Films, fellowships and farewells for Department of Visual and Dramatic Arts

The plush seats inside the theater at the Rice Media Center were packed with students, faculty, staff, family and friends for an equally packed evening April 19, as the Department of Visual and Dramatic Arts (VADA) hosted its yearly Student Awards Ceremony followed by the 55th annual Rice Student Film Showcase. But before the lights went down, photography professor Geoff Winningham, the Lynette S. Autrey Chair in the Humanities, called his colleague Paul Hester to the lectern for a public farewell. Hester, who recently celebrated his 15th year as a photography lecturer, is retiring from Rice at the end of the semester.

Retiring photography lecturer Paul Hester was celebrated ahead of the 55th annual Rice Student Film Showcase. (Photo by Katharine Shilcutt)

Winningham narrated a selection of his favorite Hester photos from over the years before presenting Hester with a print of the photographer dressed as Superman as a gift from VADA faculty and staff. Following a standing ovation, Hester gave a gentle “thank you.” And then, with a grin as he held aloft his Superman portrait, he roared to continued applause: “In case you didn’t hear me, thank you!”

Afterward, the audience settled in for a screening of short films created by this year’s VADA filmmaking students. A behind-the-scenes documentary of Houston punk outfit Giant Kitty as the band prepared for a set at South by Southwest and a poignant coming-of-age comedy shot at the Gibbs Recreation and Wellness Center were among the 25 films shown during the nearly two-hour festival.

Directly outside the theater, VADA’s 55th annual Student Art Exhibition was on display in a show called “postcards from the interior,” curated by independent museum professional Heather Schweikhardt. The fun continued later in the evening at Sewall Hall, where VADA hosted its 2018 Senior Exhibition, featuring film installations, a student-curated selection of Rice Associate Professor Christopher Sperandio’s microcuentos, Mexican mini-comic books from the 1970s, and mini-comics created by students in the Comics and Sequential Art course at the Comic Arts Teaching and Study Workshop. VADA’s end-of-year exhibitions will remain on display through May 12, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.

The Raymond John Swift Award was given to Nikola Dyulgyarov, receiving a hug at front, and
Helena Alice Martin, descending the stairs to join her co-winner. (Photo by Katharine Shilcutt)

This year, VADA awarded prizes to the following undergraduate students, who were chosen by VADA faculty:

The Mavis C. Pitman Memorial Prize in Arts
Lovett College senior Heather Wright.

The Jessie Matthews Memorial Award in Art
Duncan College senior Elizabeth Denton.

The Raymond John Swift Award
Will Rice College senior Nikola Plamenov Dyulgyarov.
Lovett College junior Helena Alice Martin.

The Kathleen Gamber Ballanfant Award in Film and Photography
Martel College senior Erica Wing-Chin Cheung.

The Christine C. Sayres Memorial Scholarship
Duncan College senior Huidi Xiang.
Jones College senior Robert Michael Katz.

The Darra Keeton Award in Painting and Drawing
Will Rice College senior Ye (Dora) Han.

The William Lukes Award in Photography Honoring Paul Hester
Will Rice College senior Matthew Kerkstra.

The Chairman’s Choice Award in the Arts
Jones College senior Alexander Price Shultz.

The 2018 Louis Sudler Prize in Arts
Duncan College senior Huidi Xiang.

The Barbara Long Chilton Memorial Scholarship in Theatre
McMurtry College sophomore Sierra Beckstrom.
McMurtry College junior Shelby Bice.
Sid Richardson College junior Abby Sledge.
Wiess College sophomore Ashley McDonald.
Brown College sophomore Dan Englund.
Baker College junior Sriparna Sen.

The Neil Sandy Havens Scholarship in Theatre
Lovett College senior Nathaniel Williams.
Jones College junior Dorian Korein.
Wiess College junior Abbey Perez.
Hanszen College sophomore Abigail Grayson.

The Eleanor & Frank Freed Traveling Fellowship
Lovett College junior Suzanne Zeller.

The Mary Ellen Hale Lovett Traveling Fellowship
Jones College senior Justin Bernard.
Will Rice College sophomore Yimo Chen.