Linfield University

"The Lightning Thief: The Percy Jackson Musical" is a collaboration of Linfield's Theatre Program and Department of Music. There will be eight shows starting with the opening night at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, April 25. All shows are in Marshall Theatre within Kenneth W. Ford Hall. Among the contributing cast and crew are students from across the university. Read the full announcement online.

The Linfield University Concert Choir made history on March 13, 2025. The ensemble shared the famed Carnegie Hall stage with choirs from Baylor University and Bridgewater State University. Together, the nearly 200-voice National Masterwork Chorus performed the world premiere of Andrea Ramsey's groundbreaking composition, "The Wilderness of You." Read the full story at https://news.linfield.edu/concert-choir-carnegie-hall/.

The annual Lacroute Prizes in Poetry and Prose highlight the best student writing from across Linfield University. This year's contest honors the work of five students, including Sarah Reynolds, the Lacroute Prize in Poetry winner, and Lauren Hodgson, the Lacroute Prize in Prose winner. Reynolds is a senior from Beaverton, majoring in creative writing. She was a finalist in the 2023 Lacroute Prize in Poetry. Hodgson is a senior from Palo Alto, California, majoring in anthropology. Their winning entries, along with the work of all finalists, will be published in the spring issue of Camas: A Journal of Art & Literature. The winners in each category also receive a $500 prize. Creative writing faculty chose finalists from dozens of submissions, with final winners selected by award-winning poet and Linfield alumnus Shane McCrae '02. McCrae is the author of several books of poetry, including "In the Language of My Captor," which won the Anisfield-Wolf Book Award for Poetry and was a finalist for the National Book Award. He is recipient of several other accolades, including a Whiting Award, a National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship and a Guggenheim Fellowship. He will give a public reading of his latest publication, "Pulling the Chariot of the Sun: A Memoir of a Kidnapping," at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, April 30 in Nicholson Library as part of the MacReads program. See the full list of finalists at https://news.linfield.edu/2024-linfield-student-writing-prizes-announced/.

A short film by Linfield University student Andrew Goodwin '24 is hitting the big screen! "Hypnosis" was among those selected for the 2024 McMinnville Short Film Festival. This is the second time Goodwin has had a film featured at the event. His two-minute short titled "Thoughts and Prayers," a visual meditation on gun violence and shootings in America, was screened in 2023. "Hypnosis" is part of the festival's College Showcase, held at 11 a.m. Friday, Feb. 23. Inspiration for the 4.5-minute film about time came from an abstract ink drawing that Goodwin made during his freshman year of high school. "'Hypnosis' is part of a larger portfolio that evolved from wanting to reflect on my pre-collegiate art skills. My goal was to elevate some of my past works," he said. "For me, the film shows that there can both so much time and not enough of it." Goodwin is a senior from Hillsboro, majoring in digital art, literature, and creative writing. In addition to his studies, Goodwin is an assistant director of the Linfield University Writing Center and vice president of the Alpha Tau Nu chapter of the Sigma Tau Delta English Honor Society. He previously attended Glencoe High School in Hillsboro, and earned a certificate in feature film writing from UCLA Extension in 2023. "I feel really gratified that I'd been accepted for a second consecutive year. Last year, I met some of the most fantastic people at the McMinnville Short Film Festival. I look forward to forging more connections this year," Goodwin said. "'Hypnosis' is a film that I'm proud of, and I'm excited for others to view it." Goodwin's cinematic portfolio - including "Hypnosis" and "Thoughts and Prayers" - is available on his YouTube channel -https://www.youtube.com/@andgo100.

