Northeast State theater students earn regional nominations

BLOUNTVILLE — Northeast State Community College's theater students earned several award nominations according to a press release from the school. The awards, from the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival, recognize students' performance and technical work in "The Three Musketeers" and "Feathers and Teeth." Northeast State staged the former, a swashbuckling adaptation of the famous novel, in April. The latter, a horror-comedy, ran in November. KCACTF Region IV judges review theater projects from two- and four-year institutions across the Southeast. According to the press release, Northeast State theater students and faculty routinely earn praise and prizes at the festival. This year's nominees will compete at the KCACTF Region IV Festival on Feb. 3-7, 2026, in Montgomery, Alabama. The festival also hosts workshops. Ava Burris was nominated for her costume design in "Feathers and Teeth" and acting in "The Three Musketeers," where she played Porthos. Burris will graduate in December with an Associate of Science in theater. She will then pursue a cosmetology degree from TCAT-Elizabethton to bolster her makeup skills. "Theater prepares me for the real world because it helps me read situations better and learn how to improvise in situations to solve real problems," Burris said "It also helps me to step into other people's shoes and understand [them]." Tuesday Ingram was nominated for props design in "Feathers and Teeth." Ingram said the KCACTF Region IV Festival gives an educational look into the theater industry's multiple moving parts. "The festival offers so many things you can just watch and learn from," she said. Aivree Byram was nominated for stage management in "Feathers and Teeth" and "The Three Musketeers." Last year, she was nominated in the same category for Northeast State's production of "The Hobbit." Maggie Perry and Jess Turner were nominated for hair and makeup design in "Feathers and Teeth." This will be their first trip to the festival. Perry plans to earn a graduate degree in English and get certified to teach the language abroad. After that, she said, she wants to get a master's degree in theater and teach. Turner plans to attend East Tennessee State University to earn a four-year degree in special education. Camryn Sims was nominated for her acting in "Feathers and Teeth," where she played its protagonist. Aurora Palmer was also nominated for acting in "Feathers and Teeth" — playing its antagonist — and for acting as Athos in "The Three Musketeers." She plans to get a four-year degree and build her career in theater. "I got to learn a little about all sides of it, and I'm really excited to go again," Palmer said about the festival. "It feels like you can learn a lot more rather than worry about the experience, and I really like that." Westley Steele was nominated for scene design in "Feathers and Teeth." He is a Northeast State alumnus, currently enrolled at ETSU for psychology. The press release said the students were excited about the upcoming festival and their futures. "It is really self-fulfilling," Steele said. "You can put a lot of yourself into everything you do in theater."