42 years of recognizing Memphis theatre, expanding the stage and bringing the city’s theatre family together

By Ray Rico

For more than four decades, Memphis has had a night dedicated to recognizing the people who make theatre happen.

The Memphis Theatre Awards began in 1984 as a relatively small gathering. Today, the event known as the Ostrander Awards brings together hundreds of actors, directors, designers, musicians, stage managers, technicians, educators and theatre supporters from across the greater Memphis area.

The 42nd Ostrander Awards will be held Sunday, August 30, at 6 p.m. at the Scheidt Family Performing Arts Center. The ceremony will recognize work from the 2025–26 theatre season and will include performances from the six nominees for Outstanding Overall Production, followed by a reception designed to bring Memphis’ theatre community together. Photo by Steve Roberts

Tickets for the 42nd Ostrander Awards

But according to Elizabeth Perkins, executive director of the Memphis Ostrander Awards, the most important part of the evening may not be who takes home a plaque.

It is an opportunity for the people who spend most of the year working in separate theatres, on separate productions, and sometimes on completely different sides of the city to simply be together. Photo by Sean Moore.

“That’s the highlight of this night,” Perkins said. “As far as I know, every theater cancels rehearsal on this night, and everyone’s able to come, which doesn’t really happen because in this town there’s a rehearsal or a show every single night.”

That idea of community is central to what the Ostranders have become.

And it is also part of the reason the awards have evolved.

Photos by Sean Moore

From a few bottles of wine to nearly 700 guests

The Ostranders began in 1984 as the Memphis Theatre Awards. According to the organization’s history, the first ceremony was a much smaller affair than the celebration Memphis theatre audiences know today.

Perkins described those early years simply.

“They basically gathered with a couple bottles of wine, and some judges gave out a few awards, and it was a pretty small affair,” she said.

Four decades later, the scale is considerably different.

“Last year we had almost 700 attendees and hope to have that maybe even more this year,” Perkins said. “So, it’s been a good journey.”

The awards were renamed in 2001 in honor of Jim Ostrander, a beloved Memphis actor who had died much too young.

The name is more than a title. For Perkins, Ostrander represents the kind of theatre community the awards are intended to celebrate.

Remembering Jim Ostrander

“Jim was kind of known as the actor’s actor,” Perkins said.

“He was the actor that everyone really wanted to be on a show with.”

Ostrander was a longtime member of Memphis’ theatre community. Perkins said he attended Christian Brothers College and became involved with numerous local theatres, including Theatre Memphis and Playhouse on the Square. His work also extended into television and film.

“He did a multitude of plays and musicals and all kinds of volunteer work for pretty much all of the theaters that were around at the time,” she said.

But it was not simply Ostrander’s résumé that made him memorable.

“He was just one of those actors that you wanted to be around,” Perkins said.

There was also a running joke about his dedication to the craft.

“The joke is that he knew all of his lines and all of your lines, right?” Perkins said. “He was not afraid to tell you what you were doing wrong if you were in a show with him.”

Behind that humor was someone who was deeply invested in the people around him.

“He was just a great man that passed away far too young,” Perkins said.

Ostrander was in his early 50s when he died.

His name now lives on through an awards program that recognizes not only the stars of a production but the many people who make a production possible.

That distinction matters.

A broader definition of Memphis theatre

When Perkins became executive director in 2017, she inherited an awards structure that looked very different from the one Memphis theatre artists encounter today.

“I am most proud of, and still working to continue this, but is that the awards are starting to truly reflect the Memphis theater community,” she said.

“Memphis has a theater community that is unique. It is unlike any other city.”

Perkins points to the sheer number of organizations and opportunities available to people who want to participate in performing arts.

“For a city our size to have so many organizations is really unique,” she said.

Historically, the awards divided participating theatres primarily into community, professional and collegiate categories. But that structure became increasingly difficult to maintain as the theatre landscape changed.

The collegiate division, for example, became smaller as some institutions stopped participating.

“So I had the opportunity to rethink just the entire way it works,” Perkins said.

The result is a new structure built around Division I and Division II rather than simply separating theatres by whether they are professional, community or collegiate.

The dividing line is largely based on staffing.

“If you have a full-time staff member, you know, you’ve got someone who’s building your sets or out there asking for money or trying to run the organization every day, you go into Division I,” Perkins explained.