Linfield University student Annemarie Mullet won a design contest from Premier Press, a Portland-based creative production firm. The company gives holiday-themed wrapping paper to its clients each year, using a contest for college students to submit original designs. In total, Premier Press received more than 30 submissions from throughout the region. Mullet's design was selected among the top four designs and printed for distribution. The wrapping paper pattern, titled "Snowman Friends," features snowflakes on one side and sketched snowmen on the other. "The making of the design was a complex process, and a lot of fun to work on," she said. "I first sketched and carved the designs into linoleum blocks. I inked the blocks with black ink, then ran them through the press. Then, I scanned the prints into Photoshop, where I digitally altered the designs to have color. I chose blues for colors because I think blues are great colors for the holidays." Mullet is currently a senior at Linfield majoring in digital arts and minoring in creative writing, visual studies and studio art. She is the managing editor and digital art coordinator for The Linfield Review, a student-run media organization. She also works in the Digital Art Lab and at the Writing Center. Mullet is from Kirkland, Washington. "I have been learning printmaking through an independent study with art professor Thea Gahr this semester, and I wanted to use the skills I learned in the design for the wrapping paper," she said. "I had mostly entered the contest because I wanted a chance to try mixing printmaking with Photoshop as I love mixing art mediums, but I also felt very encouraged by my professors and classmates to have a go at it." The three other winners are Andre Saez of the University of Arkansas, Audrey Walch of California Polytechnic State University and Harper Pearce-Mitchell of the University of Oregon. Last year, two Linfield students - Emma Inge '23 and Meghan Mullaly '23 - were winners in Premier Press's 2022 holiday wrapping paper contest. "I feel very appreciative when other creative people see the effort and thought I put into my work and are willing to reward it," Mullet said. "I was also very excited when I received the printed wrapping paper in the mail from Premier Press. All my family's gifts were wrapped in it, and everyone was excited to open gifts with wrapping paper made by me!" See all the 2023 designs at https://www.premierpress.com/project/premiers-2023-holiday-wrapping-paper/.

A group of Linfield University students, from various majors and class years, were honored at the Region VII Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival (KCACTF) held February in Spokane, Washington. The annual event hosts theatre productions, workshops and competitions for colleges and universities in a nine-state region. Eleven Linfield students attended the 2023 event, the first in-person event since 2020, with many of them receiving awards for skills in various areas. Sydney Monroe, a sophomore majoring theatre arts and journalism and media studies, received the KCACTF Region VII Student Choice Award for her publicity work on "Eco-Tales: Student-Adapted Fairy Tales." Monroe's designs included original artwork, fonts, poster designs and social media blasts. Hannah Jones, a first-year student majoring in theatre arts and wine studies, won first place in the Improv Olympics with her four-person team, and she took home the "Golden Chicken" trophy for her comedic work. After a highly competitive audition process, Jones also was cast in one of the Ten-Minute Plays performed during the festival, titled "Our Dying Stars." Junior Nikos Rictor joined Linfield theatre staff members Laurel Peterson and Jesse Klug on the Linfield Technical Theatre team. The three-member squad competed in the Tech Olympics, eventually earning first place. Rictor, a theatre arts and education double major, was also elected to a one-year term on the region's Representation, Equity, Diversity Initiative Board, where they will help create workshops, policies and initiatives to serve the entire region. Tanner Coulter, a senior accounting major, entered the Design/Technology/Management Stage Management competition, where his work on the fall 2022 Linfield production of the musical "Firebringer" was displayed. His oral presentation, and subsequent interview, led him to receive a paid internship offer this summer to work with the Santa Fe Opera. Other students who participated at the regional KCACTF event included seniors Ellie Gossett, and Helika Campbell; junior Alexandra Newberger; sophomore MJ Rinehart; and first-year students Madeline Chandler, Irving Flores-Castro, Kaitlin Harwood and Hannah Jones. More information about Linfield's Theatre Program can be found online at linfield.edu/tca.

Linfield University's theatre program earned a series of awards from the 2022 Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival (KCACTF) Region VII thanks to a trio of students. The event, held online Feb. 14-19, recognizes top theatre programs in nine states. Earning recognition from Linfield University were Abbie Northrop '22, Alea Tran '23 and Hadley Nelson '25. "What an achievement!" said Joe Wilferth, dean of Linfield's College of Arts and Sciences. "Such recognition points to the creativity and success of our theatre students, as it likewise reflects the outstanding teaching and mentorship of our faculty. I'm very proud of our students and our faculty." Linfield's theatre students return to the stage April 21-May 1 for the live production of "Heathers the Musical," in collaboration with the Department of Music and with support from the Lacroute Arts Series. More information on upcoming performances can be found at www.linfield.edu/arts.