Twenty two students from Sacramento State’s theater and dance department headed to Los Angeles today to take part in the regional Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival.

The week-long festival begins today with student registration and sign-up. Competition starts on Tuesday, when students will begin to perform for a panel of judges.

The festival gathers 200 students from throughout the Southwest to compete for scholarships and a trip to the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. Students will also have the opportunity to attend workshops in acting, voice and movement.

Sac State theater and dance professors Melinda Wilson and Michelle Felten are faculty advisers to the participating students. Wilson, who coached the students on their acting, was largely responsible for putting the trip together. She handled all the paperwork and grants to help fund the trip.

Felten also worked individually with all the students and their scene partners, preparing them for the festival and helping them perfect their scenes.

“Every student took it seriously, every team has stuck it out,” Felten said, noting that last year only two Sac State students participated in the festival. Out of the 22 Sac State students attending, 10 have been nominated to compete for the Irene Ryan Acting Scholarship. The Sac State student nominees for the $3,000 scholarship were chosen based on their performances from last year’s productions.

The ten students competing for the scholarship include Scarlette Bustos and Diana Tercero (“My Visits with My Grandmother Marta”), Stephanie Zito and Michael R.J. Campbell (“Seussical: The Musical”), Candace Nicholas-Lippman and Kamra Jacobs (“North Star”), Sara Perry and Renee DeGarmo (“Loose Knit”) and Tygar Hicks and Amira Judeh (“Afghan Women”).

Additionally, this year’s Sac State theater production of “North Star” has been invited to perform a scene for the opening ceremonies.

Theater major Michael R.J. Campbell, who was nominated for his role as Horton the Elephant in last spring’s production “Seussical: The Musical,” has been practicing since early December along with his scene partner, theater major Brian Watson. Campbell participated in the festival last year as fellow nominee Stephanie Zito’s scene partner.

“Being able to see how everything works really, really helps,” Campbell said, referring to his role in last year’s festival.

Campbell said his participation last year also helped him with his techniques, including transitions, which he said must be precise in order to meet the allotted time given for each scene.

Costs for the trip have been covered through school organizations, with help from the students themselves.

“We’ve raised money through student donations, grants and raffles,” Felten said.

The Dramatist Society and Sons and Ancestors Players also had a large part in raising money for the trip. The two student groups held a special showcase of the nominees on Feb. 5, with all the proceeds from the show going toward the funding for the trip.

Isela Reyes can be reached at [email protected].