Events

2021-2022 Bentley Awards
Saturday August 20 6:00 – 9:00 pm
Whatcom Museum Lightcatcher building
250 Flora Street
Bellingham, WA 98225

APPETIZERS - COCKTAILS - AWARDS

Come mingle with your Theatre Guild friends & family to celebrate our 2021-2022 season!

Appetizers and cocktails will start at 6:00 pm, and the awards presentation will start at 7:00 pm.

Tickets are only available online. Tickets are required only if you wish to partake in the appetizers and cocktails prior to the awards ceremony. Your ticket includes 1 drink coupon. Additional drinks will be available for purchase.

If you are only coming to the awards presentation, plan to arrive at 7:00 pm.

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Bentley Award Winners - announced during the August 20 banquet

Leading Actor in a Play: Kris Erickson “Scarecrow”—Scarecrow for Hire

Leading Actor in a Musical: Brendan Francis “Baker”—Into the Woods

Leading Actress in a Play: Alycia Francis “Debra”—The Smell of the Kill

Leading Actress in a Musical: Deborah Blakesley “The Witch”—Into the Woods

Supporting Actor in a Play: Truxtun McCoy “Nick Chopper”—Scarecrow for Hire

Supporting Actress in a Play: Molly Elizabeth Garrison “Claire”—Vino Veritas

Supporting Actor in a Musical: James Larrison “Mysterious Man”—Into the Woods

Supporting Actress in a Musical: Natasha McPhaden “Cinderella’s Stepmother”—Into the Woods

Dynamic Duo Awards:
- Jeff Braswell and Kevin Six “Harry” and “Sam”
- Riley M.Z. Stowell and Benjamin Usher “Rapunzel’s Prince” and “Cinderella’s Prince”

Best Small Ensemble: Erin Melanie, Livia Cohen, and Natasha McPhaden as “Florinda,” “Lucinda,” and “Cinderella’s Stepmother”—Into the Woods

New Actor: Nate Wheeler “Jack”—Into the Woods

New Actress: Carmen Souza “Little Red Ridinghood”—Into the Woods

Stage Manager: Christy Ham—The Harry and Sam Dialogues and Vino Veritas

Assistant Stage Managers: Alissa Flood, Tori Niewohner, Ali Salvino, Jeff Eastman—Into the Woods

Set Design: David Cohn—Scarecrow for Hire, Vino Veritas, Into the Woods

Light Design: Mark Kuntz—Scarecrow for Hire

Costume Design: Genny Cohn—Into the Woods

Props: Les Campbell—The Harry and Sam Dialogues

Make-up and Hair: Alycia Francis—Scarecrow for Hire

Director: All 5 of the Directors were special Gems
- Most Polished & Endurance Award: Shawn Fuller—The Smell of the Kill
- Simplistic Genius & Hoop Jumping: Les Campbell—The Harry and Sam Dialogues
- Period Perfection Time Travel Award: Brian Francis—Scarecrow for Hire
- Best Group Effort: Dee Dee O’Connor, Christy Ham, and Kyle Johnson—Vino Veritas
- Spellbinding Performance: Teri Grimes—Into the Woods

Assistant Director: Joe Urdiales—Into the Woods

Best Show: Into the Woods

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Judges’ Awards

Step Up/Step In
- Alycia Francis “Dorothy”—Scarecrow for Hire
- Riley Myers “Cinderella’s Prince”—Into the Woods
- Carly Fear “Little Red Riding Hood” “Florinda”—Into the Woods
- Mackenzie Brown “Lucinda”—Into the Woods
- Zander King “Steward”—Into the Woods
- Christy Ham—Vino Veritas
- Kyle Johnson—Vino Veritas
- Riley Stowell “Baker”—Into the Woods
- Natasha McPhaden “Baker’s Wife”—Into the Woods
- Katie Craighead—Into the Woods

Most Sensitive Moments
- Vino Veritas

Ooh, Ahhh…Props
- The Car—Scarecrow for Hire
- The Wine—Vino Veritas
- The Staff and Horse—Into the Woods

