Anna Johnson ’21 is among this year’s national awardees of the Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival (KCACTF).

Johnson received the Kennedy Center Award for Excellence in Sound Design for her work on Hollins Theatre’s production of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, which was presented virtually in October 2020. She and other student artists were selected for outstanding achievement in a range of disciplines from eight virtual regional festivals that were held in January and February of this year. Johnson’s sound design for Curious Incident won first-place honors from the KCACTF Region IV, which includes colleges and universities from Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, Puerto Rico, South Carolina, Tennessee, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and Virginia.

Kennedy Center first-place awards for excellence in scenic, costume, lighting, and sound design each come with a $1,000 cash prize.

“This has been a remarkable year that forced students to adapt, and in doing so these students found new ways of working that have expanded their toolkits in ways that will make them stronger artists and changemakers in the field,” said KCACTF Artistic Director Gregg Henry.

A theatre major, Johnson graduated from Hollins in May and is pursuing an M.F.A. in sound design at the University of Memphis.

Presented by the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C., KCACTF encourages and celebrates the finest and most diverse theatrical productions from colleges and universities throughout the United States. Since its establishment 52 years ago, KCACTF has reached millions of theatregoers and made important contributions to the professional development of countless college and university theatre students nationwide.