PCT WINS! The 35th Annual Shellie Awards were held at the Lesher Center for the Arts in Walnut Creek on Satuday January 11, 2014. These awards recognize outstanding achievement in the performing arts in the Central Contra Co¬sta/Diablo Valley region and are the East Bay’s equivalent of a Tony Award. Pittsburg Community Theatre has long been part of this event and has garnered many awards through the years including last year’s Best Support Actor in a Play in which Antioch’s own Kevin Burns was honored. This year PCT took home two Shellie Awards.
The first award was a technical award presented to Ronn Ton for his lighting design work for M*A*S*H. This was a great achievement for designing lighting cues for more than 30 scenes both on stage and in front of the curtain. Hats are off to Ronn for his creative work.
The second Shellie award was the shocker of the night as Alex Schepers took home the trophy for Best Supporting Actor in a Play for his portrayal of Radar O’Reilly in M*A*S*H. Alex was 15 years old when he performed in the show and he is now a Junior at Pittsburg High School. Alex portrayed Radar with all the “sensitivity and naivety” one would expect to see in this character according to director Dianna Schepers upon accepting the award for Alex. She further said that as patrons left the show they would say “it was as if Radar stepped out of the screen and onto the stage,” and is “doubly proud” because Alex is her son. She was thrilled with his performance and grateful to the Shellie Committee for recognizing his work.
Congratulations to both Ronn and Alex!