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Rays of Light

Area students up for awards at June 20 event for high school theatre students

EXPRESS FILE PHOTO Previous Ray of Light Award winners are shown above and below. The awards are held annualy by the Community Theatre League in Williamsport to recognize high school seniors throughout the region.

Productions put together by students at Central Mountain and Jersey Shore area high schools are being recognized this year at the annual Ray of Light Awards.

Since 2009, the Community Theatre League in Williamsport has presented the annual Ray of Light Awards for excellence in high school theatre, recognizing the best and brightest in local and area high school Music and Theater Departments and Drama Clubs.

Schools who enter productions must be within a 40-mile radius of the Community Theatre League’s home in downtown Williamsport.

This year’s event will look a little different from the usual ceremony at the Community Arts Center.

Due to restrictions imposed by the coronavirus pandemic, the 12th Annual event was shifted from its original date and location and will instead be held by invitation only on June 20 at the Community Theatre League on West Third Street in downtown Williamsport.

This year’s award ceremony will be closed to the public except for those invited by CTL, but the show will be live-streamed on the CTL Ray of Light Awards Facebook page.

This year, 25 productions were entered for adjudication, but nearly half of the school’s musicals were unable to be presented due to the unexpected closure of high schools.

Because of this, no awards will be presented in these categories, but each of the thirteen high schools has been invited to send a performer or a video to represent their production.

All plays, however, were able to be adjudicated, so the Ray of Light Awards will be presented as usual for these categories.

CTL’s Executive Director Seth Sponhouse emphasizes that this year’s Ray of Light ceremony more than ever will focus on all the amazing accomplishments of the area’s high school students and departments in these uncertain times.

Following tabulation of scores by the Community Theatre League’s adjudicators, the following 2020 nominations for the Ray of Light Awards were announced on June 1 by Executive Director Seth Sponhouse and General Manager Philip Vonada.

HONORING THE MUSICAL

PRODUCTIONS ENTERED

3 Little Women – Central Mountain High School

3 Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Cinderella – Benton Area High School

