Two Morningside College students have been selected to participate in the Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival’s annual Irene Ryan Acting Scholarship competition.

Brock Bourek	Jaden Lux

Two Morningside College students have been selected to participate in the Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival’s annual Irene Ryan Acting Scholarship competition.

Brock Bourek of Columbus, Neb., and Jaden Lux of Cherokee, Iowa, were nominated after a theater festival representative saw their performances in Morningside’s recent production of “True West” by Sam Shepard. In “True West,” they play two brothers who have been estranged and suddenly find themselves living under one roof again. 

“Both Jaden and Brock gave outstanding performances in ‘True West’ because they were completely dedicated to their characters and the craft of making theater,” said Taylor Clemens, assistant professor of theater at Morningside College, who directed the production. “They went above and beyond in their research into understanding the characters as well as working to understand the play and its language.”

They will compete in January at the regional festival in Des Moines, Iowa, against other selected students from colleges and universities throughout the Midwest. They will compete separately for a $500 scholarship and the chance to go to the national scholarship competition in Washington, D.C., where the top award is a $5,000 scholarship.