the Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival.
Honors include: The Citizen’s Award; Outstanding Achievement in Performance: Mirrorajah Metcalfe of Haverhill; Distinguished Achievement in Dramaturgy: Jessica Newey of Middleborough; Outstanding Achievement in Ensemble Performance; Distinguished Achievement in Performance: Glickman; Distinguished Achievement in Performance: Olivia Barberian of Candia, N.H.; Distinguished Achievement in Direction of a Play: Brianne Beatrice, NECC professor; Special Achievement in Production of a Play; and Outstanding Achievement in the Facilitation of a Brave Rehearsal Space.
The KCACTF is a national theater program involving 18,000 students from colleges and universities nationwide that has served as a catalyst for improving the quality of college theater in the United States. More than 600 academic institutions participate in state, regional and national Kennedy festivals.
The production was first staged on the NECC Haverhill campus in spring 2023. Then, representatives from the KCACTF selected the production as a finalist for the Region 1 Festival. Beatrice and the cast and crew got that news just before the holiday break at the end of 2023 and quickly reassembled to have the play ready to be remounted at the regional festival at the end of January.
“It’s crazy our work is being honored like this. They’re looking for good art, and our art is being recognized,” Beatrice said.
Beatrice will travel to Washington, D.C., later this month to accept the awards at the Kennedy Center.
Northern Essex offers a variety of theater and acting courses. It also stages several full productions and readings throughout the year. Anyone interested in learning more about NECC Theater or the audition process should email Beatrice at bbeatrice@necc.mass.edu.