BY ROD JONES
OCU COMMUNICATIONS
久草国产福利's School of Theatre added two graduates to its Hall of Honor this year 鈥� (BFA Acting 鈥�20) and (BFA Acting 鈥�13). A ceremony was held in April before the opening performance of Thorton Wilder鈥檚 鈥淥ur Town.鈥�
Kariuki is best known for her role in the reboot of 鈥淭he Wonder Years鈥� and 鈥淏lack Lightning鈥� TV series. She also performed in the Bob Dylan biopic and appeared in an 鈥淎merican Horror Stories鈥� season.
Fanning鈥檚 credits include stage and screen roles like the recent Broadway production of "Othello" starring Denzel Washington and Jake Gyllenhaal. He was also in "Chicago Med," "Search Party" and the Comedy Central film "Hot Mess Holiday."
The School of Theatre Hall of Honor began in 2013 as part of its 90th anniversary season to highlight the contributions of distinguished alumni, former faculty and staff who have demonstrated a commitment to the continued growth and development of OCU; and have made a significant impact on the performing arts community at the local, state, national or international level. It is located on a wall in the entryway to the Burg Theatre.
Previous inductees include:
- Mark E. Parker (former dean)
- Cathy O鈥橠onnell (JD 鈥�81)
- Harold 鈥淐hip鈥� Ulich (BA 鈥�80, MPA 鈥�85)
- Donald Jordan (BA 鈥�80)
- Jonathan Beck Reed
- Lakshmi Manchu (BA 鈥�02)
- Robert Pittenridge
- Debra Hicks
- James Stuhlmiller (BA 鈥�78)
- Jeffrey Meed (BS 鈥�95, MPA 鈥�97)
- Billie Boston (costume design professor)
- Gilbert McCauley (BA 鈥�81)
- Ruth Fox Charnay (BA 鈥�86, MPA 鈥�91)
- Richard J. Charnay (BA 鈥�73)
More about this year鈥檚 honorees:
Laura Kariuki鈥檚 OCU School of Theatre credits included 鈥淭he Trojan Women,鈥� 鈥淭he Bluest Eye鈥� and 鈥淧icnic.鈥� She was also selected to perform in the World Theatre Education Alliance in Beijing, China.
Soon after graduation, Kariuki was selected to participate in the 2020 ABC Discovers Showcase where she was mentored by executives from ABC Entertainment. She started her professional career as J.J. Stewart in the 鈥渆lectrical superhero鈥� CW series 鈥淏lack Lightning,鈥� then was cast as Kim Williams in ABC鈥檚 鈥淭he Wonder Years.鈥�
She was born in Iowa and grew up in Lenexa, Kansas, near Kansas City.
Ty Fanning is an actor originally from Mustang, Oklahoma. Upon graduating from OCU, Fanning landed the lead role in the independent feature film "Hollis," which went on to screen at festivals around the world before streaming on Amazon.
Fanning has performed in more than 30 Shakespeare productions including the title role in "Hamlet" at the and Romeo in "Romeo & Juliet" at the . He has also worked on stages in Chicago and New York, where he鈥檚 lived since 2021.
Pictured above from left are W. Jermone Stevenson, associate dean of Theatre; Ty Fanning; Laura Kariuki; and Julia Montag, dean of the Bass School of Music and School of Theatre at the Hall of Honor induction ceremony.
