Hobart and William Smith Colleges

20 November 2013 HWS Production Wins TANYS Awards

A Midsummer Nights Dream, directed by Assistant Professor of Theatre Christopher Hatch, has been cited as a highly praised production, receiving nine awards from Theatre Association of New York State (TANYS). Presented by Hobart and William Smith Colleges and the Geneva Theater Guild (GTG), seven performances of this Shakespeare classic were held in Bartlett Theatre earlier this month.

Many of our students were recognized for their hard work both as actors and as part of the technical team, Hatch says. Productions rarely receive this many awards and this is a great indicator that the quality of the Theatre Program at HWS is growing in an exciting fashion and that the relationship between HWS and the Geneva Theatre Guild is productive and positive for all involved.

As a collaborative community performance, members of the HWS and greater Geneva communities were invited to audition and nearly a quarter of the cast were from the Geneva community. For most of the ensemble, this was their first time performing Shakespeare.

The narrative of A Midsummer Nights Dream focuses on two couples in love with the wrong partners who are brought together thanks in part to the work of a bungling fairy. It is one of Shakespeares most popular works for the stage and is widely performed.

TANYS grants awards in various acting and technical categories at three levels: Meritorious Achievement for some advanced theatrical skill, Excellence for theatrical skill base not routinely noted in non-professional theatre, and Outstanding Achievement for theatrical skill base rarely seen in non-professional theatre.

TANYS honors for Hatchs production of A Midsummer Nights Dream are as follows: Outstanding Achievement in Direction to Hatch; Excellence in Ensemble Acting as The Lovers to Tyler Hatton-Bullock 14, Devyn Workman 15, Amy van Loon 14 and Richard Yackel 16; Excellence in Acting for the portrayal of Puck to Wesley Cady 15; Excellence in Acting to Pat Fegley for his portrayal of Bottom; Excellence in Physicality and Commitment to the Company; Meritorious Achievement in in Costume Design to Cynthia Ann Orr Brookhouse; Meritorious Achievement in Fairy Make-up to Allauna Overstreet-Gibson 14; Meritorious Achievement in Lighting Design to Bill Burd and Devyn Workman; and Meritorious Achievement in Stage Management to Mariana Bell 16.

The entire company committed to the physicality required by the Directors concept giving a production that was almost farce-like in its timing and execution, noted the TANYS adjudicator of the performance. The joining of experienced community theatre actors with the youth and exuberance of college students made this production a joy for the audience and seemingly the company. Anchoring the actors was the strong technical support and creativity of the production staff.

In light of the awards, the recognitions will be given out next year at the TANYS festival banquet in Auburn, N.Y., on Saturday, Nov. 22, 2014.

This fall, the company for A Midsummer Nights Dream also included: Chatham-Rose Anastasi 16; Daniel Bullock; Andrew Coleburn 16; Will Conard-Malley 17; Ashley De Los Santos 17; Pat Fegley; Maxwell Malbouf 14; Nora McKay; Anna Miano 16; Steve Mitchell; Shannon Savard 15; Ben Scheibel 14; Mimi Scott 16; Walker Ward 16; Associate Registrar Carl Webster P13; Grace Weiner15; Paul Wenderlich; Sara Winant 15; Nicole Zanghi 14 and Hatchs dog Portia.

For information about HWS Theatre Program, visit: http://www.hws.edu/academics/theatre/

For information about TANYS, visit: www.tanys.org