COEUR d'ALENE - Theater, says Joe Jacoby, is one tough way to earn a living.

But if it's what you want, says the North Idaho College theater instructor, go for it.

"If you've got a passion, you've got to give it a try," he said.

Three NIC students will be doing that later this month at the Irene Ryan Acting Scholarship Auditions at American River College in Sacramento, Calif.

Chris LeBlanc, Cole Durbin and Josy Wegner will join students from two-year colleges and four-year universities at the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival Feb. 18-22.

Jacoby said the trio will be going up against many students with more training and more experience, but he is confident the locals will hold their own.

"I think they're going to represent our school and community very, very, well," he said.

Students will be competing for scholarships ranging around $500 to $1,500. But more important, Jacoby said, is the experience they'll receive at the festival, and the chance to see how their talents stack up against colleagues.

"What a great discovery to find out you're really making progress, to find out you belong with this group of people," he said.

The festival includes workshops on many theater subjects, including scenery design, technical theater, lighting, and playwrighting. It's also a chance for NIC students to meet with faculty from four-year schools.

For the Irene Ryan Acting Scholarship Auditions, LeBlanc, Durbin and Wegner will each perform two scenes with a partner, and a monologue, each about 3-6 minutes.

The field of 200 will be narrowed over three rounds.

The 49-year-old LeBlanc, who returned to college three years ago to study engineering, says he's not a traditional college student, but that didn't stop him from pursuing this dream.

The veteran actor has had parts in theater and commercials over the years. Acting has long been a passion, so he is anxious to test himself.

"This is my last chance to do something like this," he said.

While noting theater is a tough field to break into, LeBlanc is impressed with the dedication of younger theater students at NIC and believes they have endless possibilities.

"I am blessed to have such a great relationship with these younger student/actors," he said.

The 21-year-old Durbin will be performing a scene from "Over the River and Through the Woods." His monologue will be from "Much Ado About Nothing."

This is his third year at the festival. Last year, he reached the finals.

"It's a lot of fun getting to meet all the students and professional teachers in this field," he said.

While students are competing for scholarships, they are at the same time, learning from each other, he said.

"We're seeing each others' work," he said.

But before students head out, they need money, first. And because they're students, in theater, no less, they don't have much.

To send the three and their scene partners to the festival, cost is around $6,300.

A few fundraisers are planned.

Students will put on a reader's theater of playwright Norman Foster's "Sadie Flynn Comes to Big Oak."

Performances are scheduled 7-9 p.m. Feb. 7 at NIC's Todd Hall in Molstead Library; 6-8 p.m. Feb. 9 at Calypsos Coffee, and 2-4 p.m. Feb. 10 at Todd Hall. Donations will be accepted.

LeBlanc is directing his fellow students.

"If you like to laugh, if you want to have a good time, come see this," he said.

Another fundraiser, Thespian Freezeout, is scheduled 1 p.m. Feb. 16 at the NIC beach. The actors will take a plunge into Lake Coeur d'Alene, and are asking folks to donate.

LeBlanc believes it's worth whatever it takes to get to the theater festival.

For his Irene Ryan audition, LeBlanc plans to perform scenes from Sam Shepard's "Curse of the Starving Class," and Foster's Sadie Flynn Comes to Big Oak. His monologue will be from Shakespeare's "MacBeth."

He plans to watch and learn as well as perform.

"It's all about seeing what other people are doing," he said.

Jacoby said even if the NIC students don't land any scholarships, they'll return home motivated.

"I've seen a lot of students get very inspired by this event," he said. "It builds up your excitement, it builds up your inspiration and it builds up your tools."

And if that acting career doesn't quite pan out, well, students will still come away with skills like problem-solving and critical thinking that are sure to pay off in other fields, he added.

"It's invaluable no matter where you end up landing," Jacoby said.