Posted by Mary Wimberley on 2000-06-06

Longtime Birmingham actor, director and playwright Randy Marsh was named Outstanding Alumnus of the Year by Samford University Theatre during its recent awards banquet.

Marsh, director of curriculum and instruction at Alabama School of Fine Arts, is a 1971 Samford graduate. Co-founder of Birmingham Festival Theatre, he has written numerous plays for Children's Theatre.

The late actor and Birmingham businessman Arnold Goldner and former theatre professor Helen Steer were named to the Samford Theatre Hall of Fame.

Goldner, a 1936 Samford graduate, pursued a career on the New York stage before returning to Birmingham and opening Jewels by Rose in Vestavia Hills.

Steer, who retired from the theatre faculty of East Carolina University in 1997, taught at Samford during 1956-61.

Top Department of Speech Communication and Theatre student awards went to Emily Adams of Conyers, Ga., outstanding speech communication major, and Nancy Moore of Stockton, Calif., outstanding theatre major.

Tevy Bradley of Nashville, Tenn., was named Best Male Actor for his portrayal of Victor L'Amour in the Samford Theatre production of A Flea in Her Ear.

Kelly Miller of Fresno, Calif., and Kristen Boutwell of Nashville, Tenn., shared Best Female Actor awards: Miller for Emma in Betrayal and Boutwell for Martha in The Children's Hour.

Best Supporting Actor awards went to Jeremy Dabbs of Hueytown for Camille L'Amour in A Flea in Her Ear and Kim Rogers of Brentwood, Tenn., for Eileen in The Cripple of Inishmaan. Stephanie Pela of Phoenix, Ariz., was named Best Actor in a Second Season play.

Other speech communication and theatre departmental student honorees included: James Redford of Troy, outstanding debater; David Redman Scott of Daphne, outstanding theatre freshman; Andy Davis of Radford, Va., Gail Patrick directing award; Kristen Boutwell, technical theatre; LaShanna Price of Birmingham, student designer; Rebecca Burroughs, excellence in theatre; Kevin Jordan of Thomasville, Ga., playwright of the year; Stephanie Pela, Scott Conley of Midlothian, Va.; and Melissa Butler of New Port Richey, Fla., promising actor scholarship recipients.

Former Samford debate coach George "Skip" Coulter was honored for his support of the debate program.

 

 
Samford is a leading Christian university offering undergraduate programs grounded in the liberal arts with an array of nationally recognized graduate and professional schools. Founded in 1841, Samford is the 87th-oldest institution of higher learning in the United States. Samford enrolls 5,791 students from 49 states, Puerto Rico and 16 countries in its 10 academic schools: arts, arts and sciences, business, divinity, education, health professions, law, nursing, pharmacy and public health. Samford fields 17 athletic teams that compete in the tradition-rich Southern Conference and ranks 6th nationally for its Graduation Success Rate among all NCAA Division I schools.