The Garden City High School drama department won four Jester Awards for their production of "Jekyll and Hyde". The music Theater of Wichita Jesters Awards Ceremony was held on May 7 at Century II in Wichita, Kansas.
Garden City High School Drama teacher, Alice Hilt, won for set design and direction. GCHS Fashion and Interior Design teacher, Robyn Hilt and costuming senior, Esme Corado, won for costume design. Shea Huber, junior, won for technical director. Shea was the stage manager and worked in all technical theatre areas, putting in hundreds of hours on the production. In addition to winning a trophy, Shea also won a $1500 scholarship from the Music Theatre of Wichita.
Garden City High School Drama students performed during the awards ceremony for being nominated in Overall Production. Hayley Loya (Lucy Harris) and Ryan Pilosof (Jekyll/Hyde) performed in a medley of lead actor nominees.
Garden City High School was nominated for a total of 11 Jester Awards. Nominations from "Jekyll and Hyde" this year included: Overall Production; Director, Alice Hilt; Lead Actor-Ryan Pilosof and Hayley Loya; Ensemble/Chorus Musical Director, Abigail Martinez; Stage Crew; Technical Achievement, Shea Huber; Set Design, Alice Hilt; Costume Design, Robyn Hilt and Esme Corado; Light Design, Shea Huber, Rylan Anderson, Mallory Hardy and Alice Hilt.
The Jester Awards showcases the next generation of musical theatre talent in Kansas. Each year, trained volunteer judges attend and evaluate dozens of performances. This year, 59 judges viewed 143 performances of 49 productions, involving more than 3,000 students and 50 schools across the state of Kansas. The program began in Wichita, but now extends as far as Liberal, Hays, Salina, and Pittsburg, in addition to the greater Wichita area.