PLAYERS BY THE SEA PELICAN AWARDS 2010

by DICK KEREKES & LEISLA SANSOM
The month of August is the quietest month of the year for theatre since most groups have finished their season and are getting ready for September openings. Still, a bright spot for many theatres exists: the awards presentation held to acknowledge the accomplishments of their volunteers and performers during the past season.
Players has been around 44 years and we have been to a number of their Pelican Awards ceremonies. The evening is always exciting and a great time to mingle and talk with actors and actresses whom you have seen throughout the year but only on stage and not up close and personal.
The President of the Board, Holly Gutshall, made an unofficial state of the union speech and said that the goal of any theatre group these days is to make enough money to cover their production and operating expenses, with a little bit left over if they are lucky. Players, once again, successfully reached that goal and also had an outstanding season artistically in our opinion. Here are the award recipients for this year, and congratulations to all those nominated which is in itself is a great accomplishment.
MAINSTAGE AWARDS
BEST MAINSTAGE PRODUCTION – Parade
BEST DIRECTOR – MAINSTAGE – Michael Lipp – Parade
BEST ACTOR – MAINSTAGE – Jason Collins – A Moon for the Misbegotten
BEST ACTRESS – MAINSTAGE – Zeina Salame – A Moon for the Misbegotten
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR – MAINSTAGE – Mark Wright – Sabrina Fair
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS – MAINSTAGE – Christina May – Crumbs
OUTSTANDING YOUNG PERFORMER – Emily Suarez – Parade
OUTSTANDING CAMEO PERFORMANCE – Maggie O’Connor – Sabrina Fair
MUSICAL AWARDS
BEST ACTOR IN A MUSICAL – Josh Waller – Parade
BEST ACTRESS IN A MUSICAL – Staci Cobb – Parade
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A MUSICAL – Steven Anderson, Jr. – Parade
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A MUSICAL – Laura Mauldin – Pippin
OUTSTANDING MUSICAL DIRECTION – Samuel Clein – Parade
OUTSTANDING CHOREOGRAPHY – Niki Stokes – Pippin
STUDIO AWARDS
BEST STUDIO PRODUCTION – ART
BEST DIRECTOR – STUDIO – Dave Alan Thomas – ART
BEST ACTOR – STUDIO -Joseph Walz – ART
BEST ACTRESS – STUDIO – Simone Aden Reid – Talking Heads
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR – STUDIO – Kevin Roberts – A Perfect Ganesh
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS – STUDIO – Robyn Neal – Seasons Spice
DESIGN/TECHNICAL AWARDS
BEST SET DESIGN – MAINSTAGE – Gordon Goede & Lee Hamby – A Moon for the Misbegotten
BEST LIGHTING DESIGN – MAINSTAGE – Jim Wiggins – A Moon for the Misbegotten
BEST COSTUME DESIGN – Lee Hamby – Parade
BEST SET DESIGN – STUDIO- Joe Schwarz & Lee Hamby – Talking Heads
BEST LIGHTING DESIGN – STUDIO – Joe Schwarz – A Perfect Ganesh
OUTSTANDING STAGE MANAGER – Kat McLeod – Parade
VOLUNTEER AWARDS
OUTSTANDING BACKSTAGE VOLUNTEER – Paul Rowe
OUTSTANDING SERVICE – Jim & Michelle Wiggins
We are looking forward to another outstanding season of programming by Players, beginning with The Full Monty on-stage beginning September 17 through October 9. Call 249-0289 or visit www.playersbythesea.org for reservations or additional information.