Robert Frost of Clarksville Receives Passion for the Arts Award From Southwestern University

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Robert Frost (left) performs in the fall 2011 production of “Cloud 9” at Southwestern University

GEORGETOWN, TX (04/17/2013)(readMedia)-- Robert Frost of Clarksville has received the 2013 Fayez Sarofim Passion for the Arts Award from Southwestern University.

The award is presented annually to the graduating senior who, regardless of major, has demonstrated an unusual passion for the arts during their career at Southwestern. It includes a cash prize that can be used any way the recipient chooses.

Frost will be graduating from Southwestern in May with a major in theatre and a minor in music. His long-term goal is to be a musical director for theatrical productions.

During his career at Southwestern, he has performed in a total of 15 plays, musicals and operas. He also served as musical director for "The 1940s Radio Hour" ? a job usually taken by faculty or guest professionals.

"Robert is pretty extraordinary," said Kerry Bechtel, associate professor of theatre and chair of the Theatre Department. "His skills and abilities are far beyond what one would usually expect of an undergraduate."

Shows Frost has landed roles in at Southwestern include "Cloud 9," "Escape From Happiness," "Heartbreak House," "Into the Woods," "Little Shop of Horrors," "MUD," "The Beggar's Opera," "The Man Who Came to Dinner," "The Pillowman," "The Yellow Boat," "Trouble in Tahiti" and "Urinetown."

In addition to being part of numerous performances at Southwestern, Frost spent a summer training at the Rhodopi International Theatre Laboratory in Bulgaria and spent a semester at the prestigious National Theatre Institute at the O'Neill Center in Connecticut.

After graduating from Southwestern, Frost plans to work at the Arkansas Repertory Theatre in Little Rock co-writing and developing a musical for their Summer Musical Theater Intensive (SMTI) training program for aspiring young artists. He will also serve as co-musical director and accompanist.

After that, he hopes to do an internship at a place like the Playwrights' Center in Minneapolis. He hopes to enter graduate school in the fall of 2014 and said he plans to use the money he received from the Passion for the Arts Award to help pay for visits to graduate schools. Among the programs he is considering is NYU's Musical Theatre Writing Program.

Frost is the son of John and Julia Frost of Clarksville. He attended Clarksville High School.

Southwestern University is a selective, nationally recognized undergraduate liberal arts college with an enrollment of 1,400 students. It is the oldest institution of higher learning in Texas. For more information on Southwestern, visit www.southwestern.edu.