Longtime Theatre Professor Clement receives prestigious leadership medallion award
February 7, 2022
Community College of Rhode Island Performing Arts Professor and Theatre Program Coordinator
Ted Clement of Cranston, RI, received this year’s prestigious Kennedy Center American
College Theater Festival (KCACTF) Region 1 Medallion for his decade-long service to
the KCACTF and his more than 25 years’ worth of experience as a theater student, artist,
mentor, and educator.
The KCACTF is a national theater program involving more than 18,000 students annually
from colleges and universities across the country, culminating each year in a week-long
conference for participating students. The participating colleges represent eight
regions, with CCRI belonging to Region 1, which also includes schools from northeast
New York, Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, and Connecticut.
Each year, the eight KCACTF regions honor individuals and organizations that have
made extraordinary contributions to the teaching and producing of theatre and who
have significantly dedicated their time, artistry, and enthusiasm to the development
of the annual festival. Most importantly, recipients have demonstrated a strong commitment
to the values and goals of the KCACTF and to excellence in educational theatre. The
Kennedy Center Medallion is the most prestigious regional award given by the KCACTF
and is considered one of the great honors in theatre education.
Clement’s connection to the KCACTF spans more than two decades; he first attended
the festival in 1997 as a student at CCRI and credits the relationships built that
year with theater professionals and fellow students with influencing his decision
to transfer to Salem State University, where he graduated with a Bachelor of Fine
Arts in Acting. He went on to receive his Master of Fine Arts in Acting at the New
School for Drama in New York City.
Over the past decade, Clement has continued to contribute to the KCACTF, starting
first as Hospitality Host before working his way up to Respondents Chair, a role in
which he coordinated the assignment of respondents to participating KCACTF schools
across Region 1 to attend shows and nominate performers for the annual festival. He
spent the final six years of his tenure with the KCACTF as Regional Co-Vice Chair
and eventually Co-Chair, where he helped shape organizational policies, implemented
a job fair for theatre hopefuls, and worked to increase the KCACTF’s diversity and
inclusion rates. Clement also served as the master of ceremonies for the Irene Ryan
Acting Scholarship Showcase at the 50th Annual KCACTF National Festival in 2019 and ultimately became a policy writer for
the national group, most notably writing the organization’s DEI (diversity, equity,
and inclusion) statement. He continues to contribute to the KCACTF in an advisory
role.
“To receive the Medallion is a tremendous honor,” Clement said. “I had the opportunity
to attend the festival five times as a student, so when I became a professor, I wanted
to be involved in the festival right away.
“KCACTF provides opportunities for students develop their craft and to find their
way into the theatre industry. It’s an illuminating, empowering experience to attend
a conference full of your colleagues and thousands of students building their careers.
I’ve learned so many different approaches to my craft and developed myself professionally
as a teaching artist.
“I certainly was motivated to be as involved as I was because of the profound experience
I had as a student, and I’ve found it to be truly rewarding. It was an honor to be
able to help shape the festival for six years and see those students perform on the
Kennedy Center stage.”
In addition to his professorial role at the college, Clement serves as a mentor to
the leaders of the college’s student-run theater group, the CCRI Players. He is also
the Coordinator of the CCRI Summer Repertory Program, a community theatre project
designed to recruit high school students for the CCRI Theatre Program and increase
community engagement.
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