Tiago Cortes of Brazil thought he wanted to be an electrical engineer. Then he started designing sets for Allen Community College’s theatre program.
“When I was in the process of creating and building, I saw it was not too different from engineering. You have to solve problems and build things. You have to be creative,” Cortes said.
His efforts garnered a Region Award in Scenic Design from the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival Region V in Des Moines, Iowa, earlier this month.
It’s one of the top awards given at the competition, with schools from seven states and students in community college through graduate school. Theatre instructor Tricia Stogsdill believes it’s the first time Allen has won the prestigious honor.
Cortes wasn’t the only Allen Theatre student recognized. The school brought home more than a dozen awards, including nine certificates of merit.
Maddie Hodgden of Humboldt qualified for the Irene Ryan Acting Competition semi-finals, one of just 68 performers out of 253 entries.
Trevor Pratt of Abilene was selected to perform in the Long Form Improv Show. Austin Morris of Iola wrote and performed a piece for the Monologue Slam Performance.
The award surprised Cortes. He was recognized for his design for “The How and the Why,” which featured elaborate sets with an office and a bar.
“It was really amazing to see the projects of other schools. I realized I could learn a lot from their designs and the professionals who were there to give us advice,” he said. “ I have way more to learn and I love that. It’s basically why I changed my major.”
Stogsdill and his fellow students, though, weren’t surprised.
“It was the attention to detail,” Stogsdill said. “It’s sort of unheard of for a set that’s just one flat wall to win an award. But every single part was so meticulous and high quality that it couldn’t be denied.”
“Tiago had a very specific idea in mind but when someone wanted to add something, he was willing to shift and take suggestions,” Morris said.
MANY OF the awards Allen received were for technical achievements. Allen attends the theatre festival every year and regularly does well, but Stogsdill said she placed special emphasis on the technical side since she took over as instructor in 2022.
“It’s a sign we’re moving in the right direction,” she said of the awards.
Nearly all of the theatre students said they plan to pursue a career in the industry. The technical side offers a wide variety of jobs, Stogsdill said.
