Longtime educator recognized for excellence in teaching
Cherie Brown wasn't expecting to receive the national Acting Teacher of Excellence award. Even as she watched a former student walk to the stage to make the presentation, the Citrus College theater arts instructor said it didn't click.
"I was stunned," she said. "I can be so naive about these things."
Presented by the Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival in association with the National Alliance of Acting Teachers, the Acting Teacher of Excellence award is given to eight recipients throughout the United States each year. Brown was nominated and awarded the honor by her theater colleagues throughout Region 8, which serves theater arts students and educators from California, Utah, Nevada, Arizona and Hawaii.
"I had no idea that the administrators for our region had nominated me until I was presented with the award during the Gold Medallion Awards dinner," Brown explained.
The dinner was the culminating event of the region's annual festival. Held at Glendale Community College in February, the five-day event involved workshops, competitions and scholarships in playwriting, acting, dramatic criticism, theater management, directing and design.
"There were about 1,000 students who competed in all of the categories," Brown explained. "People traveled from several states to participate."
Among this year's competitors were several Citrus College students. In fact, theater arts student Vanessa Jimenez received this year's Student Choice Award, as well as a national award for her lighting design of the college's fall production of "Dracula." This victory allows her to move on and compete at the national level in Washington D.C.
"I'm proud of all of my students, whether they get nominated or not. Citrus College has the nicest and most respectful students on the planet," Brown said. "It was a wonderful week and I am happy that Citrus College was represented so well."
This article originally appeared in the April 2024 edition of the Citrus View.