Scottsdale Community College Theatre Arts Graduate – Pasha Yamotahari ––Awarded Internship at Famed Eugene O’Neill Theater Center

~ Theatre critic internship awarded at Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival ~

Scottsdale, AZ (August 12, 2008) – The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts hosted its 40^th annual Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival (KCACTF) in Washington, D.C. in April where students from eight regional Kennedy Center festivals across the country were selected to perform, take master classes, and compete for scholarships and awards. 

SCC Theatre Arts graduate, Pasha Yamotahari, having won the National Critics Award at the regional festival in February, was one of eight to advance to the national festival in D.C. where he and other winners in the theatre criticism category spent a week writing theatre reviews and studying with professional critics, including NPR’s theatre and film critic, Bob Mondello.

Students spent every evening going to shows, and then writing reviews which had to be turned in early the next morning.  “If you find your voice, you can write it right away,” said Yamotahari.  “Otherwise, it’s about staying up all night, sometimes until four in the morning.” 

According to Yamotahari, finding his voice stems from his love of theatre.  “It’s not pure journalism.  I become the voice of the production,” he said.  “Did the production succeed?  Did the directors express their vision?  I have the responsibility of finding the good and the bad, and I must have strong arguments.”

The highlight of this year’s KCACTF season was the selection of Yamotahari as one of three students from the national festival to participate in a summer internship at the famed Eugene O'Neill Theater Center Critics Institute in Connecticut during its National Playwrights’ conference last month.

Having recently returned from his internship, Yamotahari recalls working alongside the brightest and most passionate theatre artists in the country.  “During the two weeks, I have established professional opportunities for the future as a director, actor, playwright, designer and critic,” he said.  The creator of AmericanTheatreWeb.org also invited Yamotahari to be the local voice in theatre criticism by allowing him to write and post theatre reviews online.

Yamotahari, who graduated in May with an Associate in Arts--Fine Arts degree, has studied dramaturgy, acting, image design, and directing at SCC.  He began his studies as a Film School student at SCC where he was introduced to the Theatre program when he took the Directing for Theatre course.  He started researching plays, wanting to know everything about a play and playwright.  “I kind of fell into it,” remarked Yamotahari when asked about his background in Theatre.  His knowledge of lighting concepts and tools acquired at SCC assisted him in his evaluation of a production at the national festival. 

“The two weeks spent at the National Critics Institute has been one of the quintessential moments in my aspiring career in theatre,” he said.  With the goal of becoming an artistic director, Yamotahari (pictured with fellow O'Neill faculty and student critics at left) is now currently in the midst of a year-long theatre management internship at Phoenix Theatre where he works as assistant to the Artistic and Managing Directors.

“SCC's Theatre Arts faculty have always talked about the ‘theatre artist’ -- that we are not just actors or directors, but that our craft comes from the collaborative effort of the artists,” said Yamotahari. “This fundamental training allowed me to feel at ease with everyone at the O'Neill Center and has solidified my pursuit of theatre success."

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