River Hess said he would have been happy winning a prize for “Best Puppet Design” at the long-delayed and scaled down Little Oscars event Friday evening.
Spoiler alert: He didn’t win that category.
But he did win some of the night’s biggest prizes: Don Bain Showman of the Year and Best Actor for his role in the fall play, “Puffs.”
“Throughout my career in high school theater, it was always about having fun and I looked up to all the students who came before me. This year, I’m one of those people,” Hess said in his acceptance speech. “You never think you’re going to grow up until you’re there.”
LITTLE OSCARS has a reputation for lasting even longer than its namesake, but this year’s ceremony blew through the awards presentation in less than an hour.
The ceremony followed the long-delayed performance of the Iola High School spring musical, “The Theory of Relativity.”
Drama teacher Regina Chriestensen handed out several awards. Karly McGuffin, IHS Class of 2018, served as emcee of the night.
Graduating senior Haley Carlin offered the only performance of the night, playing her original song “Better For It.” Carlin wrote the song the day school was canceled and debuted it with an emotional performance at the IHS graduation ceremony earlier this month.
Award winners were:
Iola Community Theatre Award: Isabella Duke
Female Rookie of the Year: Macie Hoag for Puffs
Male Rookie of the Year: Dalton Muntzert for Puffs
Underclass Woman of the Year: Hanna Andersen for Puffs and Theory of Relativity
Underclass Man of the Year: Austin Morris for Puffs and Theory of Relativity
Fall/Spring Technical Award: Allie Fager, stage manager
Theatrical Design Award: Lexie Vega for Qlab Design
Outstanding Players Member: Lexie Vega
Stanislavski Award: Elaine Sturgeon for Puffs
Boleslavski Award: Isabella Duke for Puffs
Best Supporting Actress: Haley Carlin for Puffs
