Cortland Repertory Reveals Winners of 2023-24 Pavilion Awards

The winners for the 19th annual Cortland Repertory Theatre “Pavilion Awards” were announced on Sunday, May 5 at CRT Downtown in the city of Cortland.  These awards, sponsored in part by a Central New York Community Foundation “Bright Ideas” grant, recognize outstanding achievement in local high school theatre during the 2023-24 school year. The mission of this program is to celebrate and support the thriving and vibrant high school theatre community in the greater Cortland County area. CRT’s intention is to bestow visibility and elevate the importance of theatre education in our schools and reward excellence onstage and off. CRT endeavors to be a vital resource for the theatrical communities in our school systems.

Every musical, play or theatre festival produced in the current school year, and within the “Pavilion Community” (i.e., Cortland County, and schools just outside the county line which have attending students who live in Cortland County) were eligible. All awards are non-gender based, and all involved students, onstage or backstage, were eligible. This long-standing award program was “revamped and renewed” this year by the CRT Board of Directors, with new awards in the following categories.

Shining Star: Each production was awarded “Shining Stars”, chosen by the students involved in the production themselves. Students were asked to cast ballots for two individuals who proved to be enthusiastic, supportive, humble, and caring company members throughout the rehearsal and performance process.

Audience Choice: Audience members were given the opportunity to vote for their two favorite students from each production. Ballots were available and ballot boxes were placed in the lobby area.

Directors Champion: The directing team of each production chose up to two students who demonstrated exemplary leadership, compassion, maturity and an overall positive influence on the rehearsal and performance process.

The Rona Knobel Excellence in Theatre Education Award: This special recognition is awarded to one production each year.  The recipient is a leading example of creativity, inclusion, and community outreach. Production teams submitted applications, describing their challenges, victories and learning experiences with this year’s show. Each application was reviewed and carefully considered by the CRT committee with a final vote by secret ballot.

At the ceremony, CRT’s Producing Artistic Director Kerby Thompson served as host, with Board President Mark Reynolds and Vice President Patrick Leach announcing and presenting the Shining Star and Audience Choice awards.  The directors of each production presented the Directors Champion awards. Winners received medallions with lanyards matching that school’s colors, created by Bernard’s Custom Engraving.  During the ceremony, cast members performed a musical number from their respective shows.

The recipients were as follows:
Cincinnatus: “Crumpled Classics” directed by Hailee Barry
Shining Star: Ace Gates, Shailynn Davis, Lydia Custer and Izzy Beattie
Audience Choice: Ace Gates and Jackson Southern
Directors Champion: Greta Frink and Summer Whitmore

Cincinnatus: “Yearbook Confessionals” directed by Heather Frink
Shining Star: Greta Frink and Ace Gates
Audience Choice: Greta Frink and Jackson Southern
Directors Champion: Greta Frink and Jackson Southern

Cortland: “Cinderella” directed by Susannah Carr
Shining Star: Bridget Madden and Olvia Vitello
Audience Choice: Josh Guest and Riley Madden
Directors Champion: Gage Femino and Vicky Ramiza

Dryden: “Footloose” directed by Alexandra Langdon
Shining Star: Morgan Conway, Talen Harrington, Bruce Debo and Hunter Barlow
Audience Choice: Hunter Barlow and Abby Smith
Directors Champion: Ella Bloomfield-Brown and Lauren Anderson

Groton: “Hello Dolly!” directed by Annette Twitchell
Shining Star: Megan Cute and Andrew Saam
Audience Choice: Megan Cute and Andrew Saam
Directors Champion: Arianna Rumpff and Dew Bush

Homer: “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” directed by Reed Cleeland
Shining Star: Remy Jensen and Emma Robideau
Audience Choice: Emma Effinger and Adrien Oros
Directors Champion: Adrien Oros and Lauren Franco

Homer: “Disney’s Beauty and the Beast” directed by Cara K-B McLaughlin
Shining Star: Chris Boylan and Nina Campos
Audience Choice: Chris Boylan and Nina Campos
Directors Champion: Nina Campos and Levi Niggli

McGraw: “Back to the ‘80’s” directed by Madison Elia
Shining Star: Jorin Santora and Drew Thomas
Audience Choice: Jorin Santora and Drew Thomas
Directors Champion: Hannah Wilson and Ysabelle Miller

Tully: “A Brothers Grimm Spectacularthon” directed by Hayley Oliver
Shining Star: Brennan Dilmore, Clara Currie, Elise Spencer, Lilith Andrews and Stacy Kuty
Audience Choice: Brennan Dilmore and Elise Spencer
Directors Champion: Carina Scalza and Lilith Andrews

Tully: “The Sound of Music” directed by Kat Krumbach
Shining Star: Carina Scalza and Brennan Dilmore
Audience Choice: Ella Tordel and Carina Scalza
Directors Champion: Hannah Brenchley and Luke Doody

Dryden High School’s production of “Footloose” received a plaque for the Rona Knobel Excellence in Theatre Education Award, as well as a check for $500 to be put towards next year’s high school production.

Two more upcoming productions, Homer High School’s “The Outsiders” with performances on May 10 at 7:00, and May 11 at 2:00 and 7:00, and Cortland High School’s One-Act Play Festival with performances on May 10 at 7:00 and May 11 at 2:00, will also be involved in the awards program, with the winners being announced at a later date.