Sol Rapoport
RoZsa Horvath, a Pierce College theater arts professor, was honored with an Excellence in Education award from the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival and didn’t even know it.
“I opened my e-mail. That’s how I found out I had won the award,” said Horvath, recalling the moment. “I e-mailed them back asking what it was. And then I thought ‘Oh how nice. What a nice way to start the year!'”
Created in 1969 by Roger L. Stevens, the Kennedy Center’s founding chairman, the Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival (KCACTF) describes itself as a national theater program involving 18,000 students from colleges and universities across the nation.
Horvath has been teaching at Pierce for more than 25 years and has been involved with the festival off and on during that time. In her many years as an instructor, she has gained the respect and admiration of her peers and students alike.
“Students love her,” said Gene Putnam, chair of the theater arts department. “She’s a very hard-working instructor and a great director. I’m her number one fan.”
According to Putnam, Horvath was nominated for the award by some of her former students at Pierce who currently attend CSUN. The students, who singled her out as someone who had been deeply influential in their educational careers, are not publicly disclosed due to KCACTF rules.
The KCACTF is a year-round program in eight geographic regions of the United States, with California falling into region eight.
The Excellence in Education award has been given out yearly since 1997 to one educator per region who goes “beyond the call of duty in devoting their time, efforts, talents and energies on behalf of the students and in support of the other faculty and staff of their institution.”
Theater arts professor Valorie Grear, who received the prestigious award in 2002, is the only other instructor from Pierce to be given this honor.
“It’s a really nice acknowledgement of your work as a teacher,” said Grear.
“We work so hard and we don’t always get acknowledged,” he said. “Many times we overlook our instructors when they receive things like this and I think we ought to blow the horn on this.
In January and February of each year, regional festivals showcase the best of each region’s entered productions and offer a variety of activities, including workshops, symposia and regional-level award programs. The KCACTF includes a network of more than 600 academic institutions throughout the country, where theater departments and student artists showcase their work and receive outside assessment by KCACTF respondents.
Horvath has been involved with KCACTF often throughout her years as a professor. For three years she served as an adjudicator in the costume design area, judging student productions at different schools.
She has also encouraged her own students to participate.
“The last time we participated I entered “The Laramie Project” as a production,” said Horvath. “I had them come out and judge and give us feedback. We were nominated for best ensemble for that.”
This year’s festival took place in Cedar City, Utah, from Feb. 12 though 17. Horvath was unable to attend, so she was sent her engraved honorary glass plaque in the mail.
“RoZsa has a great love of theater,” said Grear. “She’s so versatile. She’s a skilled costumer, she excels at makeup design, she’s an acting teacher and a very talented director.
“She’s kind of a renaissance woman of the modern age.”