Brigham Young University thespian Kevin P. Rahm has won two top acting awards at the Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival in Washington, D.C.
During weekend competition, the 23-year-old junior from Bossier City, La., received one of two Irene Ryan Acting Awards and received a $2,500 scholarship. He also received a scholarship to the National Stage Combat Workshop in July at the University of Nevada-Las Vegas.Rahm competed in the "Winners' Circle Evening of Scenes" as one of 16 regional winners from throughout the nation. For the competition he performed a scene from Tom Stoppard's "Rosen-crantz and Gildenstern Are Dead" and a monologue from Terrance McNalley's "Sweet Eros."
When asked about his tension level and expectations going into the competition, Rahm replied, "The scholarships are valuable, but they aren't that important - they call us all `winners' at this point. There are casting directors and eight judges with extensive credentials here. The exposure and potential contacts here are valuable in themselves. It is exciting just to be part of this."
Rahm is the second BYU student singled out for national attention this year by KC/ACTF. Los Angeles native James A. Bell, who graduated from BYU Friday, earned the Student Playwriting Award for his prisoner of war drama "Prisoner." The play, chosen as one of only five full-length plays from throughout the country for performance at the national festival, will be staged today and Tuesday at the Kennedy Center.
Rahm has been at the festival not only to vie for the Ryan award but also to be the lead actor in "Prisoner." He plays Gerald R. Coffee, a captain (now Navy Lt., ret.) who chronicled his Vietnam prisoner of war years in the book "Beyond Survival."