Marshall theatre professor, student honored

Marshall University theatre professor Mike Murphy (pictured at right) and MU theatre student Stephen R. Horton were honored recently for different accomplishments.

Murphy, a professor of theatre design and technology, received the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts Medallion for lifetime contributions to theatre, in large part because of the Gulf Coast Relief Tour conducted last fall by Murphy and Marshall’s Pickled Pepper Players.

The John F. Kennedy Center Medallion is conferred for exemplary service and excellence in the field of theatre higher education. The highest award given by the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival, it was presented to Murphy in February during the Region IV Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival in Jacksonville, Fla.

Horton, a senior, was selected to participate in the Stage Management Mentor Project of the U.S. Institute for Theatre Technology (USITT) March 28 through April 1. He is one of 12 students and young professionals from the U.S. and Canada to be paired with professional stage managers from across the country as they mount events associated with the USITT Conference and Stage Expo.

Horton, 22, is the sixth Marshall student in the past 10 years to be chosen to participate in the program. He will be paired up with his mentor when he arrives at the conference.

“I’m happy to have been selected,” said Horton, who will graduate in May with a degree in theatre technology and design. “It sounds like a lot of fun and I’m going to learn a lot. I hope one day to be a successful stage manager in the world of theatre.”

Murphy and his wife, Karla, accompanied the seven MU students on the Pickled Pepper Players’ 2,400-mile, 10-day tour. The Pickled Pepper Players is a touring children’s theatre company sponsored by the MU Department of Theatre that traveled to the Gulf Coast in late November and early December to perform for children displaced by last year’s hurricanes.

“All I did was drive the bus,” Murphy said, downplaying his role on the tour. “I was really surprised that they considered me so quickly. The thing that tipped it over the top was the tour. It brought the students’ efforts to the forefront. They were able to see the product of what we do on an ongoing basis.”

Murphy said receiving the medallion was “a real honor,” not only for himself, but for the Pickled Pepper Players.

“It really is a nice feather in the hat of the department and the kids that did the Pickled Pepper Players tour,” Murphy said. “They have to give it to an individual, but it’s really an honor for everyone.”

Murphy has been in the teaching profession since 1982, holding positions at Georgia Southwestern College in Americus, Ga., and Marshall. He has been a Visiting Instructor at the University of South Florida and at Florida State University. Murphy serves in a number of capacities with USITT and is president of the West Virginia Theatre Conference. He also serves on the Board of the West Virginia Thespians.