Top WT Theatre Students Recognized at Year-End Banquet

Copy by Chip Chandler, 806-651-2124, cchandler@wtamu.edu

CANYON, Texas — West Texas A&M University Theatre lowered the curtain on its 2025-2026 season by honoring top students at its annual Branding Iron Theatre Awards on May 14.

Several students were honored for their work in the classroom and in the program’s four stage productions over the last academic year.

“This is a great time of year to acknowledge and recognize students for all the work that they have done both in the classroom and productions,” said Callie Hisek, the theatre program coordinator and WT’s Royal R. Brantley Professor of Theatre. “It is a time of celebration and reflection of the year that we had, and what a year it was!”

Top BIT Awards were won by Brooklynn Johnson, a senior theatre major from Lubbock, Overall Achievement Award; Mackenzie Cohan, a junior theatre major from Ropesville, Achievement in Acting; Violet Greenhaw, a junior theatre major from Sundown, Achievement in Design/Technology; Corinthia Townsend, a senior musical theatre major from Garland, Achievement in Musical Theatre; Michael Platt, a senior theatre major from Melissa, Achievement in Theatre; and Fayth Thompson, a senior theatre major from Andrews, Achievement in Theatre Education.

Zoey Cain, a junior theatre major from Amarillo, won the New Theatre Buff Award. MarLowe Martinez, a sophomore musical theatre major from El Paso, won the Treston Johnson Spirit Award, named for a theatre student who died in 2018.

Photo: Winners of WT Theatre's Theatre Buff Awards were, from left, Branda Barrett, Isabella Bailey, Violet Greenhaw, Jillian Nuckels, Daniel Baggerman, Nolan Adams, Trey Becerra, Jackson Holmes and Lizbeth Juarez. Not pictured is Mackenzie Cohan.

Ten students were given Theatre Buff Awards, recognizing students who exemplify the program’s core values of collaboration, commitment, excellence and learning. In addition to Cohan and Greenhaw, winners were Nolan Adams, a junior theatre major from Dumas; Daniel Baggerman, a sophomore theatre major from Corpus Christi; Isaella Bailey, a senior musical theatre major from Little Elm; Branda Barrett, a junior theatre major from Wink; Trey Becerra, a junior theatre major from Tulia; Jackson Holmes, a senior theatre major from Tyler; Lizbeth Juarez, a senior theatre major from Grand Prairie; and Jillian Nuckels, a junior theatre major from Dallas.

WT Theatre’s 2026-2027 season will feature “The Lightning Thief: The Percy Jackson Musical” from Oct. 14 to 18; “It’s a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play” from Nov. 18 to 22; “Twelfth Night” from March 3 to 7; and “Hello Dolly!” from April 14 to 18.

WT’s May commencement ceremonies will be held May 15 and 16.

Fostering an appreciation of the arts and rewarding, retaining and recruiting the best students are key components of the University’s long-range plan, WT 125: From the Panhandle to the World .

That plan is fueled by the One West  comprehensive fundraising campaign, which raised more than $200 million dollars, the largest such campaign in Texas Panhandle history.

About West Texas A&M University

West Texas A&M University is a Regional Research University in Canyon, Texas, on a 342-acre residential campus, as well as the Harrington Academic Hall WTAMU Amarillo Center in downtown Amarillo. Established in 1910, the University has been part of The Texas A&M University System since 1990. WT boasts an enrollment of more than 9,000 and offers multiple options for students to graduate and succeed: 66 undergraduate degree programs, including eight associate degrees; and 44 graduate degrees, including an integrated bachelor’s and master’s degree, a specialist degree and two doctoral degrees. WT recently earned a Carnegie Foundation classification as a Research College and University. The Buffaloes are a member of the NCAA Division II Lone Star Conference and offers 16 men’s and women’s athletics programs.

Top Photo: Winners of West Texas A&M University Theatre's Branding Iron Awards included, from left, Violet Greenhaw, Corinthia Townsend, Fayth Thompson, Michael Platt, Brooklynn Johnson, Zoe Cain and MarLowe Martinez. Not pictured is Mackenzie Cohan.

—WT—