Kamps Memorial Award
2022 Recipient
Natalie Franke

Given by Beaver Dam Area Community Theatre

BDHS Graduate Receives BDACT’s Kamps Award

Natalie Franke, a 2022 Beaver Dam High School graduate, is the recipient of this year’s Beaver Dam Area Community Theatre (BDACT) Jerome H. Kamps Memorial Award. Natalie’s interest in theater began when, as a three-year-old, she attended BDACT rehearsals with her mother and grandmother. From then on, she said, “It was magic! Growing up with this experience and influence instilled me with creativity and passion for theater.” She especially values theater for the opportunity to “make close friends who became my second family.”

At eight years old she performed in BDACT’s Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. Natalie has appeared in St. Stephen’s Lutheran Elementary School plays, BDACT’s Tell-A-Tale and main stage shows, Beaver Dam High School plays, and other theater experiences. Her stage skills include acting, dancing, singing, as well as a variety of backstage roles. Following her freshman year in high school, Natalie performed in BDACT’s area high school production, Newsies. She has continued to participate in each of BDACT’s summer high school shows and the Beaver Dam High School musicals, including the role of Yente in Fiddler on the Roof. Currently, Natalie is in the cast of BDACT’s high school summer musical, Big Fish.

To qualify for the $500 annual award sponsored by the Kamps family, the recipient must be a graduating senior from Beaver Dam High School, Wayland Academy, or another area high school, who is committed to post-graduation education. This fall, Natalie will be attending UW-Whitewater to pursue undergraduate and master’s degrees in Communication Sciences/Disorders.

To select an award winner, a committee of theater representatives evaluates the candidates’ essays and tallies the points and hours committed to their theater experiences. Committee Chair Annette Kamps said. “In their essays, the applicants expressed sincere appreciation for the opportunities that theater has given them to grow in their talents and benefit from the camaraderie created within a supportive theater community.”

The award is in memory of Jerome H. Kamps, a co-founder and charter member of BDACT and a dedicated art teacher at the Beaver Dam High School for thirty-four years. He is particularly remembered for his many outstanding set designs for BDACT and BDHS productions and for the encouragement and love for the arts that he instilled in so many.