“Anyone else, and including the educational theaters, goes into Division II.”

That change has dramatically expanded the number of organizations able to participate.

“When I first started with the Ostranders,” Perkins said, there were approximately seven or eight participating organizations.

Today, there are 18.

“By doing this, we’ve been able to expand to 18 participating organizations,” she said. “That has just really opened up a whole new world of theater that we’re able to go see and adjudicate.”

That expansion is reflected in the numbers behind this year’s awards.

Ostrander judges adjudicated 64 productions during the 2025–26 season.

“Which is crazy,” Perkins said. “That’s a lot of shows.”

The organization now has 20 judges helping evaluate those productions.

That growth has also created space for theatre companies that might once have been left outside the awards structure.

Making room for the LGBTQ+ theatre community

One of the most meaningful examples is Friends of George’s.

Friends of George’s is a Memphis-based community theatre company known for original, drag-centered scripted comedies and productions that celebrate LGBTQ+ culture while raising money for local nonprofit organizations. The company has produced more than 35 productions since 2011.

Perkins remembers when Friends of George’s first became eligible to participate in the Ostranders.

“I was thrilled, you know, the first year Friends of George’s got to participate,” she said. “We were just so happy that that was able to happen.”

Under the former system, Perkins said, Friends of George’s and other smaller organizations such as Emerald Theatre Company and LoneTree Live would not have been able to participate.

“We had kind of strict guidelines set up in order to intentionally limit the number of shows because we didn’t have enough judges,” she explained.

With more judges and a new division structure, the awards have broadened the definition of which theatre organizations are part of the Memphis theatre community.

For Memphis’ LGBTQ+ community, that expansion is significant.

Friends of George’s is represented throughout this year’s nominations, particularly for its 2025–26 production Mister Act, an original comedy about three drag queens who enter witness protection and find themselves living among a group of homesteading sister wives. The production was written by Micah Winter-Cole, Jane Parks, Burton Bridges and Rick Bartl and directed by Irene Crist. 

Among the nominations are recognition for the production’s props, set, hair, wig and makeup, costume, sound and lighting design, as well as acting, direction, ensemble and original script.

And while Mister Act is now part of the Ostranders’ 2025–26 history, Friends of George’s is very much onstage right now.

The company is currently presenting Dragysty: As the Lash Turns, an original comedy running through August 22 at the Evergreen Theatre. The production is scheduled for performances this weekend, August 14–16, and again August 21–22. 

Get tickets to Friends of George’s’ Dragysty: As the Lash Turns

The timing makes the connection especially fitting. While Memphis theatre fans look ahead to the Ostranders, they can also experience one of the city’s LGBTQ+-centered theatre companies in its current production.

More than the people onstage

The Ostranders also recognize something theatre audiences do not always see.

A production is not simply actors walking onto a stage.

There are designers, technicians, musicians, stage managers, directors, choreographers, costume teams, makeup artists, lighting designers, sound designers, prop designers and countless others working behind the scenes.

That is why the awards include categories ranging from acting and direction to props, sets, costumes, hair, wigs and makeup, lighting, sound, music direction and choreography.

The awards also recognize ensembles and original scripts.

For Perkins, that broad recognition is part of what makes the awards meaningful.

The 2026 nominations demonstrate just how extensive that ecosystem has become, with nominees representing professional theatres, community theatres, educational institutions and smaller independent organizations across the Memphis area.

A new home for the Ostranders

This year’s ceremony also marks a change of scenery.

After several years at the Orpheum Theatre, the Ostranders are moving to the Scheidt Family Performing Arts Center at the University of Memphis.

Perkins admits there is some nostalgia attached to leaving the Orpheum.

“It is a little sad not to be at the Orpheum just because that’s like the theater in Memphis,” she said.

But she is excited about the new venue.

“We are thrilled to be at the Scheidt Family Performing Arts Center,” Perkins said. “It’s going to be a really good fit for our group.”

The venue also addresses a practical need.

“There are very few venues in the city that are in that between 500 and a thousand seats which is really what we need for our event,” she said.

The lobby will also play an important role in the evening.

The ceremony begins at 6 p.m., with the lobby opening at 5 p.m. and house doors at 5:30 p.m. The venue will offer wine and beer along with concessions before the ceremony.

