Awards Recognize Westonka Theatre Program for Excellence

By Carol Shukle

A SpotLight Award for Outstanding Overall Performance has once again been awarded to Mound Westonka High School theater students.

When the Hennepin Theater Trust announced its fall SpotLight awards, the cast of MWHS’s fall musical, “The Drowsy Chaperone,” was named for the Outstanding Overall Performance Award, and the entire production received an Honorable Mention.

It is the second year in a row for the high school’s fall musical to receive both those honors.

In addition, eight members of the cast were also singled out for individual SpotLight awards. The complete list appears at the end of this post.

Now in its seventh year, SpotLight is Hennepin Theatre Trust’s flagship educational initiative. This year, a record 56 schools, including 13 new schools and nine from greater Minnesota, are presenting musicals made possible by the collaboration of almost 5,000 students. The performances will seen by an estimated 105,000 people in 2012.

Mound Westonka High School and its musical theatre students will also be honored at SpotLight’s culminating event, the Seventh Annual SpotLight Showcase—scheduled this year for 7 p.m. on Monday, June 11, at the Orpheum Theatre.

The evening celebrates and honors high school musical theatre accomplishments with dynamic student performances mixed with award presentations. Last year’s event sold out and featured nearly 1,000 Minnesota students on the Orpheum stage. Tickets will go on sale at a later date.

“This year the students at Mound Westonka took on an exciting new challenge with their fall production,” said Megan Anderson, assistant director and choreographer. “The Drowsy Chaperone was packed with big production numbers full of challenging choreography, and I am so proud of all of the students from the actors on stage to the crew to the pit orchestra for all of the dedication and energy that was put into this show.”

Linda Eder is a SpotLight spokesperson, Broadway actress and Drama Desk-nominated vocalist. She said at a time when budgets are being cut, giving young people opportunities to work together on school musicals is important. 

“Performing opens up a new world for some kids that didn’t even know they have the ability until they’re involved,” Eder said.

SpotLight’s benefits include the opportunity to work with local and national theatre educators and musical theatre professionals who offer training, insight through critical feedback and on-site school workshops. A group of evaluators is retained by the Trust to assess each production with constructive written commentary and nominate honorees. Shows are not compared or ranked against each other, so categories may have multiple honorees.

The Drowsy Chaperone played at MWHS to full houses and enthusiastic audiences Nov. 10 through 13. The evaluators visiting from the SpotLight program provided written feedback including, “I could tell that you LOVED this show! Your enthusiasm and energy was palpable, and you really brought the audience on this fun journey with you. There are so many moments where ‘the Woman’ pokes fun at the clichés of the ‘20s musicals, which she clearly loves, and your strong characters played those moments to the hilt, yielding great laughs and smiles from me and everyone around me.”

Eight members of the cast from "The Drowsy Chaperone" were singled out for individual SpotLight awards. They were:

• Ashley Kershaw as The Drowsy Chaperone, Outstanding Performance in a Supporting Role.
• Monica Shukle as Woman in Chair, Honorable Mention Performance in a Leading Role.
• Allie Gruman as Janet Van De Graaff, Honorable Mention Performance in a Leading Role.
• Riley Peterson as Robert Martin, Honorable Mention Performance in a Leading Role.
• Abraham Thaler as Aldolpho, Honorable Mention Performance in a Supporting Role.
• Claire Erickson as Mrs. Tottendale, Honorable Mention Performance in a Featured Role.
• Zack McDowell as Underling, Honorable Mention Performance in a Featured Role.
• Shelby Stahl as Kitty, Honorable Mention Performance in a Featured Role.

The eight individual MWHS SpotLight Honorees share the Outstanding Overall Performance Award with a cast that also included:

• Hogan Ryan Kelly
• Mervin Moorhead,
• Isabel Barnhart
• John Hunt
• Nate Barnes
• Naomi Jackson
• Maddy Isaacs
• Josh Klein
• Anna Malchow
• Kyrie Maloney
• Miguel Octavio
• Claire Rude
• Matthew Sheehan
• Shelby Smith
• Coco Wagner

In addition to the cast, the award for Honorable Mention for Overall Production also recognizes the stage and tech crew of:

• Alaina Bader
• Katie Rasmussen
• Ella Taggart
• Chris Pilling
• Eric Schmeltzer
• Alisyn Doering
• Sam Hulme
• Sidney Louisiana
• Eloise Montgomery
• Christine Osmek

The the student musicians in the orchestra included:

• Kristina Hayhurst
• Hannah Randklev
• Josie Zimmerman
• Trystan Nicholas
• Leah Pinault
• Chris Empey
• Tom Lloyd
• Oliver Berglund
• Grant Harrison
• Rudy Rice
• Nick Battis
• Shawna Heilman