USU Theatre Faculty Create New Musical Theatre Program, Win Utah Theatre Association Awards

LOGAN, Utah — USU's new Musical Theatre program and multiple faculty received awards at this year's annual DramaCon for the Utah Theatre Association (UTA). Utah State University had the honor of hosting this year’s event. This event took place Jan 23–25 and provided high school students and teachers with the opportunity to see what universities around the state offer in their theatre programs along with connections to peers and professionals.

USU hasn’t hosted UTA’s DramaCon since 2003 and is thrilled to be back in the hosting rotation. This conference took a year of planning and ran smoothly with the help of USU theatre students, faculty, and teachers.

“They were just all hands-on deck,” said Theatre Arts Department Head Richie Call. “And I think our students enjoyed it, because they remember being in high school and participating in UTA themselves. I think they got a kick out of being here and being the big people helping out their own schools.”

Kelsey Koga, production stage manager, was a key player in putting the event together for DramaCon to take place here at USU. She helped with preparations, ensuring the experience was high quality, and even ensured navigation around the building was clear.

“Hosting UTA allowed us to show off our incredible fine arts center and beautiful campus to high school and some middle school students,” said Koga. “There is no better recruiting tool than having prospective students see our spaces and interact with our faculty, staff, and students.”

Around 1,500 high school students from around the state attended, and local Cache Valley High Schools performed their theatre productions on their campuses as part of the DramaCon convention.

USU’s production of “Between the Lines,” which was performed in November, received a special award from the Utah Theatre Association at the convention. The plaque recognized the USU Theatre Department’s work, stating: "In appreciation on behalf of the Utah Theatre Association 2025."

Along with this award, Theatre Arts Department Head Richie Call and Head of Musical Theatre & Assistant Professor Vanessa Ballam were awarded for their dedicated service to Theatre Education in Utah.

“This is a very special award and meaningful to me because it’s an award that was presented to both my grandpa and grandma when they were working as educators in the state.” Call said.

The other recipient of this award, Ballam, was hired to join USU in December and started on Jan. 6. During her short time with the theatre department, she has already initiated a proposal to create USU’s Musical Theatre Program.

After the submission due Jan. 8, the proposal will go through a process of approval through the university, the State Board of Education, and then through the National Association of Schools of Theatre (NAST).

“We hired Vanessa to create this program because most of the universities in the state have a musical theatre program and it was really important to us to offer a fantastic one,” Call said. “We didn't just want to say, ‘here's a degree,’ but make it a successful venture for our students. Vanessa has been working tirelessly since she got here in January to move curriculum through the proper channels.”

This program would begin in fall 2026 and is a collaborative degree that will require music classes such as piano, music theory, sight singing, and collaboration with the opera program.

“We had such a short time to submit the new degree proposal and the USU music and theatre faculty were really gracious and generous in their support of this effort, especially considering I had only been at USU for a matter of days,” Ballam said.

Ballam brings valuable experience from her time at Idaho State University, where she developed and led a new acting curriculum. She holds a Master of Fine Arts in Classical Acting from Indiana University, which meets the NAST requirement for acting classes to be taught by an MFA-qualified instructor.

“It was so exciting to build something and see the fruits of the labors,” said Ballam. “I feel what was created in Pocatello, Idaho was special. And to trust the work and to see what will come of it, I was really, proud of the training and of the students.”

Throughout Ballam’s time at ISU she was honored with the Idaho State’s Journal Woman of Influence award for her contributions to the arts, the National Alliance Outstanding Acting Teacher Fellowship from KCACTF, a Master Teacher Award from Idaho State University and a 20 Under 40 Young Professional Award from the Idaho State Journal. She also created the Utah High School Musical Theater Awards (UHSMTA) which is Utah’s statewide regional affiliate for the National Jimmy Awards.

After her dedicated years at ISU, Ballam returned to her roots in Logan. She has a BA and a BFA from USU and her father, a USU music professor, Michael Ballam, was overjoyed when USU made the offer to his daughter.

Michael is the founding general director of the Utah Festival: Opera and Musical Theatre. For the past 30 years, he has envisioned the establishment of a musical theatre program at Utah State University.

“He's a world-renowned opera singer who chose to make Logan his home and start a professional opera company,” Vanessa said. “And that's another thing that attracted me to saying ‘yes’ to this very unexpected offer to come to Logan, to carry on the mission and vision of my dad and to be able to be his colleague.”

The addition of this program solidifies the land grant mission of making arts accessible to the community while continuing the excellence that is expected and provided in the program, proven through the awards they won through the UTA.

For more information on the Caine College of the Arts Department of Theatre, visit the website.