Festival Awards
Roving Adjudicator Merit Awards
Awards Available for TANYS Members
The TANYS Scholarship & Awards Fund has been established to honor individuals and companies who have
made significant contributions to TANYS, to their home theatre companies or regions, and/or to community and academic theatre in New York State, with the following awards:
Shirley Cockrell Community Theatre Excellence Award
TANYS member companies may be nominated for the Shirley Cockrell Community Theatre Excellence Award. This award recognizes a company that provides exemplary service to its community and aspires to maintain the highest level of artistic achievement.
Shirley is a former TANYS president and board member, longtime adjudicator, and primary architect of the nationally respected TANYS adjudication program.
Fredric Blumberg Distinguished Volunteer Award
The Fredric Blumberg Distinguished Volunteer Award is given to an individual under the age of 65 who has faithfully provided significant and valuable service to community theatre for 15 years or more. A longtime professor of theatre and speech at SUNY Cortland, Fred was a founder and the first president of TANYS.
Sherman C. Ward, Jr. Distinguished Volunteer Award
The Sherman C. Ward, Jr. Distinguished Volunteer Award is given to an individual over the age of 65 who has faithfully provided significant and valuable service to community theatre for more than 25 years. Sherman, a longtime TANYS member, served on the AACT Board as Region II Representative 2005-2012. He received AACT’s Robert E. Gard Superior Volunteer Award in 2005 and was made an AACT Fellow in 2012.
Regional Service Award
This award is given to an individual who provides exemplary service to community and academic theatres in their region of New York State. Email [email protected] for information on how to nominate.
This award honors Mary Eva Duthie, the guiding spirit behind the founding of the New York State Community Theatre Association in 1946. It is given to an individual or organization in the State who has made outstanding contributions to
community and/or academic theatre in New York State. Email [email protected] for information on how to nominate.
For all of the above awards, the nomination deadline is October 31 each year. From nominations received, awards are presented at the annual TANYS Festival in November.
This award honors the memory and contributions of TANYS Past President J. Richard Mahlstedt.
This award may be given at the annual TANYS Festival in November, at the discretion of the TANYS Festival Adjudicators.
The Ruth R. Legg Memorial Scholarship is given by TANYS to a current high school senior who has been active in community theatre and is accepted as a Theatre major/minor at an accredited college or university.
Ruth R. Legg Memorial Scholarship applications are due
by May 1 each year.
