College of Liberal Arts and Sciences at Iowa State University

Top actor

Kelly Bartlett has developed into one of the nation's top college actors.
Sally Field told everyone "you like me. You really like me."

Jack Palance did push ups.

That Italian actor from "Life is Beautiful" jumped all over the stage.

Other famous actors cry and thank everyone they can think of when they receive an Oscar, Tony or Emmy.

Iowa State's Kelly Bartlett laughed.

"I couldn't stop laughing," the senior performing arts major from Cedar Rapids said.

Bartlett's laughter erupted after she was named one of two top actors in the Kennedy Center/American College Theatre Festival last April in Washington, D.C. The award comes with a $2,500 scholarship and a lot of prestige. Bartlett is the first Iowa State theatre student to win the coveted Irene Ryan Acting Award and one of only two Cyclone actors to make it to the national finals.
"This is a great honor for Kelly and for ISU Theatre," said Jane Cox, associate professor of theatre.

It's an award that Bartlett never thought she would win. It may should like a cliché, but it was an honor just to be nominated.

“It’s just incomprehensible to me,” she said. “I never, ever thought I would be in this position."

The shock was so great; that all Bartlett could do was laugh. While she managed to thank her family, professors and others, she forgot to thank maybe the one other person most responsible for her award.

"I didn't realize that I hadn't thanked Ryan until the other winner thanked her scene partner," Bartlett said. "She was a crier, but at least she thanked her partner."

Ryan is Ryan Walrod, a performing arts major at Iowa State. Bartlett and Walrod performed a comedic scene from Jane Martin's play "Jack and Jill, a piece about a passive man and an aggressive woman on their first date as part of Bartlett's audition.

"I think that 85 percent of the reason I got as far as I did was because of the scene and the scene worked so well because I had a really wonderful scene partner," Bartlett said.

That scene was one of two that Bartlett performed at both the national competition and a regional competition where she beat out 300 other student actors that were nominated from colleges and universities in eight midwestern states.

At both competitions, each actor presents five minutes of work consisting of two contrasting scenes; at least one of which was to be performed with a student partner. No costumes can be used and the actor will be provided two chairs and a table

Bartlett also performed a monologue from Margie Zohn’s "Joan."

"I love my monologue," Bartlett says. "It's the story of a woman who’s experiencing an unwanted pregnancy and audience members can see it as either really dark or very comedic.

"You can chuckle at it, but realize that this is a very serious issue that a lot of women and men go through."

Bartlett was initially nominated for the competition for her role in the ISU Theatre production of "Crimes of the Heart." In that play Bartlett played Lenny, the oldest of three sisters who has stayed home to take care of her grandfather.

That role ultimately led to the Irene Ryan Award. But even after she reflects on her success, Bartlett still has trouble believing it.

"Sometimes I don't think I'm a good actor, but rather a good storyteller," she said.