THOUSAND OAKS, CA - California Lutheran University has been invited to stage one of its productions at the prestigious Region VIII Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival for the second year in a row.

The Theatre Arts Department will present Tennessee Williams’ “Suddenly Last Summer” twice on Feb. 8 at Weber State University in Ogden, Utah. Only the 10 finest productions from Southern California, Arizona, Guam, Hawaii, Nevada and Utah were chosen for the honor. This is the third time a CLU production has been selected. Last year, CLU presented “The Cherry Orchard” at the festival.

National judges will select four to six of the best and most diverse productions from the eight regional conferences to be showcased at the national festival at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. The 43-year-old program is designed to encourage, recognize and celebrate works produced in university and college theater programs.

CLU’s Theatre Department staged “Suddenly Last Summer” in November under the direction of Nate Sinnott, an assistant professor who also designed the set and lighting. It was the second of two Williams plays presented in fall to honor the centennial of the playwright’s birth.

The unconventional production incorporated live video, interpretive movement and a chorus in the tradition of Greek drama. It was dominated by dream imagery, highlighting the powerful themes and language of the play. CLU’s Multimedia Department assisted with the production.

The cast features Martha Sadie Griffin, a senior theatre arts major from Alexandria, Minn., as Mrs. Venable; Brent Ramirez, a senior theatre arts major from Simi Valley, as Dr. Cukrowicz; Shannon Dempsey, a senior communication major from Stratford, Conn., as Catharine Holly; Taylor Lampela, a senior theatre arts major from Bakersfield, as Mrs. Holly; Jordan Parrott, a junior theatre arts major from Antioch, as George Holly; Sarah McKee, a freshman math major from Sunnyvale, as Sister Felicity; and Kelsey Goeres, a junior communication major from Santa Maria, as Miss Foxhill.

The chorus members are Ally Crocker, a junior theatre arts major from San Diego; Erik Groth, a junior music major from Newbury Park; Jeremy Hanna, a junior theatre arts major from Thousand Oaks; Ben Michaels, a freshman theatre arts major from Redlands; and Alison Waxman, a freshman theatre arts major from Simi Valley.

Senior theatre arts major Seth Kamenow of Simi Valley is the assistant director, senior theatre arts major Alyssa Soto of Moorpark is the stage manager, sophomore theatre arts major Sara de la Garrique of Agoura Hills is assistant stage manager and senior multimedia major Stephen Shirk of Denver is the video designer.

Chris Hoag composed the original music, Val Miller designed the costumes and Barbara Wegher-Thompson is the movement consultant.