April 24, 2026

Theatre NDSU students, faculty receive national awards from American College Theatre Festival for “Glory”

Four female students performing in Theatre NDSU's "Glory". The actors are wearing red and white hockey uniforms from the 1930s and holding hockey sticks.

In January, Theatre NDSU was honored to be selected to perform Tracey Power’s “Glory” as one of only four featured performances at the Region 5 American College Theatre Festival (ACTF) in Rochester, MN. It was chosen out of over 100 university productions submitted across Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, and South Dakota.

Now, we’re thrilled to announce that faculty and students who took part in “Glory” received national awards from the American College Theatre Festival, positioning “Glory” as one of the best university theatre productions performed across the country this year.

ACTF announced that “Glory” received the following national awards on its website on April 23:

Distinguished Production of a Play: Cast, Design Team, and Crew
Distinguished Performance in a Play: Gabby Elaine, Actor
Distinguished Performance and Production Ensemble: Cast, Design Team, and Crew
Distinguished Direction of a Play or Musical: Jess Jung, Director
Region 5 Commendation: Terth Tuel, Assistant Director

The American College Theatre Festival (ACTF) is a national program that recognizes excellence in college theatre and provides professional development opportunities to university theatre programs across the United States.

Theatre NDSU originally presented “Glory” by Tracey Power Dec. 4 – 6 and 11 – 13, 2025, in Askanase Auditorium. The heartwarming play directed by Jess Jung, NDSU College of Arts and Sciences Associate Dean and theatre faculty member, is based on the true story of the Preston Rivulettes, a female hockey team that dominated Canadian ice rinks during the Great Depression.

“Glory” is an inspiring story that Theatre NDSU was proud to perform on a local and regional scale. These national awards from ACTF confirm the quality of NDSU’s theatre program and inspire us to keep bringing stories to life, as we’ve done for over a century.

To learn more about Theatre NDSU, visit our website.