SUU STUDENT WINS TOP HONOR AT OHIO VALLEY SHAKESPEARE CONFERENCE (CC)

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 11/09/10
Michael French
Public Information Coordinator
College of Performing and Visual Arts
Southern Utah University
Office: 435-865-8667
Cell: 805-260-8797
michaelfrench@suu.edu

Photo: Kirstin Bone.

SUU STUDENT WINS TOP HONOR
AT OHIO VALLEY SHAKESPEARE CONFERENCE

Southern Utah University, Cedar City, Utah: Competing against various accomplished literary students, SUU senior Kirstin Bone, a Theatre/English major, took the top M. Rick Smith Memorial Undergraduate Prize at this year’s Ohio Valley Shakespeare Conference held October 14 through 16 at Owens Community College in Toledo, Ohio. At this international event, Bone was lauded for her paper, “The Forgotten Fool: Geoffrey Chaucer,” which she presented initially as part of a double-peer review and eventually giving a twenty-minute presentation.

Kirstin Bone’s journey began last spring when she explored Chaucer’s absence in Shakespeare’s works which formed the basis of her submission. Though Chaucer is widely studied, Bone focused on his unheralded role in the world of politics and playwriting. She created an abstract of her potential paper which was approved by the Ohio Valley Shakespeare Festival committee. After winning approval for her abstract, she spent the summer doing extensive researching and writing her paper.

Bone received funding from SUU’s Undergraduate Research Program and the Honors Program to assist with conference fees and expenses.

An aspiring scholar and director, Kirstin Bone, a native of Salt Lake City, Utah, has previously served as a dramaturge on the Theatre Arts and Dance production of Shakespeare’s Love’s Labours’ Lost and will be the associate director on the department’s upcoming production of Tennessee Williams’ classic, The Glass Menagerie. Her future plans include graduate school and ultimately becoming a professor of Shakespearean studies.

The mission of the Ohio Valley Shakespeare Conference is to “spotlight papers that investigate the gaps, lacunae, indeterminacies, omissions, silences and ‘undecidabilities’ in the work of Shakespeare and/or his contemporaries.” And Kirstin Bone’s paper most certainly more than met the requirements.

ABOUT THE COLLEGE
The Southern Utah University College of Performing and Visual Arts is comprised of nationally accredited departments of Art and Design, Music, Theatre Arts and Dance, as well as a graduate program in Arts Administration. The College offers 16 different degree areas, including liberal arts Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Science degrees; professional Bachelor of Music and Bachelor of Fine Arts in art and theatre degrees; and a Master of Fine Arts in Arts Administration degree. More than 60 full- and part-time faculty and staff are engaged in teaching and mentoring over 550 majors in the College. Over 1100 students enroll each year in over 195 arts classes on the SUU campus. The College presents 100 performances, lectures, presentations, and exhibitions each year. The College’s affiliate organizations include the Braithwaite Fine Arts Gallery, American Folk Ballet, Utah Shakespearean Festival, the performance group Acclamation, and the SUU Ballroom Dance Company. For more information about the College of Performing and Visual Arts, contact the Office of the Dean (435) 865-8561, or by e-mail at cpvamktg@suu.edu.