Nice to See Ya!
- Russ Nelson “Ridley”—Vino Veritas
- Mijo Stumpf “Granny” “Cinderella’s Mother”—Into the Woods

Beloved Bovine
- Mish Kriz “Milky White”—Into the Woods

Best Costume
- Queen Elizabeth I—Vino Veritas

Multimedia Masterpiece
- Scarecrow for Hire

Perfect Preshow
- Newsreel Crew—Scarecrow for Hire

Original Composition and Performance
- Les Campbell

Musical Number Awards
- Audience Favorite—”Agony” Benjamin Usher
- Audience Favorite— “Agony” Riley Stowell
- Tear Jerker— “No One Is Alone” Megan Sutton
- Tear Jerker— “No One Is Alone” Carmen Souza
- Tear Jerker— “No One Is Alone” Nate Wheeler
- Tear Jerker— “No One Is Alone” Brendan Francis

Powerhouse Vocals— “Witch's Lament” Deborah Blakesley

Scenic Artist
- Tom Roberts—Into the Woods
- Veronica Crommett—Into the Woods
- Jeff Eastman—Into the Woods

Outstanding Orchestra
- TJ Anderson — Conductor and Synth
- Will Sanders — Piano
- Judy Diamond — Viola
- Philip Buri — Violin
- David Payne — Bass
- Wendy Bartlett — Flute/Piccolo
- David Decker — Clarinet
- Marley Lagares — Bassoon
- Cori Holquinn — Cello
- Toby Bruce — Percussion
- Lee Walkup — Horn
- Katie Craighead — Trumpet
- Natasha McPhaden — Bass Substitute

Keeping Theater Alive During Covid
- Marla Bronstein—Virtual Series
- Mijo Stumpf—She Kills Monsters
- The Further Adventures of Nick Danger, Third Eye—Shawn Fuller
- The Audition— Written by Judith Owens-Lancaster, Directed by Woody Ciskowski
- The Praying Mantis—Written by Sandy Wolf, Directed by Michael Wallace
- Red Shoulder— Written by Steven Hunter, Directed by Eliott Glasser
- Building Self Esteem—Written by Sean Walbeck, Directed by Mikael McDonald
- Mijo Stumpf—Elephant’s Graveyard
- Jim Lortz—My Name Is Lucy Barton
- Mish Kriz—An Afternoon with David Ives’ Shorts

Ticketing Wizards
- David and Erin Kingery

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FULL LIST OF 2021-2022 BENTLEY AWARD NOMINATIONS

Leading Actor in a Play
Jeff Braswell as “Harry” – The Harry and Sam Dialogues
Kevin Six as “Sam” – The Harry and Sam Dialogues
Kris Erickson as “Scarecrow” – Scarecrow for Hire
Jordan Smith as “Phil” – Vino Veritas

Leading Actor in a Musical
Brendan Francis as “Baker” – Into the Woods
Riley M.Z. Stowell as “Rapunzel’s Prince” – Into the Woods
Benjamin Usher as “Cinderella’s Prince” – Into the Woods
Nate Wheeler as “Jack” – Into the Woods

Leading Actress in a Play
Alycia Francis as “Debra” – The Smell of the Kill
Mish Kriz as “Nicky” – The Smell of the Kill
Lily Larson as “Dorothy” – Scarecrow for Hire
Rachel Sullivan as “Lauren” – Vino Veritas

Leading Actress in a Musical
Deborah Blakesley as “The Witch” – Into the Woods
Candice Lundy as “The Baker’s Wife” – Into the Woods
Carmen Souza as “Little Red Ridinghood” – Into the Woods
Megan Sutton as “Cinderella” – Into the Woods

Supporting Actor in a Play
Brendan Francis as “Leon” – Scarecrow for Hire
Truxton McCoy as “Nick Chopper” – Scarecrow for Hire
Karl Ritter Smith as “The Mayor” – Scarecrow for Hire
Russ Nelson as “Ridley” – Vino Veritas