But Perkins particularly wants people to stay after the awards.

The post-show celebration will take place in the lobby and will include desserts, an open bar, opportunities for photographs and plenty of time for people from across the theatre community to mingle.

Selfie Memphis will also return with a selfie booth.

“I think the highlight of this night is, as far as I know, every theater cancels rehearsal on this night and everyone’s able to come,” Perkins said.

That makes the Ostranders somewhat unusual among awards ceremonies.

The people competing against one another are also the people who spend the rest of the year working together.

Six productions return to the stage

The ceremony will also offer theatre fans an opportunity to revisit some of the season’s major productions.

The six nominees for Outstanding Overall Production will each perform a musical number during the ceremony.

Those productions are:

• Urinetown, Rhodes Theatre Guild
• Come From Away, Playhouse on the Square
• Falsettos, Germantown Community Theatre
• Seussical, Circuit Playhouse
• Sweeney Todd, Playhouse on the Square and Opera Memphis
• Something Rotten!, Theatre Memphis

“If anyone saw any of those shows and you want to see it one more time, this is your opportunity to come see those folks perform your favorite number again,” Perkins said.

Honoring a lifetime of mentorship

The Ostranders will also present the Eugart Yerian Lifetime Achievement Award to Dave Landis, associate director at Playhouse on the Square.

For Perkins, Landis was an obvious choice, even if the timing initially made the judges hesitate.

“The judges keep kind of a running list of people who could be considered for this award,” she said. “We’re updating it all the time.”

Landis had been on that list for years.

“But he was actually, we’re like, well, he’s too young,” Perkins said.

The concern was not that Landis had reached the end of his career. Quite the opposite.

“He is still got many years left,” Perkins said.

But Landis has already spent more than three decades as “a driving force in Memphis theater.”

His career with Playhouse on the Square began as an intern before he became a resident company member and later directed productions including Caroline, or Change, Cabaret, Ragtime and Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812.

But Perkins emphasized another part of Landis’ contribution.

He has spent years working with young performers through the Orpheum High School Musical Theatre Awards.

“We’re both high school musical theater award judges for the Orpheum,” Perkins said.

Landis has served as a judge for approximately a decade and has also worked as a lead nominee adjudicator, mentoring young performers whose work could lead them to the national Jimmy Awards.

“That’s something a lot of people don’t even know he does,” Perkins said, “but it’s a huge investment of his time and talents into the younger performers in the area.”

His work with young people extends to Playhouse on the Square, where he has also served as intern coordinator.

“He’s been their mentor and been able to help shape thousands of young performers’ lives,” Perkins said.

That description gets at something larger about the Ostranders.

The awards may be about excellence, but they are also about the people who help create the next generation of Memphis theatre artists.

The competition is only part of the story

Awards can, by their nature, create a sense of competition.

But Perkins hopes the Ostranders ultimately feel like something different.

“I think it is weird to say that an awards show pulls a community together, right?” she said. “Because the idea behind awards is some sort of competition.”

“But that is hopefully not what people get out of the Memphis Ostrander Awards.”

Her goal is to make the evening a celebration of the entire theatre community.

“Our goal and certainly my dream and desire is that this is truly a celebration of a few excellent pieces of theater that we saw this year,” she said. “But everything is absolutely phenomenal and so we want to celebrate all of it.”

That is why Perkins sees the reception as such an important part of the evening.

“I want to make a bigger deal of the party rather than the handing out of the plaques,” she said.

The recognition still matters.

“Although I do think those people deserve their recognition,” she added.

But the party serves a larger purpose.

“The afterparty is really where I hope the community will come together and celebrate each other and just be who we are,” Perkins said.

“Because it’s a great community to be in.”

For Memphis, that may be the most fitting legacy of the Ostranders.

A theatre community is not simply the buildings where shows take place or the people whose names appear on a marquee. It is the actors who memorize lines, the directors who shape a story, the designers who build worlds, the technicians who make the lights come on, the stage managers who keep everything moving, the volunteers who fill the lobby, the educators who encourage young performers, and the audiences who keep coming back.

It is also the LGBTQ+ theatre artists and organizations that have increasingly found a place on Memphis stages and within the awards themselves.

The expansion of the Ostrander Awards reflects an expanding Memphis theatre community.

And on August 30, the goal is not simply to decide who was the best.

