'Our Town' Cast and Crew Prepare for Awards Night

Six students and seven parents from Chatham High School will head to Montclair State University Thursday for the third annual Theatre Night Awards, hoping to walk away with awards from the fall production of "Our Town."

Lynn Polan, the high school's theater teacher and the director of "Our Town," said that win or lose, she is "really proud" of all the students and parents who worked on the show. "I thought it was a really good production, and I'm pleased it's getting some recognition," Polan said.

The awards ceremony is offered through the Theatre Department at MSU to recognize outstanding drama productions at the high school level. The Chatham production of "Our Town" was nominated for seven awards:

• http://chatham.patch.com/admin/articles/newOutstanding Production of a Drama,
• Outstanding Overall Production of a High School Play,
• Outstanding Production by an Actor in a Leading Role for David Wych,
• Outstanding Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role for Courney Johnson,
• Outstanding Achievement in Costume Design by Tina Mazzola,
• Outstanding Achievement in Stage Directon by Lynn Polan and
• Outstanding Achievement in Sound Design.

Three students will perform a brief scene from the play as part of the awards ceremony, Polan said, and one of the students who worked on the technical crew of the production will be working backstage at the ceremony as a technical assistant.

"These awards bring attention to non-musical high school theater, and then Paper Mill does the Rising Star awards which is all about musicals," Polan said.

Susan Kerner, the associate professor in the Theatre and Dance Department at Montclair State who runs the Theatre Night Awards, said the ceremony both highlights high school productions throughout the state and gives the Theatre Department a chance to examine the talented students that may wish to study theater at the university level.

The ceremony begins at 7 p.m. at Montclair State University. Chatham Patch will have coverage of the ceremony including a list of the winners in each category.