KCPT Scholarship Awards Program

The Key City Public Theatre Scholarship Fund makes annual awards to support emerging theatre artists who are continuing their education in pursuit of a theatre career. Proceeds from refreshments sold at Key City Playhouse help fund the awards.

Theatre artists who are continuing their education in pursuit of a theatre career are encouraged to apply to the Key City Public Theatre Scholarship Fund. The application form for 2013 scholarships is now available (see below). The application deadline is Tuesday April 16, 2013.

The Sy Kahn Memorial Scholarship Endowment Fund

The Sy Kahn Memorial Scholarship Endowment Fund -- named for a Key City Public Theatre (KCPT) participant with a lifetime history as a theater educator -- was established to ensure that scholarships are maintained as a strong component of KCPT’s education programs. Artistic Director Denise Winter was compelled to establish this endowment in the spring of 2008 to honor Sy Kahn for his work in our community, his deep commitment to education and love of theater. The endowment is maintained in co-ordination with the Jefferson County Community Foundation.

Jefferson County actress and graduate of Jefferson Community School Torrey Berkson (at left in photo) was the first recipient of the Sy Kahn Memorial Scholarship Award for Excellence in Theatre. The $1,000 award was presented on May 14, 2008 by his widow Janet Baker Kahn (at right in photo). This award was funded by a special gift to highlight the establishment of the endowed fund.

You can learn more about Sy Kahn -- poet, professor, playwright, and director -- at www.sykahn.com and view pictures form some of his KCPT productions on this page.

Donations made here on our website can be specified for the Sy Kahn Memorial Scholarship Fund.

2013 Scholarship Applications

Theatre artists who are continuing their education in pursuit of a theatre career are encouraged to apply to the Key City Public Theatre Scholarship Fund. The application form for 2013 scholarships is now available ("How to Apply" below). The application deadline is Tuesday April 16, 2013.

Scholarships typically ranging from $500 to $1000 are awarded annually to graduating high school students, college students and adult theatre artists to support tuition costs. Awards are available to actors, directors and playwrights, as well as set, costume, sound and lighting designers who have participated in a Key City Public Theatre production.

Scholarship awards are based on the artistic quality of the applicant’s work, their potential for future excellence, and the appropriateness of their continued education toward the individual’s artistic growth.

KCPT Artistic Director Denise Winter notes that she has been “thrilled” with the quality of the applicants since the scholarship program was launched in 2006.

One of two recipients of the 2011 awards, PTHS graduate Madeline Levy is now attending Whitman College.

The other recipient, Rosaletta Curry received $500 to continue her studies in the drama program at Ithaca College, where she has performed in plays by Neil LaBute and Agatha Christie.

2010 scholarship recipient Kellyn Traenkenschuh has jumped into the theatre scene at the University of Washington “with both feet.”

Other past award recipients include Rose Burt, Jessica Reid (Shoreline Community College), Torrey Berkson and Ben Rezendes (Stella Adler Studio), Alex Lovett (Cornish College of the Arts), Anna Smith (Adelphi University), Lydia Raymond and Jennifer Ewing (American Academy of Dramatic Arts).

Candidates must be residents of Jefferson or Clallam County. To obtain an application packet, call KCPT at 360-379-0195 or download the form on this page below. (See "How to Apply")

Proceeds from refreshments sold at Key City Playhouse fund the scholarship awards program. Tax-deductible donations for the scholarship fund may also be made online or mailed to KCPT Scholarships, P.O. Box 194, Port Townsend, WA 98368.

General Information

Emerging theatre artists who are continuing their education in pursuit of a theatre career are encouraged to apply to the Key City Public Theatre Scholarship Fund.

Scholarships ranging from $500-1,000 are awarded annually to graduating high school students, college students and adult theatre artists to support tuition costs. Awards are available to actors, directors and playwrights, as well as set, costume, sound and lighting designers who have participated in a Key City Public Theatre production in one of these capacities.

Scholarship awards are based primarily on the artistic quality of the applicant’s past work, their potential for future excellence and the appropriateness of their continued education toward the individual’s artistic growth.

Artistic Director Denise Winter notes that she has been “thrilled” with the quality of the applicants since the scholarship program was launched in 2006. Past award recipients include local high school graduates Anna Smith (attending Adelphi University), Lydia Raymond (attended American Academy of Dramatic Arts), and Jennifer Ewing (attending American Academy of Dramatic Arts). More information about past recipients are posted below.

How To Apply

Candidates must be residents of Jefferson or Clallam County. To obtain an application packet:

Download the PDF file below.
Or... call Key City Public Theatre at 360-379-0195.
Or... e-mail feedback@keycitypublictheatre.org.
Or... send mail to: KCPT Scholarship Awards Committee, P.O. Box 194, Port Townsend, WA 98368.

Proceeds from refreshments sold at Key City Playhouse fund the scholarship awards program.

Tax-deductible donations for the Key City Public Theatre Scholarship Fund may be made here online or mailed to the above address.

Download 2013 KCPT Scholarship Application (in PDF format)

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KCPT Scholarship Archives

2012

Sadie LeDonna was awarded a $500 scholarship to attend The San Francisco Clown Conservatory beginning Fall of 2012.