It is to bring everyone into the same room.

42nd Ostrander Awards

Sunday, August 30, 2026
6 p.m.
Scheidt Family Performing Arts Center
3800 Central Ave., Memphis

The lobby opens at 5 p.m. and house doors open at 5:30 p.m.

Tickets are $25 in advance and $30 at the door.

Purchase Ostrander Awards tickets

Visit the Memphis Ostrander Awards website

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2026 Ostrander Award Nominees

The 2026 nominees represent productions from across the greater Memphis theatre community. Categories are divided among Division II, Division I Plays and Division I Musicals where applicable.

Props Design

Division II

• Jane Pratt Parks, Mister Act, Friends of George’s
• Leah Brown, Urinetown, Rhodes Theatre Guild
• Mary Ann Washington, The Fabulous Mrs. Rae, Actor’s Renaissance Theatre
• Mollie West, The Night Witches, University of Memphis
• Cabaret Reimagined, Emerald Theatre Company

Division I Plays

• Jack Netzel-Yates, Always a Bridesmaid, Next Stage Theatre Memphis
• Jack Netzel-Yates, Noises Off, Theatre Memphis
• Laurie Boller, The Drowning Girls, New Moon Theatre
• Melody Douglas, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, Hattiloo Theatre
• Jaja’s African Hair Braiding, Hattiloo Theatre

Division I Musicals

• Aliza Moran, Godspell, Germantown Community Theatre
• Iza Bateman, Sweeney Todd, Playhouse on the Square & Opera Memphis
• Jack Netzel-Yates, Mamma Mia!, Theatre Memphis
• Jack Netzel-Yates, Something Rotten!, Theatre Memphis
• Rachel Crenshaw, Nunsense, Germantown Community Theatre

Set Design

Division II

• Annie McLean & Kevin Lechner, Urinetown, Rhodes Theatre Guild
• Julia Hinson, Clown Bar, LoneTree Live
• Julia Kowalski, The Night Witches, University of Memphis
• Justin Asher, The Fantasticks, Collierville Arts Council
• Robert Packwood, Mister Act, Friends of George’s

Division I Plays

• Chris Sterling, Job, Circuit Playhouse
• Chris Sterling, The Drowning Girls, New Moon Theatre
• Ekundayo Bandele, Jaja’s African Hair Braiding, Hattiloo Theatre
• Ekundayo Bandele, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, Hattiloo Theatre
• Jack Netzel-Yates, Noises Off, Theatre Memphis

Division I Musicals

• Jack Netzel-Yates, Mamma Mia!, Theatre Memphis
• Jack Netzel-Yates, Something Rotten!, Theatre Memphis
• Kiah Kayser, Seussical, Circuit Playhouse
• Rachel Crenshaw, Nunsense, Germantown Community Theatre
• Tim McMath, Sweeney Todd, Playhouse on the Square & Opera Memphis

Hair, Wig, Makeup Design

Division II

• Blake Bush-Meek, Tarzan, Collierville Arts Council
• Joseph Grant & Mark Campbell, Mister Act, Friends of George’s
• Margaret Andrews, E. Blaha, B’lynn Evans, Casey Gurlen, Caelan Ingram, Olivia Mittag, Jayce Morse, Lyz Rieger, The Night Witches, University of Memphis
• Clown Bar, LoneTree Live
• The Wedding Singer, Bartlett Performing Arts Center

Division I Plays

• A Tuna Christmas, Circuit Playhouse
• Frankenstein, Germantown Community Theatre
• Jaja’s African Hair Braiding, Hattiloo Theatre
• Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, Hattiloo Theatre
• The Legend of Quetzalcoatl, Cazateatro

Division I Musicals

• Marsena Sellers, Dreamgirls, Hattiloo Theatre
• Godspell, Germantown Community Theatre
• Seussical, Circuit Playhouse
• Sweeney Todd, Playhouse on the Square & Opera Memphis
• Rence Phillips & Ellen Ring, Something Rotten!, Theatre Memphis

Costume Design

Division II

• Ashley Whitten Kopera, The Wedding Singer, Bartlett Performing Arts Center
• Ashley Whitten Kopera, Clown Bar, LoneTree Live
• Eula Ashbee, The Fantasticks, Collierville Arts Council
• Kathleen Kovarik, Mister Act, Friends of George’s
• Lyz Rieger, The Night Witches, University of Memphis

