French revolutionaries and family fracases highlighted a spirited performance year for the Northeast State Department of Theater.
The Northeast State Department of Theatre’s 2025 productions, Feathers and Teeth and The Three Musketeers, earned several award nominations for students who brought the show to life. The play earned several award nominations for students in performance and technical work from judges with the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival (KCACTF) Region IV.
A wild stage play with a sitcom-style sensibility, Feathers and Teeth featured a small cast and large crew. Students earn nominations for on-stage performances in the Irene Ryan Acting category and various categories under the design, technology, and management (DTM) section.
Northeast State Theatre staged The Three Musketeers in April and Feathers in November. KCACTF IV judges review theater projects from two-year and four-year institutions across the Southeast. Northeast State Theatre students and faculty routinely earn praise and prize hardware at the festival.
Northeast State students and the categories for which they were nominated are Ava Burris (costume design/Feathers and Teeth and Irene Ryan Acting/The Three Musketeers), Tuesday Ingram (props design/Feathers), Aivree Byram (stage management/Feathers and Musketeers), Maggie Perry (hair and makeup design/Feathers), Megan Turner (hair and makeup design/Feathers), Camryn Sims (Irene Ryan Acting/Feathers), Aurora Palmer (Irene Ryan Acting/Feathers), and Westley Steele (scene design/Feathers).
Irene Ryan Acting nominees: Aurora Palmer, who portrayed Carol, and Camryn Sims, who played Chris, garnered Irene Ryan nominations for acting performance. The two will perform selected scenes with a partner for festival judges.
These nominees will compete at the KCACTF Region IV Festival scheduled Feb. 3-7, 2026, in Montgomery, Ala.
“I’m nervous but also super excited,” said Westley Steele, who earned a scenic design nomination for Feathers.
Ava Burris earned nominations for costume design on Feathers and an Irene Ryan acting award for her performance as Porthos in Musketeers. Burris intends to take advantage of the open audition process offered by the colleges attending the festival.
“It is a very educational and spirited competition,” said Burris. “All the colleges that go to the festival allow you to audition at one time.”
She will graduate in December with her Associate of Science degree in Theater. She was also excited to have been accepted at TCAT-Elizabethton to pursue a degree in cosmetology—a program that bolsters her makeup skill set.
“I like to be a jack-of-all-trades, as I’ve done props and costumes, I’m getting my license to do hair, and I’ve done acting,” said Burris. “I’m trying to do a bit of everything to see what I like the best.”
Tuesday Ingram received a nomination for her work in prop design. Earlier this year, she attended the Region IV festival, where she participated as an acting partner. She recalls her first trip as an enlightening look into the theater industry’s multiple moving parts.
“The festival offers so many things you can just watch and learn from,” said Ingram. “There were several interpretive shows that gave me ideas.”
Aurora Palmer also garnered two Irene Ryan acting nominations for her work on Feathers and for her portrayal of Athos in Musketeers. She plans to attend a four-year degree and start building her career in live theater.
“I got to learn a little about all the sides of it, and I’m really excited to go again,” said Palmer. “It feels like you can learn a lot more rather than worry about the experience, and I really like that.”
Aivree Byram earned her second and third stage nominations for stage management from festival judges. She received nominations in the stage management category for her work on Musketeers and Feathers. She attended the festival held earlier this year as a nominee for stage management for The Hobbit, produced by Northeast State Theatre in fall of 2024.
“It was incredible to see how many different types of people come to theater,” said Byram. “I’m excited to take advantage of the interview opportunities.”
Students were excited to participate in the festival’s workshops highlighting design and technical skills. Byram mentioned that the festival included workshops focused on the different unions accessible to stage crew members after obtaining a college degree.
Byram graduates in May with plans to attend Middle Tennessee State University to pursue a bachelor’s degree in theater. She intends to continue with stage management down the road.
Making their first trip to the festival are student nominees Amber Turner and Maggie Perry. The duo was nominated for their work in hair and makeup design, specifically for the characters from the production “Feathers.” They were also on stage as castmates in Musketeers.
Perry plans to earn a graduate degree in English and a teaching certificate to teach English abroad. Turner plans to go to East Tennessee State University (ETSU) to earn a four-year degree in special education.
“I want to teach English to people in other countries,” said Perry. “After that I want to get my master’s degree in theater and be able to teach.”
Steele is a Northeast State alumnus currently enrolled at ETSU. A psychology major, he plans to become a therapist or future psychologist.
Students discussed how theater requires teamwork and trust built through responsibility and accountability. A play’s interpretation requires changes in the numbers of cast or crew.
“I feel like theater prepares me for the real world because it helps me read situations better and learn how to improvise in situations to solve problems,” said Burris. “It also helps me to step into other people’s shoes and understand other people.”
Whether backstage or onstage, theater students rehearse relentlessly to achieve the best production every night. The nominees honed their skills as crew and cast members in several past Northeast State productions.
“It is a crucial part of theater to have that pressure on you to do it to your full capability,” said Byram.
Next up for Northeast State Theater stages is the musical production of Heathers, the cult 80s movie featuring high school drama and dark comedy. Northeast State Theater is known for its technical and performance excellence. The range of productions makes the theater program one of the most respected in the KCACTF region. The students were excited about the festival and their futures.
“It is really self-fulfilling,” said Steele. “You can put a lot of yourself into everything you do in theater.”