3 The Little Mermaid – Central Columbia High School

3 The Hunchback of Notre Dame – Hughesville Junior-Senior High School

3 Seussical the Musical- Line Mountain High School

3 Pippin – Loyalsock Township High School

3 Annie – Meadowbrook Christian School

3 Bye Bye Birdie – Midd-West High School

3 The Addams Family – Milton Area High School

3 Bye Bye Birdie – Montoursville Area High School

3 Mamma Mia! – Muncy Junior-Senior High School

3 Once on This Island – Shikellamy High School

3 Into the Woods – South Williamsport Area High School

STUDENT DESIGN AWARD

3 Amber Fry, Sacha Alvarez, Faith Mihalick – Choreography, Mamma Mia, Muncy Junior-Senior High School

3 Connor Gautiari – Art/Set Design, Flowers for Algernon, Williamsport Area High School

3 Abbey Groover and Claire Groover – Choreography, Mamma Mia, Muncy Junior-Senior High School

3 Abbey Groover and Claire Groover – Choreography, Anonymous, Muncy Junior-Senior High School

3 Faith Mihalick – Costume Design, Anonymous, Muncy Junior-Senior High School

3 Amy Pantoja – Make-Up Artistry, Anonymous, Muncy Junior-Senior High School

3 Nevaeh Wertman – Set Design, Anonymous, Muncy Junior-Senior High School

BEST PERFORMANCE IN

A CAMEO ROLE IN A PLAY

3 Rosena Campana as Cassie in Rumors – Loyalsock Township High School

3 Devon Miller as Shopping Cart Chaser in Leaving Iowa – Montoursville Area High School

3 Janna Seyler for as Mother in Flowers for Algernon – Williamsport Area High School

3 Maggie Stroop as multiple roles in Leaving Iowa – Montoursville Area High School

3 Brandon Tibbles as Org in The Three Fairy Godmothers – Midd-West High School

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A PLAY

3 Rita Auker as Mary Hatch in It’s A Wonderful Life – Selinsgrove Area High School

3 Olivia Harvey in Trap – South Williamsport Area High School

3 Kaitlyn Meule as Irene in Radium Girls – Warrior Run High School

3 Emma Mitcheltree in Trap – South Williamsport Area High School

3 Emma Podobinski as Kathryn in Radium Girls – Warrior Run High School

3 Anna Wiest as Omaha in Second Samuel – Shikellamy Area High School

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A PLAY

3 Logan Garrett as Cmdr. Brooke in The Uninvited – Jersey Shore Area High School

3 Jaydon Cottage as Dr. Sanderson in Harvey – Milton High School

3 Chris Emery as Tom in Radium Girls – Warrior Run High School

3 Zackary Keller as Leonard in Rumors – Loyalsock Township High School

3 Connor Smith as Rickenoch Baynor in Trap – South Williamsport Area High School

3 MacRay VanKirk as Frisky in Second Samuel – Shikellamy Area High School

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE IN A PLAY

3 Adam Fox as Roddy Fitzgerald in The Uninvited – Jersey Shore Area High School

3 Kevin Anderson as Dad in Leaving Iowa – Montoursville Area High School

3 Spencer Mabus as Elwood Dowd in Harvey – Milton Area High School

3 Adam Mutschler as Roeder in Radium Girls – Warrior Run High School

3 Quahme Powell as Charlie Gordon in Flowers for Algernon – Williamsport Area High School

3 Jacob Rousu as George Bailey in It’s A Wonderful Life – Selinsgrove Area High School

3 Caleb Wertz as B-Flat in Second Samuel – Shikellamy Area High School

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE IN A PLAY

3 Meredith Gardner as Grace in Radium Girls – Warrior Run High School

3 Ashley Loss as Sister in Leaving Iowa – Montoursville Area High School

3 Amber Fry as Naja in Anonymous – Muncy Junior-Senior High School

3 Rachel Kern as Veta Simmons in Harvey – Milton High School

3 Makenzie Shimko as Chris in Rumors – Loyalsock Township High School

3 Aleah Stahlnecker as Grace in Radium Girls – Hughesville Junior-Senior High School

3 Autumn Zeigler as Hoplandria in The Three Fairy Godmothers – Midd-West High School

BEST ENSEMBLE WORK IN A PLAY

3 Rumors, Loyalsock Township High School

3 Leaving Iowa, Montoursville Area High School

3 Anonymous, Muncy Junior-Senior High School

3 Second Samuel, Shikellamy Area High School

3 Radium Girls, Warrior Run High School

3 Flowers for Algernon, Williamsport Area High School

BEST SMALL-CAST PLAY

3 The Uninvited, Jersey Shore Area High School

3 Radium Girls, Hughesville Junior-Senior High School, Radium Girls

3 Rumors, Loyalsock Township High School

3 The Three Fairy Godmothers, Midd-West High School

3 Harvey, Milton Area High School

3 Leaving Iowa, Montoursville Area High School

BEST LARGE-CAST PLAY

3 Anonymous, Muncy Junior-Senior High School

3 It’s a Wonderful Life, Selinsgrove Area High School

3 Second Samuel, Shikellamy High School

3 Trap, South Williamsport Area High School

3 Radium Girls, Warrior Run High School

3 Flowers for Algernon, Williamsport Area High School

FINALISTS FOR ANDREE P. PHILLIPS LEADERSHIP IN THE ARTS AWARD

3 Amber Fry, Muncy Junior-Senior High School

3 Meredith Gardner, Warrior Run High School

3 Theresa Gill, Central Columbia High School

3 Cecelia Huntington, Benton Area High School

3 Ashley Loss, Montoursville Area High School

3 Faith Mihalick, Muncy Junior-Senior High School

3 Julia Priestman, Central Columbia High School

3 Hannah Rankey, Loyalsock Township High School

3 Makenzie Shimko, Loyalsock Township High School

3 Olivia Zeisloft, Central Columbia High School

“We are thrilled to continue honoring the music, drama, and theatre programs through the Ray of Light Awards,” said Sponhouse.

“Thank you to the teachers, the staff, the students, the parents, and volunteers who make these productions possible. Thank you to our local school administrators who continue to see the immense impact and value these programs bring to the students and to their communities. We look forward to seeing the arts come back bigger and stronger than ever when it is safe to in the coming year.”

EXPRESS FILE PHOTO
Additional previous Ray of Light Award winners are shown above.

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