UNION COUNTY, NJ — Each year Montclair State University hosts the Theatre Night Awards ceremony to promote and advance the commitment to high-quality straight play production in New Jersey’s secondary schools. The awards honor the accomplishments of individual achievement of both students and educators in the areas of performance, direction, design and technical theater, as well as outstanding productions in drama, comedy, classical and new work.
The ninth annual awards ceremony will be held May 19. The Theatre Night Awards are fondly called the Foxy Awards, in honor of former Mahwah High School theater teacher JoAnne Fox, co-founder of Theatre Night Awards, who died suddenly in 2009 following a rehearsal at her school shortly after the inaugural Theatre Night Awards event.
Union County high schools nominated for awards include Summit High School for “Clue: Live on Stage,” Thomas Jefferson Arts Academy for “Tartuffe,” Union County Academy for Performing Arts for “The Arabian Nights,” Arthur L. Johnson High School for “Bad Seed,” Westfield High School for “Radium Girls,” Rahway High School for “Peter and the Starcatcher,” Governor Livingston High School for “The Incomplete Life and Random Death of Molly Denholtz,” Jonathan Dayton High School for “The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time,” Union Catholic Regional High School for “Clue: Live on Stage” and Cranford High School for “Stage Door.” Two nominated middle schools were Orange Avenue School in Cranford for “The Neverending Story” and Lawton C. Johnson Summit Middle School for “That’s the Spirit.”
Nominations are as follows:
• Summit High School: Outstanding Achievement in Contemporary Costume Design, Outstanding Achievement in Scenic Design, Outstanding Achievement in Stage Direction for Anne Poyner, Outstanding Performance by a Supporting Actor in a Comedic Stage Adaptation of Literary Work or Film for Owen McTernan as Col. Mustard, Outstanding Performance by a Supporting Actress in a Comedic Stage Adaptation of Literary Work or Film for Katie Evenson as Miss Scarlet, Outstanding Performance by a Lead Actor in a Comedic Stage Adaptation of Literature Work or Film for Iain Alvidrez as Wadsworth, Outstanding Achievement by an Acting Ensemble of a Comedic Stage Adaptation of Literature Work or Film, and Outstanding Production of a Comedic Stage Adaptation of Literary Work or Film.
• TJAA: Outstanding Achievement in Period/Fantasy Costume Design, the Peter Filichia Award for Pushing the Envelope in Academic Theatre for Sandra Toll, Outstanding Performance by a Supporting Actor in a Classical Play for Brandon Calda as Orgon, Outstanding Performance by a Supporting Actress in a Classical Play for Olivia Trujillo as Mariane, Outstanding Performance by a Lead Actor in a Classical Play for Cooper Mendonssa as Tartuffe, Outstanding Performance by a Lead Actress in a Classical Play for Ariana Montoya as Dorine the Maid and for Melody Turner as Dorine the Maid, Outstanding Achievement by an Acting Ensemble of a Classical, and Outstanding Production of a Classical.
• UCAPA: Outstanding Achievement in Period/Fantasy Costume Design, Outstanding Achievement in Choreography or Movement, Outstanding Achievement in Live or Original Music, Outstanding Performance by a Lead Actor in a Dramatic Stage Adaptation of Literary Work or Film for Vincent Marabuto as King Shahryar and Aziz, Outstanding Achievement by an Acting Ensemble of a Dramatic Stage Adaptation of Literature Work or Film, and Outstanding Production of a Dramatic Stage Adaptation of Literary Work or Film.
• ALJ High School: Outstanding Achievement in Sound Design.
• Westfield High School: Outstanding Achievement in Scenic Design, Outstanding Achievement in Sound Design, Outstanding Achievement in Stage Direction for Daniel Devlin, Outstanding Performance by a Supporting Actor in a Drama for Finn McGurn as Tommy, Outstanding Performance by a Supporting Actress in a Drama for Remi Shendell as Kathryn, Outstanding Performance by a Lead Actor in a Drama for Matthew Meixner as Arthur Roeder, Outstanding Performance by a Lead Actress in a Drama for Sophie Tananbaum as Grace Fryer, and Outstanding Production of a Drama.
• Rahway High School: Outstanding Achievement in Live or Original Music, Outstanding Achievement in Student Makeup Design for Kaitlyn Blair, Outstanding Achievement in Dramaturgy for Jensyn Modero, the JoAnne Fox Veteran Award for Modero, Outstanding Performance by a Lead Actress in a Comedic Stage Adaptation of Literature Work or Film for Story Young as Blackstache and for Tiffany Gonzalez as Molly Aster, and Outstanding Production of a Comedic Stage Adaptation of Literary Work or Film.
• Governor Livingston: Outstanding Achievement in Student Stage Management for Danielle Yablonovskiy, Outstanding Achievement in Educational Impact and Community Outreach for Joe Elefante, Outstanding Performance by a Lead Actor in a Drama for Gio Staricco as Dominic, and Outstanding Performance by a Lead Actress in a Drama for Maycee Campano as Erin.
• Jonathan Dayton: Outstanding Achievement in Student Stage Management for Lauren Schultz, Outstanding Performance by a Supporting Actor in Dramatic Stage Adaptation of Literary Work or Film for Jonah Glass as Ed, Outstanding Performance by a Supporting Actress in Dramatic Stage Adaptation of Literary Work or Film for Lillian Friedman as Siobhan, Outstanding Performance by a Lead Actress in Dramatic Stage Adaptation of Literary Work or Film for Sarah Zarember as Christopher Boone, Outstanding Achievement by an Acting Ensemble of a Dramatic Stage Adaptation of Literature Work or Film, and Outstanding Production of a Dramatic Stage Adaptation of Literary Work or Film.
• Union Catholic: Outstanding Achievement in Dramaturgy for Emily Dzioba, Outstanding Performance by a Supporting Actor in a Comedic Stage Adaptation of Literary Work or Film for Kevin Caffrey as Mr. Green, Outstanding Performance by a Lead Actor in a Comedic Stage Adaptation of Literature Work or Film for Nick Mehno as Wadsworth, Outstanding Achievement by an Acting Ensemble of a Comedic Stage Adaptation of Literature Work or Film, and Outstanding Production of a Comedic Stage Adaptation of Literary Work or Film.
• Cranford High School: the JoAnne Fox Veteran Award for David Marconi, Outstanding Performance by a Supporting Actor in a Drama for Sullivan Grace as Adolph Gretzel, and Outstanding Performance by a Lead Actress in a Drama for Nora Sullivan as Terry Randall.
• Orange Avenue School: Outstanding Performance by a Supporting Actress in a Middle School Production for Olivia Ludlam as the Childlike Empress, Outstanding Performance by a Lead Actor in a Middle School Production for Danny Kennedy as Bastian and for Connor Perez as Atreyu, and Outstanding Production of a Middle School Play.
• LCJ Summit Middle School: the JoAnne Fox Newcomer Award for Ashley Raven, Outstanding Performance by a Lead Actor in a Middle School Production for Ryan Grondin as Detective Bud Frazer and for Matt Krunnfusz as Wayne Hopkins, Outstanding Performance by a Lead Actress in a Middle School Production for Sarah Walsh as Detective Charlotte Prindle and for Scarlet Bale Dyer as Ruby, and Outstanding Production of a Middle School Play.