Edmonds Driftwood Players announces 2024 Scholarship winners

Edmonds WA – August 9, 2024. Following Board approval on July 31, 2024, Edmonds Driftwood Players is proud to announce our 3 scholarship recipients.

Daryna Ilyashenko is the recipient of the Ralph Eaton Technical Scholarship, 

Elizabeth Howlett is the recipient of the Theatre Arts Scholarship,

Josh Kretz is the recipient of the AC & Norma Gehrig Memorial Scholarship. 

Each will be awarded $1,000 payable to their school of choice.

The Ralph Eaton Technical Scholarship honors a long-time member who spent many hours designing and/or building sets and was our volunteer Technical Director for many years. It was created by his loving wife, Judy Anne Eaton, a longtime member and volunteer.

The Theatre Arts Scholarship has been a long-standing award established in 1988.

The AC & Norma Gehrig Memorial Scholarship was created by our longtime member, volunteer, past board director and office manager, Keith Gehrig to honor his parents.

Daryna Ilyashenko

Daryna Ilyashenko is a 2024 graduate of Meadowdale High School and is planning to pursue a major in acting and original works and minoring in costume construction at Cornish College of The Arts in Seattle. 

“Theater has helped me understand myself more, it has taught me my strengths and weaknesses. Due to this Theater community, I was able to grow through being vulnerable. I am so ecstatic to be able to continue my journey and acting at Cornish College of the arts and Seattle.”

"While balancing a lead role and being light crew head, Daryna also managed to keep up her stellar grades, work a part time job, and take care of her younger siblings. Talent is important, of course, and Daryna’s talents are plentiful: but what makes her stand out is her drive to pour her all into anything and everything she does."

 

-Jacqueline Meyners, Theatre Teacher and Director of Meadowdale Players

2022 Shorecrest graduate 
Elizabeth “Bobby” Howlett

Elizabeth “Bobby” Howlett is a 2022 graduate of Shorecrest High School who has completed her sophomore year at USC School of Dramatic Arts with an emphasis on acting for stage & screen, voice, and script analysis. 

She hopes to study abroad in London at the British American Dramatic Academy (BADA) for Spring semester and plans to graduate in May 2026. 

In her words: “Acting has become a way for me to embrace my uniqueness. I can better show empathy to others both as an actor and a person. This allows me to connect better with characters as an artist, and also collaborate with people with differing perspectives and opinions.”

"I was always delighted with Bobby’s approach to the work. Too often my students fail to wed their joy, freedom and sense of play with the rigor necessary to train in a field this demanding."

-Paul Urcioli, USC School of Dramatic Arts

Josh Kretz

Josh Kretz is a 2023 graduate of Meadowdale High School and has completed his freshman year at Western Washington University where he is working toward a degree in theater arts with a concentration in education with further plans to obtain a master’s in teaching. 

“My goal is to become a theater teacher, so I can educate students on the importance of Theater and give them an opportunity to find their voice and become their own advocate. It will also give me a chance to continue being an advocate for autism and to raise awareness and acceptance. I want to continue to work towards making the arts accessible to anyone and everyone.”

"As Marketing crew head, Josh has taken his work one step further, and has developed into an incredible leader. Not only does he delegate tasks, but he leads his team in bonding activities, gets input from each team member on important decisions, and works with each of them to create a powerful and effective marketing strategy. Josh has bloomed as a leader and advocate in the program."
-Jacqueline Meyners, Theatre Teacher and Director of Meadowdale Players

EDMONDS DRIFTWOOD PLAYERS is a volunteer based 501(c)(3) non-profit community theatre. We have been entertaining and educating our community since 1958, making us one of the oldest continually operating community theatres in Washington State.