Kentwood Players Announces 2016 Marcom Masque Award Winners

Kentwood Players, the community theater group based at the Westchester Playhouse, was founded in December 1949 by Jan and Arky Marcom, for whom the group's annual Marcom Masque Awards are named. The first Marcom Masque Awards were presented for the 1957-1958 season with "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof" winning the award for Best Play.

During the run of all six productions in their 2015-2016 season, all Kentwood Players members voted by secret ballot in several artistic categories after seeing each show. The votes were tallied and Kentwood Players presented their annual Marcom Masque Awards to the winners in each category. This year, a new category "Season Subscriber Favorite Show" was added, allowing Season Subscribers to vote by secret ballot on each show's production quality as a whole after seeing it. The 2015-2016 season included 4000 Miles, Brighton Beach Memoirs, Ravenscroft, Something's Afoot, A Raisin in the Sun, and Man of La Mancha.

This year's Marcom Masque Awards Ceremony was held on Saturday, June 25, 2016, and Kentwood Players is pleased to announce the winners of their 2015-2016 Marcom Masque Awards:

Best Play - A Raisin in the Sun

Season Subscriber Favorite Show - Man of La Mancha

Best Director -Catherine Rahm and Alison Mattiza - Something's Afoot

Best Producer - Kathy Dershimer - A Raisin in the Sun

Lead Actor - Damon Rutledge as Walter Lee Younger in A Raisin in the Sun

Lead Actress - Elizabeth Bouton as Miss Tweed in Something's Afoot

Major Supporting Actor - Harold Dershimer as Colonel Gillweather in Something's Afoot

Major Supporting Actress - Charlotte Williams as Beneatha Younger in A Raisin in the Sun

Minor Supporting Actor - Daniel Kruger as Karl Lindner in A Raisin in the Sun

Minor Supporting Actress - Katie Rodriquez as Laurie Morton in Brighton Beach Memoirs

Minor Actor - Samuel Goldman as Clive in Something's Afoot

Cameo Actor - Kowalsky Lucien as Bobo in A Raisin in the Sun

Cameo Actress - Kira Sherman as the Moorish Dancer in Man of La Mancha

Costume Design - Marie Olivas for Man of La Mancha

Sound Design - Susan Stangl for A Raisin in the Sun

Lighting Design - Richard Potthoff for Man of La Mancha

Set Design - Jim Crawford and Scot Renfro for Man of La Mancha

Set Decoration Design - Sheridan Cole Crawford for Ravenscroft

Original Graphic Design - Andrew Dershimer for A Raisin in the Sun

Special Board Award for Recognition of Outstanding Merit - Jim Crawford

During the awards ceremony, Certificates of Recognition were presented by Lori A. Marple-Pereslete, Kentwood Players' Production Manager, to all members who worked behind-the-scenes on two or more productions during the season. Kentwood Players members who have reached their 10th, 15th or 25thmembership anniversary were announced by Kathy Dershimer, Kentwood Players' Vice President of Membership.

Please visit their website at www.kentwoodplayers.org for more information about Kentwood Players including their current production Olive and the Bitter Herbs, a comedy by Charles Busch opening July 8 and upcoming auditions for the murder mystery thriller "Wait Until Dark" on July 9 and 10, 2016. You can also find Kentwood Players information on Facebook and Twitter.

To meet the production teams and learn more about Kentwood Players and what goes on at the Westchester Playhouse, the public is invited to attend our general membership meetings, which are free and held on the third Wednesday of each month at 7:30pm at the Westchester Playhouse, located two blocks west of the San Diego Freeway and two blocks north of Manchester at 8301 Hindry Avenue in Westchester, CA 90045.

Pictured: 2015-2016 Kentwood Players Marcom Masque Award Winners (Front row, from left) Daniel Kruger, Kathy Dershimer, Harold Dershimer, Catherine Rahm, Alison Mattiza, Susan Goldman Weisbarth, Kowalsky Lucien (Back row, from left): Lori Kaye (accepting for Katie Rodriquez), Sheridan Cole Crawford, Jim Crawford, Damon Rutledge, Samuel Goldman, Andrew Dershimer, Scot Renfro. Photo by Shari Barrett.

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