Division I Plays

• Amie Eoff, Always a Bridesmaid, Next Stage Theatre Memphis
• Ashley Whitten Kopera, The Drowning Girls, New Moon Theatre
• Melody Douglas, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, Hattiloo Theatre
• Cahleesi Bedell, Jaja’s African Hair Braiding, Hattiloo Theatre
• The Legend of Quetzalcoatl, Cazateatro

Division I Musicals

• Amie Eoff & Lindsay Schmeling, Something Rotten!, Theatre Memphis
• Em Rossi, Sweeney Todd, Playhouse on the Square & Opera Memphis
• Marsena Sellers, Dreamgirls, Hattiloo Theatre
• Melody Douglas & Patricia Smith, Jubilee, Hattiloo Theatre
• Waverly Strickland, Seussical, Circuit Playhouse

Sound Design

Division II

• Aliza Moran & Julia Hinson, Clown Bar, LoneTree Live
• Hilde Medovich, Urinetown, Rhodes Theatre Guild
• Rowan Sullivan, The Night Witches, University of Memphis
• Ty Phillips, Mister Act, Friends of George’s
• Walker Higgins, Tarzan, Collierville Arts Council

Division I Plays

• Cyd Trice, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, Hattiloo Theatre
• Emily Luce, Hamlet, Next Stage Theatre Memphis
• Emily Rooker, The Drowning Girls, New Moon Theatre
• Jeremy Allen Fisher, Frankenstein, Germantown Community Theatre
• Joshua Crawford, Job, Circuit Playhouse

Division I Musicals

• Emily Luce, Something Rotten!, Theatre Memphis
• Emily Luce, Wes Parker & Dylan Wheeler, Mamma Mia!, Theatre Memphis
• Joshua Crawford, Jagged Little Pill, Playhouse on the Square
• Joshua Crawford, Seussical, Circuit Playhouse
• Joshua Crawford, Sweeney Todd, Playhouse on the Square & Opera Memphis

Lighting Design

Division II

• Anthony Pellecchia, As It Is in Heaven, University of Memphis
• Anthony Pellecchia, The Night Witches, University of Memphis
• Dylan Allemang, Mister Act, Friends of George’s
• Jeremy Allen Fisher, Clown Bar, LoneTree Live
• Melissa Andrews, The Wedding Singer, Bartlett Performing Arts Center

Division I Plays

• Jeremy Allen Fisher, Frankenstein, Germantown Community Theatre
• Melissa Andrews, The Drowning Girls, New Moon Theatre
• Melissa Andrews, Tragedy Sound, TheatreWorks
• Nadirah T Harper, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, Hattiloo Theatre
• Petr William, Job, Circuit Playhouse

Division I Musicals

• Jeremy Allen Fisher, Falsettos, Germantown Community Theatre
• Jeremy Allen Fisher, Godspell, Germantown Community Theatre
• Megan Christoferson, Sweeney Todd, Playhouse on the Square & Opera Memphis
• Nicole Northington, Something Rotten!, Theatre Memphis
• Rachel Lauren, Come From Away, Playhouse on the Square

Music Direction

Division II

• Nathan Thomas, john & jen, Realization Theatre
• Lynden Lewis, The Fantasticks, Collierville Arts Council
• Nathan McHenry, Cabaret Reimagined, Emerald Theatre Company
• Tammy Holt, Urinetown, Rhodes Theatre Guild
• Tammy Holt, Tarzan, Collierville Arts Council

Division I Musicals

• Claudette H. Lehew, Jubilee, Hattiloo Theatre
• Gary Beard, Falsettos, Germantown Community Theatre
• Jeffery Brewer, Something Rotten!, Theatre Memphis
• Nathan McHenry, Godspell, Germantown Community Theatre
• Stephen Karr, Sweeney Todd, Playhouse on the Square & Opera Memphis

Choreography

Division II

• Katy Stanfield, Urinetown, Rhodes Theatre Guild
• Neile Martin, The Night Witches, University of Memphis
• Noelia Warnette-Jones & Austin Wall, Tarzan, Collierville Arts Council
• Neile Martin, As It Is in Heaven, University of Memphis
• Rose Blakeman, The Wedding Singer, Bartlett Performing Arts Center

