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Health & Fitness

Westover's Theater Program Wins 2 Halo Awards

Middlebury, Connecticut – The talented students in Westover’s Theater Program were honored May 28th with two awards at the 11th Annual Halo Awards, presented by the 7 Angels Theatre.

Westover received Halo Award nominations for all three of this year’s productions: the fall term musical, Suessical, and the winter term play, Tales from the Mouth of the Golden Horse Head, both directed by Marla Truini, the Director of Theater Program; and the spring term Shakespeare production, Othello, directed by Kate Truini, performing arts instructor.

Nimat Muhammad, a junior from Newark, New Jersey, and Alex Neelon, a sophomore from Moscow, Idaho, received the award for Best Sound Design and Execution for their work on Tales from the Mouth of the Golden Horse Head.

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Tales from the Mouth of the Golden Horse Head also won the Fearless Award, which is given to a play that tackles controversial topics, asks tough questions, and makes bold choices. Tales from the Mouth of the Golden Horse Head, written by students, is a series of scenes and monologues all centered on the theme of “The Other,” reflecting Westover’s theme year of “The Face of the Other.” The script for the play and all of the designs for the show were created using a “devised theater” process in which the students engaged in a three-week collaboration of brainstorming, research, and writing.

Westover was nominated for a total of seven Halo Awards this year, including:

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• Best Performance by a Supporting Actress in a Musical: Sophia Lanman, a senior from Scarborough, Maine, as Gertrude in Seussical

• Best Performance by a Supporting Actress in a Play: Addie Pates, a junior from Manchester, Massachusetts, as Cassio in Othello

• Best Featured Actress in a Play: Emily Hazelton (a guest performer who was a senior from the Waterbury Arts Magnet School) as Emilia in Othello

• Best Standout Performance in an Ensemble Play: Lilly Diamond, a freshman from Higganum, Connecticut, as Davey in Tales From the Mouth of the Golden Horse Head

• Best Acting by an Ensemble Cast in a Play: Tales from the Mouth of the Golden Horse Head ((Emma Barhydt, a freshman from Greenwich, Connecticut; Amelia Bell, a sophomore from Lakeville, Connecticut; Sarah Cavallaro, a freshman from Middlebury, Connecticut; Lilly Diamond, a freshman from Higganum, Connecticut; Sarah Navias, a freshman from Aspen, Colorado; Alex Neelon, a sophomore from Moscow, Idaho; Addie Pates, a junior from Manchester, Massachusetts; Elizabeth Reed, a senior from Winchester, Connecticut; Dhalia Tejada, a junior from Newark, New Jersey; and Rachel Yerks, a sophomore from Sharon, Connecticut.

Productions from 50 high schools from around Connecticut were nominated for the 2014 Halo Awards.

Westover is a selective boarding and day school in Middlebury, Connecticut, with 205 students in grades 9-12 from 17 states and 20 countries. The School offers its students more than 20 Advanced Placement courses as well as signature programs in science, engineering, art history, and music.

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