Submitted
Music Theatre Wichita’s Jester Awards program, which has been honoring outstanding achievements by Kansas high schools in the field of musical theatre since 2002, is observing the current restriction on large in-person gatherings by transforming the popular awards ceremony into a high-energy online event, to be available throughout the digital world.
MTWichita producing artistic director Wayne Bryan said, “Theatre people love the Tony Awards every year, even though most of us have never seen them in person. This new online version of the annual Jester Awards will allow the local theatrical excitement to reach a huge audience.
"The 2020 Jester Awards broadcast will include Broadway celebrity presenters for the first time, and will strive to convey the magic of live theatre.”
Continuing a competition element begun in 2019, each of the Leading Actor and Leading Actress nominees will be featured in special solo performances, adjudicated by a team of professional judges.
At the end of the broadcast, the two top recipients will be announced and awarded their cash scholarships.
Since the inception of the Jester Awards, trained volunteer judges have been attending and evaluating dozens of performances across Kansas, and the judges’ scoring has determined the award recipients in two dozen categories.
This year, 46 judges viewed 144 performances of 48 productions, involving more than 3,000 students and extending as far as Liberal, Hays, Salina, Pittsburg and Topeka, in addition to the greater Wichita area.
The Jester Awards Ceremony will be viewable online at 4 p.m. Sunday, May 3.
To join the free broadcast, sign up for MTWichita emails at mtwichita.org, or join us on Facebook to get a link and password.
Honorees in 25 categories will be announced during the ceremony, hosted by award-winning Wichita theatre artists Rachel Downs and Steve Hitchcock.
Scholarship awards will be presented to three students, lead male and female honorees and a technical theatre recipient.
Ongoing support for the program is provided by founder Belden Mills and his wife Anna, and the Lois K. Walls Jester Fund at MTWichita.
Alumni of the Jester Awards program can be seen onstage and backstage at Music Theatre Wichita each summer, as well as on Broadway and in regional theaters across the country.
Jester Program Director Angela Trotter said, “Although we always love the in-person interaction with young people across the state at the Jester Awards, everyone who is part of the Jester Awards Program is rallying behind the necessity of an online event.
"During the turmoil of a global pandemic, it is so important for us to recognize and encourage our young people for their hard work this year. The Jester Awards will be an evening to remember!”
The following local students were nominated for Jester Awards:
Overall production
Anything Goes — Hays High School
Disney's Beauty and the Beast — Thomas More Prep-Marian
Leading actress
Madelyn Seiler (Belle) — "Disney's Beauty and the Beast" — Thomas More Prep-Marian
Leading actor
Gabe McGuire (Billy Crocker) — "Anything Goes" — Hays High School
Supporting actress
Maggie Baalmann (Mrs. Potts) — "Disney's Beauty and the Beast" — Thomas More Prep-Marian
Supporting actor
Tom Drabkin (Lord Evelyn Oakleigh) — "Anything Goes" — Hays High School
Lane Werth (Lumiere) — "Disney's Beauty and the Beast" — Thomas More Prep-Marian
Cameo performer
Gracie Jo Stanton (Rug) — "Disney's Beauty and the Beast" — Thomas More Prep-Marian
Instrumental performer
Elijah Fontanez (Ukulele) — "Godspell" —Russell High School
Small ensemble
Seth Tripp, Alex Johnson, Nathan Leiker, Quinton McGuire (Singing Sailors) — "Anything Goes" — Hays High School
Natalie Loftus, Delaney Staab, McKynlee Stecklein (Silly Girls) — "Disney's Beauty and the Beast" — Thomas More Prep-Marian
Production number
"Anything Goes" — "Anything Goes" — Hays High School
Choreography/staging
Jaidyn Banks, Aubrey Larson, Kaitlyn Nichols — "Godspell" — Russell High School
Stage crew
"Anything Goes" — Hays High School
Design guest
Jeremy Wann (Scenic) — "Anything Goes" — Hays High School
Pamela Grizzell (Costumes) — "Disney's Beauty and the Beast" — Thomas More Prep-Marian
Program design
Lane Werth, Andy Stanton — "Disney's Beauty and the Beast" — Thomas More Prep-Marian
Lobby design
"Disney's Beauty and the Beast" — Thomas More Prep-Marian