French revolutionaries and family fracases highlighted a spirited performance year for the Northeast State Department of Theater.
The Northeast State Department of Theatre’s 2025 productions, Feathers and Teeth and The Three Musketeers, earned several award nominations for students who brought the show to life. The play earned several award nominations for students in performance and technical work from judges with the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival (KCACTF) Region IV.
A wild stage play with a sitcom-style sensibility, Feathers and Teeth featured a small cast and large crew. Students earn nominations for on-stage performances in the Irene Ryan Acting category and various categories under the design, technology, and management (DTM) section.
Northeast State Theatre staged The Three Musketeers in April and Feathers in November. KCACTF IV judges review theater projects from two-year and four-year institutions across the Southeast. Northeast State Theatre students and faculty routinely earn praise and prize hardware at the festival.
Northeast State students and the categories for which they were nominated are Ava Burris (costume design/Feathers and Teeth and Irene Ryan Acting/The Three Musketeers), Tuesday Ingram (props design/Feathers), Aivree Byram (stage management/Feathers and Musketeers), Maggie Perry (hair and makeup design/Feathers), Megan Turner (hair and makeup design/Feathers), Camryn Sims (Irene Ryan Acting/Feathers), Aurora Palmer (Irene Ryan Acting/Feathers), and Westley Steele (scene design/Feathers).
Irene Ryan Acting nominees: Aurora Palmer, who portrayed Carol, and Camryn Sims, who played Chris, garnered Irene Ryan nominations for acting performance. The two will perform selected scenes with a partner for festival judges.
These nominees will compete at the KCACTF Region IV Festival scheduled Feb. 3-7, 2026, in Montgomery, Ala.
“I’m nervous but also super excited,” said Westley Steele, who earned a scenic design nomination for Feathers.
Ava Burris earned nominations for costume design on Feathers and an Irene Ryan acting award for her performance as Porthos in Musketeers. Burris intends to take advantage of the open audition process offered by the colleges attending the festival.
“It is a very educational and spirited competition,” said Burris. “All the colleges that go to the festival allow you to audition at one time.”
She will graduate in December with her Associate of Science degree in Theater. She was also excited to have been accepted at TCAT-Elizabethton to pursue a degree in cosmetology—a program that bolsters her makeup skill set.
“I like to be a jack-of-all-trades, as I’ve done props and costumes, I’m getting my license to do hair, and I’ve done acting,” said Burris. “I’m trying to do a bit of everything to see what I like the best.”
Tuesday Ingram received a nomination for her work in prop design. Earlier this year, she attended the Region IV festival, where she participated as an acting partner. She recalls her first trip as an enlightening look into the theater industry’s multiple moving parts.
“The festival offers so many things you can just watch and learn from,” said Ingram. “There were several interpretive shows that gave me ideas.”
Aurora Palmer also garnered two Irene Ryan acting nominations for her work on Feathers and for her portrayal of Athos in Musketeers. She plans to attend a four-year degree and start building her career in live theater.
“I got to learn a little about all the sides of it, and I’m really excited to go again,” said Palmer. “It feels like you can learn a lot more rather than worry about the experience, and I really like that.”
Aivree Byram earned her second and third stage nominations for stage management from festival judges. She received nominations in the stage management category for her work on Musketeers and Feathers. She attended the festival held earlier this year as a nominee for stage management for The Hobbit, produced by Northeast State Theatre in fall of 2024.
“It was incredible to see how many different types of people come to theater,” said Byram. “I’m excited to take advantage of the interview opportunities.”
Students were excited to participate in the festival’s workshops highlighting design and technical skills. Byram mentioned that the festival included workshops focused on the different unions accessible to stage crew members after obtaining a college degree.
Byram graduates in May with plans to attend Middle Tennessee State University to pursue a bachelor’s degree in theater. She intends to continue with stage management down the road.
Making their first trip to the festival are student nominees Amber Turner and Maggie Perry. The duo was nominated for their work in hair and makeup design, specifically for the characters from the production “Feathers.” They were also on stage as castmates in Musketeers.
Perry plans to earn a graduate degree in English and a teaching certificate to teach English abroad. Turner plans to go to East Tennessee State University (ETSU) to earn a four-year degree in special education.
“I want to teach English to people in other countries,” said Perry. “After that I want to get my master’s degree in theater and be able to teach.”
Steele is a Northeast State alumnus currently enrolled at ETSU. A psychology major, he plans to become a therapist or future psychologist.
Students discussed how theater requires teamwork and trust built through responsibility and accountability. A play’s interpretation requires changes in the numbers of cast or crew.
“I feel like theater prepares me for the real world because it helps me read situations better and learn how to improvise in situations to solve problems,” said Burris. “It also helps me to step into other people’s shoes and understand other people.”
Whether backstage or onstage, theater students rehearse relentlessly to achieve the best production every night. The nominees honed their skills as crew and cast members in several past Northeast State productions.
“It is a crucial part of theater to have that pressure on you to do it to your full capability,” said Byram.
Next up for Northeast State Theater stages is the musical production of Heathers, the cult 80s movie featuring high school drama and dark comedy. Northeast State Theater is known for its technical and performance excellence. The range of productions makes the theater program one of the most respected in the KCACTF region. The students were excited about the festival and their futures.
“It is really self-fulfilling,” said Steele. “You can put a lot of yourself into everything you do in theater.”
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