The cast of the Sherburne Music-Theater Society's rendition of Shakespeare's "A Midsummer Night's Dream." Several cast members and directors recently won TANYS Roving Adjucator Awards for their performance. (Submitted photo)

SHERBURNE — The Sherburne Music-Theater Society (SMTS) is thrilled to announce that they are recipients of seven Theater Association of New York State (TANYS) roving adjudicator awards for their recent production of "A Midsummer Night's Dream.”

The play was performed on August 14 and 15 at Gaines Park in Sherburne.

TANYS Roving Adjudicator Awards are discretionary awards given out by the adjudicator for the production.

TANYS is a statewide organization serving non-professional community theatres, university and college theatres, secondary school drama departments and children’s theatres in NYS. Their mission is to foster the contribution of theatre to the lives of the citizens of New York State, promote high standards of theatre practice through education and example, and encourage exchange of information and knowledge through people-to-people and theatre-to-theatre interactions.


Awards include:
Excellence in Direction: Colleen Law-Tefft

Meritorious Achievement in Musical Direction: Michael Moren

Excellence in Design for the Specialty Costume Piece: Donkey Head to Margaret Fetzko

Excellence in Ensemble Performance: Whole cast

Excellence in Acting to Keven Simmons for his portrayal of Nick Bottom

Excellence in Acting to Karen Kawa-Doonan for her portrayal of Puck

Meritorious Achievement in Acting to Will Doonan for his portrayal of Oberon

Award Categories are as follows:
Meritorious Achievement: Some advanced theatrical skill noted
Excellence: Theatrical skill base not routinely noted in non-professional theatre
Outstanding Achievement: Theatrical skill base rarely seen in non-professional theatre

The production featured 21 local performers, who brought to life an imaginative portrayal of one of Shakespeare’s most beloved plays. While the story remains true to its origins as a comedy, the costuming was adapted to illustrate a steampunk style.

For those who are unfamiliar with the concept of steampunk, it is a sub-genre of science fiction that blends technology with 19th-century steam-powered machinery. Steampunk stories are often set in the Victorian Era or the age of the American Wild West.

The full cast list includes: John Orr, Michael Moren, Max Collins, Susan Galbraith, Jacob Camiel, William Greenman, Molly Stahl, Xena Becker, Bobbi Clarkson, Clark Vischi, Keven Simmons, Levi Brown, Max Collins, Cameron Carpenter, Will Doonan, Lisette Shiffer, Karen Doonan, Jessica Moquin, Amelia Casscles, Susan Galbraith and Liza Taylor

These awards will be given out at the Annual TANYS Festival which takes place the weekend before Thanksgiving in 2021. To learn more about TANYS visit www.tanys.org. 


This event was made possible with public funds from the Decentralization Program, a regrant program of the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew M. Cuomo and the New York State Legislature, and administered by The Earlville Opera House.

About Sherburne Music-Theater Society:

Sherburne Music-Theater Society is an award-winning community theatre whose dedication to excellence, while providing an opportunity for talented local thespians and musicians to utilize their skills, has provided many audiences with memorable performances and statewide recognition.

SMTS is a member of the Theatre Association of New York State (TANYS) and the American Association of Community Theatres (AACT). To learn more about Sherburne Music-Theater Society, visit facebook.com/SherburneMusicTheaterSociety.

-from the Sherburne Music-Theater Society