Division I Plays

• Courtney Oliver, Noises Off, Theatre Memphis
• Katy Stanfield, The Drowning Girls, New Moon Theatre
• Lauren Hester Gunn, Hamlet, Next Stage Theatre Memphis
• Lauren Hester Gunn, The Shawshank Redemption, Next Stage Theatre Memphis
• Marybeth Gorman Craig, sex/work, TheatreWorks

Division I Musicals

• Christi Hall, Nunsense, Germantown Community Theatre
• Jordan Nichols & Travis Bradley, Falsettos, Germantown Community Theatre
• Jordan Nichols & Travis Bradley, Mamma Mia!, Theatre Memphis
• Whitney Branan, Something Rotten!, Theatre Memphis
• Whitney Branan, Sweeney Todd, Playhouse on the Square & Opera Memphis

Featured Performer

Division II Plays

• Emma Olson, Clown Bar, LoneTree Live
• Margaret Mikkelsen, 8th Annual 10 Minute Play Festival: Monday’s Child, Emerald Theatre Company
• Michael Holliday, 8th Annual 10 Minute Play Festival: Monday’s Child, Emerald Theatre Company
• Patricia Carreras, Clown Bar, LoneTree Live
• Sam Weakley, 8th Annual 10 Minute Play Festival: Monday’s Child, Emerald Theatre Company

Division II Musicals

• Logan Bass, Chicago, University of Memphis
• Maddox Bierman, Chicago, University of Memphis
• Patricia Carreras, The Fantasticks, Collierville Arts Council
• Sydney Sutton, As You Like It, The Musical, University of Memphis
• Tim Brown, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, the Musical, Collierville Arts Council

Division I Plays

• Dave Landis, Primary Trust, Circuit Playhouse
• Najwa Watson, Jaja’s African Hair Braiding, Hattiloo Theatre
• Nolita Palomar, Always a Bridesmaid, Next Stage Theatre Memphis
• Ruth Herrera, Jaja’s African Hair Braiding, Hattiloo Theatre
• Trey Oliver, Jaja’s African Hair Braiding, Hattiloo Theatre

Division I Musicals

• Bentley Black, Mamma Mia!, Theatre Memphis
• Chris McCollum, Jesus Christ Superstar, Playhouse on the Square
• Haley Wilson, Jagged Little Pill, Playhouse on the Square
• Jack Netzel-Yates, Legally Blonde, The Musical, Theatre Memphis
• Philip Himebook, Sweeney Todd, Playhouse on the Square & Opera Memphis

Supporting Actor

Division II Plays

• Ben Pierce, Clown Bar, LoneTree Live
• David Winter-Gutierrez, Mister Act, Friends of George’s
• Joe Johnson, Clown Bar, LoneTree Live
• Kawika Friskillo, Clown Bar, LoneTree Live
• Steve Cossitt, Mister Act, Friends of George’s

Division I Plays

• Christopher Tracy, The Shawshank Redemption, Next Stage Theatre Memphis
• Gregory Jones, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, Hattiloo Theatre
• JS Tate, Hamlet, Next Stage Theatre Memphis
• John Maness, Hamlet, Next Stage Theatre Memphis
• Michael Adrian Davis, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, Hattiloo Theatre

Division II Musicals

• Christopher Tracy, The Fantasticks, Collierville Arts Council
• Jacob Mohler, The Fantasticks, Collierville Arts Council
• John Lucas Daniels, Chicago, University of Memphis
• Marvin Holt, The Wedding Singer, Bartlett Performing Arts Center
• Mitchell Bentley, The Wedding Singer, Bartlett Performing Arts Center

Division I Musicals

• Adrian Kennard, Dreamgirls, Hattiloo Theatre
• Andy Boggs, Sweeney Todd, Playhouse on the Square & Opera Memphis
• Bentley Black, Something Rotten!, Theatre Memphis
• Jonathan Christian, Something Rotten!, Theatre Memphis
• Justin Allen Tate, Jesus Christ Superstar, Playhouse on the Square

Supporting Actress

Division II Plays

• Amy P. Nabors, Not Alone Unhappy, Quark Theatre
• Amy Rush, Mister Act, Friends of George’s
• Evone Dillon, Kinfolk Conversations, Actors Renaissance Theatre
• Kate Peckham, Clown Bar, LoneTree Live
• KT Cotten, Speed-the-Plow, Realization Theatre

