Southwestern College students Ondreya Seahorn, Winfield, and Tanner Schartz, Wichita, finished first and second in the Musical Theatre Intensive competition at the Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival Region 5 in Sioux Falls, S.D.

Seahorn and Schartz competed against 200 students from institutions across the region in the Musical Theater Intensive and were selected among 20 finalists to the workshop and to perform in the cabaret showcase. Seahorn was recognized as the top performer and has been invited to compete against the winners from the seven other regions at nationals in Washington, D.C., at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.

“They said my name and I just couldn’t believe it. I just started crying,” Seahorn says.

The same group awarded a second scholarship, and Schartz was the winner.  As the two top performing individuals, Seahorn and Schartz received Open Jar scholarships to spend the summer performing and learning in New York City.

“We are the first students in the BFA (bachelor of fine arts) program at Southwestern and we are part of building this – we’re not just setting the bar, we are the bar, so it feels really good to be recognized for our work,” Schartz says.

Allyson Moon, director of theatre at Southwestern College, was proud of Seahorn and Schartz and appreciated the way SC was represented.

“I have a deep sense of pride about the way our students carried themselves as they represented Southwestern College throughout the week,” Moon says.  “I am also thrilled about the way the students celebrated Ondreya and Tanner’s respective honors.  On an ongoing basis, SC performing arts students rally around each other to provide care and challenge each other to be better.  This week, that hard work and support paid off.”

“Southwestern measured up—it’s easy to think we’re a small school and we can’t compete with big schools, but then we went to festival and we showed that we not only can compete, but we can also win,” Seahorn says.