Community Theater Awards: MONTI's Announced, Applause Tonight (Sept. 10)

The Applause Awards event starts with a social at 6:30 p.m., followed by a dinner at 7, at the First United Methodist Church's Wesley Center, at 2311 Walden Place South in Plant city.

The theme is "Old Hollywood" and awards will be given based on the community theater troupe's 2010-11 season.

Meanwhile, the Sixth Annual MONTI awards were presented Aug. 19 at the in Brandon. Along with awards in 22 production categories, the group annual presents three "Hall of Fame" awards, which this year went to Kim Mitchell ("Entertainer of the Year"), Maurice Cecchini ("Outstanding Achievement") and Heather Richardson ("Best Young Star").

For best productions, the awards went to "Little Shop of Horrors" (musical) and "Doubt" (play). The shows were staged, respectively, by the Village Players and The Frenzie - Life Theatre.

In January, the Village Players announced its awards for the 2010 community theater season, with "Best Production" going to "Rent" and "Best Director" going to Oliver Sprague, for "Little Shop of Horrors."

The MONTI awards, started by community theater veteran and Footlights Theatre Productions co-founder Carlton M. Jones, recognizes achievements in local community theaters in Brandon, Riverview, Plant City and surrounding areas.

Participating member companies are Plant City Entertainment, Footlights Theatre Productions, Village Players, StageDoor Performing Arts and The Frenzie - Life Theatre.

The MONTI awards  are selected by an independent committee of members made up of people in the community.

(Trivia Question: "MONTI" stands for what? For answer, see text following chart below.)

2010-11 MONTI COMMUNITY THEATRE AWARD WINNERS Best Production of the Year - Musical "Dirty Rotten Scoundrels"   Plant City Entertainment Best Production of the Year - Play "Doubt"   The Frenzie - Life Theatre Best Director - Musical Jennifer Jackson "Dirty Rotten Scoundrels" Plant City Entertainment Best Director - Play  Michael Mercer "Doubt" The Frenzie - Life Theatre Best Musical Director Michael Mercer "Bat Boy: The Musical" The Frenzie - Life Theatre Best Actress - Musical Melissa Brown "Little Shop of Horrors" Village Players Best Actor - Musical Pedro Amaral "Tick, Tick . . . BOOM!" The Frenzie - Life Theatre Best Actress - Play Cindy Miller-Ray "Doubt" The Frenzie - Life Theatre Best Actor - Play Thom Miller "Doubt" The Frenzie - Life Theatre Best Supporting Actress - Musical Kim Davis "Tick, Tick . . . BOOM!" The Frenzie - Life Theatre Best Supporting Actor - Musical Doug Buffaloe "Rent" Village Players / StageDoor Best Supporting Actress - Play Rachel Comstock "Doubt" The Frenzie - Life Theatre Best Supporting Actor - Play Nathan Pearce "Daddy's Dyin', Who's Got the Will?" Plant City Entertainment Best Featured / Ensembe Actress - Play or Musical Heather Barlow and Megan Wicks "The Rocky Horror Show" The Frenzie - Life Theatre Best Featured / Ensembe Actor - Play or Musical Carlton M. Jones "Bat Boy: The Musical" The Frenzie - Life Theatre Best Stage Management Pedro Amaral "The Rocky Horror Show" The Frenzie - Life Theatre Best Choreography Pedro Amaral, Justin Batten, Amber McCollum "The Rocky Horror Show" The Frenzie - Life Theatre Best Set Design Rick Faurtoe and Tom Mitchell "Dirty Rotten Scoundrels" Plant City Entertainment Best Sound Design Todd Siverling "Rent" Village Players / StageDoor Best Lighting Design Mike Wood "Bat Boy: The Musical" The Frenzie - Life Theatre Best Costume Design Beverly Mercer and Jennifer Poppenhagen "The Rocky Horror Show" The Frenzie - Life Theatre Best Musical Accompaniment Shanna Holland (Conductor) "Tick, Tick . . . BOOM!" The Frenzie - Life Theatre Hall of Fame - Outstanding Achievement Maurice Cecchini     Hall of Fame - Best Young Star Heather Richardson     Hall of Fame - The Entertainer Kim Mitchell    

"MONTI" is an acronym, which stands for:

• M -- Memorable Impression
• O -- Outstanding From All Others
• N -- Notable Technique and Style
• T -- Tremendous, Teamwork
• I -- Integrity In The Art Of Community Theater