T. Carter Fussell Awards

 
 

The T. Carter Fussell award was created in the Spring of 2001 as a way of recognizing the dramatic achievements of high school students in the area.  The award was named after T. Carter Fussell, who had served a member of the Board of Directors of the Wayside Theatre as treasurer until his untimely death in 2000.  His service to the theatre was recognized in 2001 by awarding him the Leo Award posthumously. Fussell’s dedication to education of youth in the arts as well as his work in promoting and providing for young people in their theatrical and artistic endeavors was a catalyst in Wayside’s development of the award.   It should be noted that the Award was not a competition, rather it is a recognition of excellence.

Mr. Fussell was born in Front Royal on May 9, 1946 and was a graduate of the Randolph-Macon Academy.  He received the BA degree in economics from Davidson College.  He was a teacher and owned Fussell’s Florist in Front Royal for many years.  He was active in Front Royal community activities until his death on July 29, 2000.

It is thought the Awards were first given in 2001. Most likely the final year was 2012.  Unfortunately, information for this is quite vague.  However, a list of winners was published in 2009 and reads as follows:

WARREN COUNTY HIGH SCHOOL – Christopher Whitney, drama teacher
Dogg’s Hamlet, Cahoots Macbeth
Outstanding Stage Combat:  Drew Hildebrandt, Amber DeMedici, Emily Heiston
 Noises Off
Outstanding Physical Actor:  Andrew Turner, Clay Money, Drew Hildebrant
Outstanding Actress: Leisha Martin
Into the Woods
Outstanding Musical Performance – Brooke Pinto
Outstanding Comic Performance – Trevor Proper
Outstanding Physical Comedy – Japheth Chunn
Outstanding Actress – Tori Baker
Outstanding Actor – Eric Nagy
Outstanding Actress – Brianna Lauffer 

SKYLINE HIGH SCHOOL – Richard Follett, drama teacher
You’re Special
Outstanding actor – Noah Scheibmeir
The Crucible
Outstanding actor – Daniel Williams, Noah Scheibmeir
Outstanding actress – Leah Utz
Wizard of Oz
Outstanding Singing – Todd Martin
Outstanding Comic Performance – Coty Clowers
Outstanding Actress – Tyler Tharpe 

Young Playwright’s 2009 Festival Winners
High School First Place – Noah Scheibmeir (Front Royal) for Come Along My Dear, Come
Along
High School Second Place – Tyler Tharpe (Front Royal) for Untitled
High School Honorable Mention - Jessee Cophera (Home schooled, Front Royal) for A
Second Chance
Elementary School First Place – Kayleigh McCoy for Dixie Lou
(“Wayside’s T. Carter Fussell …,” TWaS. 16 July, 2009).            

The files contain a copy of a program for the play Love Through the Ages written by Molly Kaufman, a senior at Woodbridge High School.  This work received the T. Carter Fussell Young Playwrights’ Award for 2012.  From the cast list, it was performed by Wayside interns April 30, 2012.

AWARD GUIDELINES

The Award was carefully outlined as to what was meant by “outstanding.”  The list of suggestions are:

  • Outstanding:  standing out from a group:  conspicuous, marked by distinction

  • Do many other students perform similarly?  Outstanding means that few others work at the same level

  • Does the performance stand out?  Are audience members likely to remember it in a week? A month?  At the end of the year when the Awards are presented?

  • Is the performance truly outstanding or merely outstanding for high school students?  This is not to say that consideration will not be made for level of experience and training, but simply that we want to reward outstanding work in a general sense without qualifying the description. 

Because Wayside has a small staff, productions must meet the following requirements in order to be reviewed:

  • Productions must be sponsored by a school or homeschool group located within 35 miles of Wayside Theatre.

  • Productions must occur within a time-frame that allows ample time for notifying winners once the show has been evaluated. The acceptable time-frame is between the start of the school year in September and the last weekend in May.

  • The show must be a full-length production and must be cast via open auditions.  One-acts will be evaluated only if they are in tandem with another (i.e. “an evening of one-acts”), and only if they are not intended for use at other theatrical competitions (e.g., Forensics competitions).

  • Each school may only submit two shows for evaluation per school year.

  • Recordings of productions are not accepted.

  • Schools must provide two complimentary tickets to Wayside staff volunteer to attend.

The Award Categories are listed as follows:   

  • Outstanding Featured Performance by an Actor/Actress in a Play

  • Outstanding Featured Performance by an Actor/Actress in a Musical

  • Outstanding Featured Performance

  • Outstanding Vocal Performance

  • Outstanding Dance

  • Outstanding Character Movement

  • Outstanding Triple-Threat

  • Outstanding Presence in a Small Role

  • Outstanding Ensemble

  • Outstanding Run Crew

  • Outstanding Technical Design

  • Outstanding Choreography

  • Outstanding Direction

  • Outstanding Contribution (for other aspects such as program art, original music, etc). Awards are announced after the last performance during our scheduled season.  Winners and their instructors are invited to attend an Award Ceremony on the first Thursday after Wayside Theatre’s season opening in early June.