Supporting Actress in a Play
Sarah Hawley as “Molly” – The Smell of the Kill
Virginia Wawner as “Esme West” – Scarecrow for Hire
Molly Elizabeth Garrison as “Claire” – Vino Veritas

Supporting Actor in a Musical
Paul Henderson II as “Narrator” – Into the Woods
James Larrison as “Mysterious Man” – Into the Woods
Riley Myers as “Steward” – Into the Woods

Supporting Actress in a Musical
Mackenzie Brown as “Rapunzel” – Into the Woods
Natasha McPhaden as “Cinderella’s Stepmother” – Into the Woods
Mijo Stumpf as “Granny/Cinderella’s Mother” – Into the Woods
Jenny Woods as “Jack’s Mom” – Into the Woods

New Actor
Russ Nelson as “Ridley” – Vino Veritas
Riley Myers as “Steward” – Into the Woods
Benjamin Usher as “Cinderella’s Prince” – Into the Woods
Riley M.Z. Stowell as “Rapunzel’s Prince” – Into the Woods
Nate Wheeler as “Jack” – Into the Woods

New Actress
Sarah Hawley as “Molly” – The Smell of the Kill
Lily Larson as “Dorothy” – Scarecrow for Hire
Virginia Wawner as “Esme West” – Scarecrow for Hire
Molly Elizabeth Garrison as “Claire” – Vino Veritas
Mackenzie Brown as “Rapunzel” – Into the Woods
Carmen Souza as “Little Red Ridinghood” – Into the Woods

Stage Manager
Lane Burke – The Smell of The Kill
Christy Ham – The Harry and Sam Dialogues & Vino Veritas
Lilian Furlong – Scarecrow for Hire
Janessa Hubbard – Into the Woods

Assistant Stage Manager
Dee Dee O’Connor, Aislinn Hendrix – The Smell of the Kill
Nina Stanyo – Scarecrow for Hire
Allissa Flood, Tori Niewohner, Ali Salvino, Jeff Eastman – Into the Woods

Set Design
Russ Nelson – The Smell of the Kill
Les Campbell – The Harry and Sam Dialogues
David Cohn – Scarecrow for Hire, Vino Veritas, Into the Woods

Light Design
Ryan Goelzenleuchter – The Smell of the Kill
Dee Dee O’Conner, Christy Ham, Jim Larrison – The Harry and Sam Dialogues
Mark Kuntz – Scarecrow for Hire
Danielle Pekus – Vino Veritas
Kyle Johnson – Into the Woods

Costume Design
Brendan Francis – The Smell of the Kill
Rhapsody Farrell – Scarecrow for Hire
Brendan Francis – Vino Veritas
Genny Cohn – Into the Woods

Props
Carole Osier, Christy Genuit, Aneesa Nusret, Nussy Nusret – The Smell of the Kill
Nina Stanyo – Weapons Master, Scarecrow for Hire
Teri Grimes – Vino Veritas
Jeff Eastman, Tom Roberts, Jim Reimer, Russ Nelson – Builders, Into the Woods
Les Campbell – The Harry and Sam Dialogues

Make-up and Hair
Alycia Francis – Scarecrow for Hire
Jaclyn Deshaye, Hannah Cafarella – Into the Woods

Best Director
Shawn Fuller – The Smell of the Kill
Les Campbell – The Harry and Sam Dialogues
Brian Francis – Scarecrow for Hire
Dee Dee O’Connor, Christy Ham, and Kyle Johnson – Vino Veritas
Teri Grimes – Into the Woods

Assistant Director
Lane Burke & Robert Muzzy – The Smell of the Kill
Christy Ham – The Harry and Sam Dialogues
Ann Smith – Scarecrow for Hire
Kyle Johnson – Vino Veritas
Joe Urdiales – Into the Woods

Best Show
The Smell of the Kill
The Harry and Sam Dialogues
Scarecrow for Hire
Vino Veritas
Into the Woods