Division I Plays

• Aa’liyah Green, sex/work, TheatreWorks
• Angela Lovelace, Jaja’s African Hair Braiding, Hattiloo Theatre
• Keia Johnson, Primary Trust, Circuit Playhouse
• Martha Jones, Always a Bridesmaid, Next Stage Theatre Memphis
• Rhonda Woodfork, Jaja’s African Hair Braiding, Hattiloo Theatre

Division II Musicals

• Alex Ogilvie, Urinetown, Rhodes Theatre Guild
• Aubrey Zurhellen, Tarzan, Collierville Arts Council
• Chasity Alliston, The Wedding Singer, Bartlett Performing Arts Center
• Sydnei Sutton, The Wedding Singer, Bartlett Performing Arts Center
• Zoe Vales, Chicago, University of Memphis

Division I Musicals

• Axyl Langford, Jagged Little Pill, Playhouse on the Square
• Christina Hernandez, Sweeney Todd, Playhouse on the Square & Opera Memphis
• Emily F. Chateau, Falsettos, Germantown Community Theatre
• Jenny Odle Madden, Mamma Mia!, Theatre Memphis
• Keia Johnson, Dreamgirls, Hattiloo Theatre

Leading Actor

Division II Plays

• Christopher Tracy, The Loves of Lincoln, Emerald Theatre Company
• Kinon Keplinger, Speed-the-Plow, Realization Theatre
• Lymonte Thomas, Clown Bar, LoneTree Live
• Ron Gephart, Dragon Medicine, Emerald Theatre Company
• Sean Moore, Switzerland, Quark Theatre

Division I Plays

• Darious Robertson, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, Hattiloo Theatre
• JS Tate, The Shawshank Redemption, Next Stage Theatre Memphis
• Marc Gill, Primary Trust, Circuit Playhouse
• Michael Gravois, Job, Circuit Playhouse
• Sean Moore, Frankenstein, Germantown Community Theatre

Division II Musicals

• Jimmy Rustenhaven, The Wedding Singer, Bartlett Performing Arts Center
• Kevin Lechner, Urinetown, Rhodes Theatre Guild
• Landon Graham, Chicago, University of Memphis
• Logan Bass, John and Jen, Realization Theatre
• Stephen Garrett, The Fantasticks, Collierville Arts Council

Division I Musicals

• Jordan Nichols, Something Rotten!, Theatre Memphis
• Marvin Holt, Jesus Christ Superstar, Playhouse on the Square
• Matthew Burns, Sweeney Todd, Playhouse on the Square & Opera Memphis
• Nathan McHenry, Godspell, Germantown Community Theatre
• Patrick Jones, Falsettos, Germantown Community Theatre

Leading Actress

Division II Plays

• Hiawaratha L. Jackson, The Loves of Lincoln, Emerald Theatre Company
• Lauren Larson, Clown Bar, LoneTree Live
• Lydia Lord, Radium Girls, Rhodes Theatre Guild
• Margaret Mikkelsen, Dragon Medicine, Emerald Theatre Company
• Susan Brindley, Switzerland, Quark Theatre

Division I Plays

• Brooke Papritz, Job, Circuit Playhouse
• Holly L. Derr, The Revolutionists, New Moon Theatre
• Jaclyn Suffel, Julius Caesar, Germantown Community Theatre
• Littoya Walker, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, Hattiloo Theatre
• Naiya Nolan-Dillard, sex/work, TheatreWorks

Division II Musicals

• Lilith Dyson, Urinetown, Rhodes Theatre Guild
• Liz Pegg, Tarzan, Collierville Arts Council
• Mac White, The Wedding Singer, Bartlett Performing Arts Center
• Madilyn Mobbs, The Fantasticks, Collierville Arts Council
• Zoe Vales, John and Jen, Realization Theatre

Division I Musicals

• Amaya Hardin, Junie B Jones the Musical, Circuit Playhouse
• Amy P. Nabors, Jagged Little Pill, Playhouse on the Square
• Amy P. Nabors, Sweeney Todd, Playhouse on the Square & Opera Memphis
• Ashundra Bernard, Dreamgirls, Hattiloo Theatre
• Mary Helen McCord, Legally Blonde, The Musical, Theatre Memphis

