Isbell Receives Kennedy Center Gold Medallion

Kennedy Center Honors Acting Professor for Dedication

Tom Isbell is the past regional chair of the National Playwriting Program and is a Professor of Acting at UMD, where he has been honored as a Horace T. Morse Distinguished Teacher, the highest teaching honor given within the University of Minnesota.

A graduate of the Yale School of Drama, his film and television credits include: True Lies, The Abyss, Clear and Present Danger, 84 Charing Cross Road, Jacknife, Designing Women, Coach, The Golden Girls, Columbo, Murder She Wrote, L.A. Law, and recurring roles in Sisters and Jake and the Fat Man.

As a director, he has taken two productions to the Kennedy Center as part of KCACTF: Dear Finder in 1999 and The Movie Game in 2002, either written (or co-written) by students. His acting book, Lessons: The Craft of Acting, was published in 2006, and most recently, he collaborated with political humorist Mark Russell on the musical Teddy Roosevelt and the Treasure of Ursa Major, which received its premiere at the Kennedy Center’s Family Theatre in October 2006, directed by Gregg Henry. T

UMD professor honored at the Kennedy Center: Tom Isbell received the Kennedy Center Medallion, an award presented to outstanding teachers and artists displaying dedication and enthusiasm in teaching and artistry. He has also been honored with the highest teaching honor in the University of Minnesota system, the Horace T. Morse Distinguished Teacher award

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