Central Connecticut State University hosted The Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival on its campus the week of Jan. 30.

The festival hosted colleges from Region 1, which comprises New England states and New York.

Christie Maturo, associate professor and department chair for the CCSU Theatre Department, said that the school was able to host due to her connections with people at the festival and having served on the festival’s board in the past.

“I said I think we’d be interested in at least seeing what that could look like, and so they asked, could they come to campus, take a tour, meet our deans and provost and such, and see the facilities,” Maturo said. “So that’s how that came to be, and ultimately … it was good on both sides to have the festival, very simply located for this region, here in Connecticut.”

Participants could attend performances, various workshops, acting competitions and seminars held throughout the week.

Maturo explained that for the region, four to five shows are selected to travel to and perform at the festival, and schools must enter their shows to be considered. Maturo said CCSU entered this year due to other schools having issues with funding limitations and that there were about 10 shows that were entered for consideration, with five ultimately selected. The Theatre Department’s fall production of “Eurydice” was performed twice during the festival.

The festival concluded with a closing ceremony on Feb. 3 in Welte Hall, where an award ceremony occurred.

Juan Rubio, a theater major from LaGuardia Community College in Queens, NY, won an award for theatre administration and said that it was an ample opportunity for him to discuss issues related to how workers are paid and how many participating in the event do not have prospective livable wages.

“We gotta change theater for the better,” Rubio said. “At the end of the week, that is us, our generation, who is going to bring theater to the future and keep it alive in a very, very hard context.”

Rubio also noted that all the schools involved brought high-quality productions. He also highlighted that many of the schools in attendance were not top colleges or the most recognized.

“Everybody has been doing great work with their professors, with their directors and with the resources that they have,” Rubio said.

Cedric Wescott, a theater major at CCSU, won an award for Best Scene Partner and said they enjoyed their experience in the Irene Ryan acting competition.

Wescott said that participants could self-submit or get nominated for the competition. Usually, two or three people from each show are selected, and after nominations, participants send in two video monologues. The best monologues are then chosen for the semifinal round. Almost 200 people submitted this year, according to Wescott.

“A few people got into the semifinals round, two of whom I was the scene partner for, that was Aria Adee and Mike Zimmerman, and Mike made it to the finals as well,” Wescott said.

Ashlyn Sminkey, a Norwich resident and a student at Eastern Connecticut State University, said that this event helped expose her and others to theater work they otherwise may not have been able to try.

“But at this event, it was an opportunity for a lot of our actors to try at tech events and try their hand at that and learn a little bit about the other side,” Sminkey said. “I got to learn a little bit about other tech too that I don’t normally do at my school.”

Maturo said that she and the department are grateful that the university was able to host the festival and with the number of students that got to participate.

“I’m so proud of how happy the students seem to be during the festival, and just number-wise, which just makes me feel so happy,” Maturo said. “56 colleges came, there was 170 extra people on campus to attend to this festival, and I think that is a super cool mark for our university to get to, to have hosted that many people and produce something exciting for them.”