Mort Clark Award

2014 Honoree
Kathie Maldonado, Alto, NM

Kathie Maldonado  has been a tireless advocate for international theatre; nurturing opportunities and creating connections with the international theatre community. She has made annual visits to the Region X (Overseas Military) festival in Germany, and enthusiastically performed logistical tasks large and small in support of the festival and its goals. Kathie has become increasingly involved as a liaison to the International Amateur Theatre Association (IATA) and has invested an unequalled amount of time and personal resources to represent the US with the IATA organization, frequently traveling to far flung locations to advise and plan events of mutual interest and benefit. She has been a strong advocate for reviving the North American Regional Association (NARA) of IATA and as its chair, has been striving to revitalize its mission and membership. Kathie has worked to stimulate Canadian and US participation and partnerships and has been a steady and visible presence for the US at diverse international festivals.

Previous Recipients

2007  Hiroshi Koizumi (Japan)
2008  The Cellario Family (Monaco)
2009  Jim Sohre (Army Europe Command Entertainment)  
2013  Ross Rowland (Muncie, IN)
           John Viars & Des Moines Playhouse (Des Moines, IN)

Mort Clark

This award is named in honor of Mort Clark, who began a 30-year career teaching Theatre and Speech at Westchester Community College in 1966. He served as department chair for a number of years and was instrumental in the design of the new theater in the Academic Arts Building. But he is perhaps best remembered for establishing an annual International Theatre Festival, which brought community theatre groups from all over the world to the Valhalla campus for a week of non-stop dramatic performances.

He served as president of the American Community Theatre Association (AACT's predecessor) and later served many years on the AACT Board as the Region II Rep. He was always there to greet new board members and make them feel welcome. He was honored by AACT with the David C. Bryant Outstanding Service Award, the Art Cole Award, and designation as an AACT Fellow. He adjudicated festivals throughout the country.

His passion for community theatre took him all over the world and earned him scores of awards, honorary titles and degrees too numerous to mention.  He was a familiar presence at AACT meetings, festivals and conventions for many years. In 1993 Mort traveled to Monaco to be knighted by Princess Caroline on behalf of her father, prince Rainier. He was awarded the Chevalier Medal of Culture at Monaco's Princess Grace Theatre, and was thereafter entitled to be addressed as “Sir Mortimer”--an honor that delighted him thoroughly. Mort retired from Westchester Community College in 1997, and that year he made over 40 trips to teach and work with theatre groups around the world. He continued to travel and work until his death in 2007 at age 78.