402 MTSU STUDENT CAPTURES TOP PRIZE AT NATIONAL THEATER FESTIVAL

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: April 26, 2006
CONTACT: Lisa L. Rollins, 615-898-2919

(MURFREESBORO)—MTSU student William C. Fancher was named as the national winner of the distinguished O’Neill Critic’s Institute (OCI), an initiative of the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival (KCACTF), during an evening ceremony on April 22.
A native of Cordova, Tenn., Fancher was the Region IV KCACTF winner and represented the region at the national festival, which was held April 18–23 at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.
Fancher, who is a graduate of Cordova High School, is a marketing major and has taken several courses in the university’s speech and theatre program. Most recently, he portrayed Mason Marzac, a passionate new baseball fan, in the MTSU production of playwright Richard Greenberg’s award-winning baseball drama titled “Take Me Out.”
“This is a great honor for MTSU Theatre,” said Jeff Gibson, assistant professor, speech and theatre. “We appreciate Will’s hard work and dedication in representing us.”
Each year, the regional competition of the American College Theatre Festival holds an O'Neill Critics Institute. OCI was established to assist in elevating the level of arts criticism and to provide writers the opportunity to grow at the same pace as the artists, whose work they review and interpret. To accomplish this, the American College Theatre Festival sponsors workshops at each regional festival where students write daily critiques of plays in round-table discussion sessions.
As the national winner, Fancher will attend the Eugene O'Neill Theatre Center during its national playwriting conference in July 2006, where he will work with leading professional newspaper and magazine critics from across the United States.
“As you can imagine, this is an incredible opportunity for a student to meet and work with leading critics and theatre professionals from across the country,” remarked Gibson, who adds that several past winners now work for major newspapers and national magazines.
For more information regarding MTSU Theatre, please access the program’s Web page online at http://www.mtsu.edu/~theatre or by calling (615) 898-5916.

• ATTENTION, MEDIA: To request an interview with Fancher, please contact Lisa L. Rollins in the Office of News and Public Affairs at MTSU at 615-898-2919.