Southeast professor given Governor's Award

Kenneth Stilson, professor of acting, directing and musical theater and chairman of the Department of Theatre & Dance at Southeast Missouri State University, was honored with the Governor's Award for Excellence in Education this month at Lincoln University in Jefferson City.

Recipients of the Governor's Award are selected by their respective institutions for their demonstrated excellence as teachers, extraordinary levels of scholarship and service and accomplishments that are especially noteworthy, according to a Southeast news release.

"It was a wonderful event," Stilson said in the release. "Winning this award came as a complete surprise. It's simply not something you think about -- winning a prestigious award such as this for simply doing what you love to do."

Stilson is a professor as well as a director, published author, playwright and screenwriter.

As an author, Stilson writes acting theory, helping students around the world learn a repeatable technique for acting in film and television. As a playwright and screenwriter, he creates stories and invents people from scratch.

"That, for me, is the most enjoyable form of writing," he said in the release.

Stilson is best known as the author of the text "Acting Is Believing," eighth, ninth, 10th, 11th, and 12th editions, with the late Larry D. Clark and the late Charles McGaw, which has been adopted by more than 150 universities and colleges around the world.

He continues to serve in leadership roles on numerous national committees and, over the past 15 years, has presented master classes and presentations at various regional and national conventions and at numerous universities, colleges and high schools.