LeDonna performed in KCPT's 2010 Shakespeare in the Park production of The Tempest, featuring her unique talents as an aerialist -- and as a commedia dell' arte servant in The Soup is Served in spring of 2011.

A Port Townsend High School graduate, her scholarship award was announced at KCPT's Annual Membership Meeting on May 23 of this year.

2011

KCPT is pleased to announce the recipients of its 2011 Scholarship Awards which were presented at KCPT’s annual meeting on May 11, 2011. Receiving this year’s awards are young theatre artists Madeline Levy and Rosaletta Curry.

Levy, a Port Townsend High School senior, received $500 and will be attending Whitman College this fall. Seen most recently at KCPT in “The Soup is Served,” she also performed in the Annual Playwrights’ Festival and was stage manager for “The Comedy of Errors.” Her PTHS credits include “While the Lights Were Out,” “Oliver!” and the title role in “The Diary of Anne Frank.” She has also appeared in productions at The Paradise Theatre School and with The Chairs improvisation group at The Chameleon Theater.

Curry, a graduate of Chimacum High School, received $500 to continue her studies in the drama and honors programs at Ithaca College, where she has performed in plays by Neil LaBute and Agatha Christie.

The KCPT Scholarship Fund makes annual awards to support emerging theater artists who are continuing their education in pursuit of a theater career. Proceeds from refreshments sold at Key City Playhouse help fund these awards.

Past award recipients include local high school graduates Jessica Reid, Torrey Berkson and Ben Rezendes. On a break from his studies in New York City, Rezendes will appear this August in KCPT’s Shakespeare in the Park production of “Macbeth” in Chetzemoka Park.

2010

Our 2010 awards were funded in part by the Port Townsend Kiwanis Club.

Key City Public Theatre presented its 2010 scholarship awards to three young theatre artists at its annual meeting on May 5th. Receiving the awards were Rosaletta Curry, Kellyn Traenkenschuh, and Rose Burt.

Kellyn Traenkenschuh, a senior at Port Townsend High School, received $250. She will be attending the University of Washington to study acting and hair and make-up design. This is the first award given to a student whose work at KCPT has been primarily backstage. Traenkenschuh has been a hair and make-up artist for three “Shakespeare in the Park” productions and will do the same for this summer’s presentation of “The Tempest.” She participated in the 2009 TeenLab program as a writer/performer, and worked both on and off stage in KCPT’s recently-completed run of “The Seagull.”

Rose Burt, a junior at PTHS, received $100 to help her attend Carnegie Mellon University’s musical theatre program this summer. This is the first time a KCPT scholarship has been awarded to support a student’s pre-college theatre training. Burt is currently appearing in PTHS’s production of “Oliver!” At KCPT, she performed the title role in “Blanche and Claude in Seclusion” for the Fourteenth Annual Playwrights’ Festival, and participated in the WordPlay presentation of “Schoolgirl Figure,” an event that triggered the creation of KCPT’s TeenLab program.

Rosaletta Curry, currently a senior at Chimacum High School, received $650. She will be attending Ithaca College this fall, where she has been accepted into the drama and honors programs. At KCPT, she appeared in “The Conference of the Birds,” “As You Like It,” “The Comedy of Errors,” and the Fourteenth Annual Playwrights’ Festival. Curry has been performing since the age of eight, and is now directing a play for her senior project.

The Key City Public Theatre Scholarship Fund makes annual awards to support emerging theatre artists who are continuing their education in pursuit of a theatre career. Proceeds from refreshments sold at Key City Playhouse help fund the awards.

2009

Torrey Berkson - Stella Adler Studio of Acting, 2nd year - $250
Jessica Reid - Shoreline Community College, 1st year - $250
Ben Rezendes - Stella Adler Studio of Acting, 2nd year - $250
Anna Smith - Adelphi University, 4th year - $250; and $500 from the Sy Kahn Memorial Scholarship Award (generously funded by Don & Sylvia White).

2008

Torrey Berkson - Stella Adler Studio of Acting, 1st year - $1000 from the Sy Kahn Memorial Scholarship Award
(generously funded by Janet Baker Kahn).
Alex Lovett - Cornish College of the Arts, 1st year - $500
Ben Rezendes - Stella Adler Studio of Acting, 1st year - $500

The first recipient of the Sy Kahn Memorial Scholarship Award

Young actor Torrey Berkson is the first recipient of the Sy Kahn Memorial Scholarship Award for Excellence in the Theatre, from a newly created endowed fund honoring the former Key City Public Theatre president and director who passed away in 2007. The $1,000 award was presented on May 14, 2008 by his widow, Janet Baker Kahn.

Learn more about Sy Kahn -- poet, professor, playwright, and director -- at www.sykahn.com and view pictures form some of his KCPT productions at http://sykahn.com/Webpages/prdctnphotos.html

Berkson will attend the Stella Adler Studio of Acting in New York City this fall, along with fellow scholarship winner Ben Rezendes. Rezendes and Alex Lovett, who will attend Cornish College of the Arts in Seattle, both received $500 scholarships from the Key City Public Theatre Scholarship Fund to support their drama studies. All three actors are residents of Port Townsend.

Photo by Shelly Randall / KCPT