Ensemble

Division II Plays

• As It Is in Heaven, University of Memphis
• Clown Bar, LoneTree Live
• Mister Act, Friends of George’s
• The Loves of Lincoln, Emerald Theatre Company
• The Night Witches, University of Memphis

Division II Musicals

• Cabaret Reimagined, Emerald Theatre Company
• Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, the Musical, Collierville Arts Council
• Tarzan, Collierville Arts Council
• The Wedding Singer, Bartlett Performing Arts Center
• Urinetown, Rhodes Theatre Guild

Division I Plays

• Collective Rage: A Play in Five Betties, New Moon Theatre
• Jaja’s African Hair Braiding, Hattiloo Theatre
• sex/work, TheatreWorks
• The Drowning Girls, New Moon Theatre
• The Revolutionists, New Moon Theatre

Division I Musicals

• Come From Away, Playhouse on the Square
• Godspell, Germantown Community Theatre
• Jubilee, Hattiloo Theatre
• Nunsense, Germantown Community Theatre
• Seussical, Circuit Playhouse

Original Script

Division II

• Mister Act, Micah Winter-Cole, Jane Parks, Burton Bridges, Rick Bartl, Friends of George’s
• sex/work, Kristen Field, TheatreWorks
• The House, Savannah S. Miller, Germantown Community Theatre
• The Loves of Lincoln, Scott Sublett, Emerald Theatre Company
• Tragedy Sound, Karen Saari, TheatreWorks

Direction

Division II

• Irene Crist, Mister Act, Friends of George’s
• Kaylea Jo Egnor, The Night Witches, University of Memphis
• Max Robinson and Nathan Thomas, john & jen, Realization Theatre
• Michael Holliday & Den-Nickolas Schaeffer-Smith, The Loves of Lincoln, Emerald Theatre Company
• Tony Isbell, Switzerland, Quark Theatre

Division I Plays

• Aliza Moran, The Drowning Girls, New Moon Theatre
• Jamie Boller, sex/work, TheatreWorks
• John Maness, Job, Circuit Playhouse
• Maya Robinson, Jaja’s African Hair Braiding, Hattiloo Theatre
• Tony Horne, Primary Trust, Circuit Playhouse

Division I Musicals

• Courtney Oliver, Seussical, Circuit Playhouse
• Daniel Stuart Nelson, Come From Away, Playhouse on the Square
• Jordan Nichols & Travis Bradley, Falsettos, Germantown Community Theatre
• Whitney Branan, Something Rotten!, Theatre Memphis
• Whitney Branan, Sweeney Todd, Playhouse on the Square & Opera Memphis

Overall Production

Division II

• Clown Bar, LoneTree Live, Julia Hinson, director; J-Lavender, stage manager
• Switzerland, Quark Theatre, Tony Isbell, director; Leslie Lee, stage manager
• The Loves of Lincoln, Emerald Theatre Company, Michael Holliday & Den-Nickolas Schaeffer-Smith, directors; Crystal Lane, stage manager
• The Night Witches, University of Memphis, Kaylea Jo Egnor, director; Jayce Morse, stage manager
• Urinetown, Rhodes Theatre Guild, Claire D. Kolheim, director; Ray Evans, stage manager

Division I Plays

• Jaja’s African Hair Braiding, Hattiloo Theatre; Maya Robinson, director; Cyd Trice, stage manager
• Job, Circuit Playhouse; John Maness, director; Emma White, stage manager
• Noises Off, Theatre Memphis; Ann Marie Hall, director; Marya Paolillo, stage manager
• Primary Trust, Circuit Playhouse; Tony Horne, director; Emma White, stage manager
• The Drowning Girls, New Moon Theatre; Aliza Moran, director; April Vincent, stage manager

Division I Musicals

• Come From Away, Playhouse on the Square; Daniel Stuart Nelson, director; Katie Ogden, stage manager
• Falsettos, Germantown Community Theatre; Jordan Nichols & Travis Bradley, directors; Jamie Gau, stage manager
• Seussical, Circuit Playhouse; Courtney Oliver, director; Emma White, stage manager
• Something Rotten!, Theatre Memphis; Whitney Branan, director; Julia Truelove, stage manager
• Sweeney Todd, Playhouse on the Square & Opera Memphis; Whitney Branan, director; Chelsea Robinson, stage manager

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