Andrew Yoder came to the University of Idaho to refine his acting skills — he had no background in sound design.
But three years later, he would go on to win the National Award for Excellence in Sound Design at the Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival (KCACTF) for his work in “A Kind of Alaska,” a play in which a woman awakens from a 30-year coma.
“They went through the emeritus awards and I went, ‘Huh? Cool, I guess I got the regional award, that’s cool,’” Yoder said. “Then, when they announced the regional award went to (a group of) original composers, I couldn’t breathe. … I just (shook my head) — until they say it, I don’t believe it. And they say, ‘The National Award goes to — from the University of Idaho — Andrew Yoder,’ and I almost started bawling.”
Alex Brizee | Argonaut
UI student Andrew Yodler practices in the Hartung Theater Tuesday.
According to the festival’s website, KCACTF aims to encourage diverse theatre work, provide opportunities to develop theatre skills and improve college and university theatre.
In addition, Yoder’s work on “True West,” won him a full ride for an internship at the Stagecraft Institute of Las Vegas.
Yoder wasn’t the only Vandal to come away with an award.
Jessica Shehan, a UI senior, won the National Stage Directors and Choreographers Society Directing Fellowships Award for her work in “The Baltimore Waltz.” She chose the play from a list produced by KCACTF, focusing on a scene where the main character — a young woman — learns to how to cope with her gay brother dying from AIDS.
“Winning the award solidified that I’m doing what I’m supposed to be doing,” Shehan said. “I didn’t start off in directing when I came (to UI). So, when I did switch over, you have a lot of those doubts and you’re just like, ‘Am I really doing what I’m supposed to be doing?’ And winning makes you just kind of go, ‘Yeah, I know how to do this, I’m doing something right.’”
She and Yoder will travel to Washington, D.C., competing now at a national level.
The national festival the two will attend starts April 15 and ends April 20. They will have the opportunity to compete, attend master classes and watch other theater productions.
Other recipients included Stephen John and several members of the UI improv group, Awkward Silence — Rick Kimball, Joseph Winder, Katharine Sonas, Andre Szarmach and Aidan Leonard.
Awkward Silence, which placed as a runner-up to the University of Hawaii, is led by Kimball. The group — which is only three months old — competed against 17 other improv groups.
“They actually only had a first-place trophy, so the organization actually created a second-place runner-up trophy for us specifically because they felt we needed some recognition of how good we were,” Kimball said. “But in the past, they’ve only given out first-place trophies and that’s it.”
Awkward Silence will not accompany Yoder and Shehan to D.C., but there is one more opportunity to see the group perform at UI before they finish performing for the year. The improv group will perform at 7:30 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. April 16 in the Forge Theater.
Lex Miller can be reached at [email protected]