13 WATCH Awards Presented To Reston Community Players' Productions

RESTON, VA — Reston Community Players was the big winner Sunday night at the 2023 Washington Area Theatre Community Honors Awards ceremony at the The Birchmere in Alexandria.

RCP racked up a combined total of 13 awards for its productions of "A Little Night Music," "The Game's A Foot" and "Bright Star." The company with the next highest number of awards was The Arlington Players, which brought home six awards.

"As president of RCP I am very proud of my entire team," said Joey Olson, in an email to Patch. "As producer of 'A Little Night Music,' I am overjoyed that my team was honored so many times."

When the nominations for 2023 WATCH Awards were announced in January, RCP received 42 nominations, second only to the Little Theatre of Alexandria's 52 nominations.

The technical side of RCP's productions really shined during Sunday night's ceremony. RCP took home home 11 out of 21 WATCH Awards in the outstanding technical achievements categories.

Katie Kramer, who portrayed “Daria Chase” in RCP's production of "The Game’s Afoot," tied in the outstanding featured actress in a play category with Jacqueline E. G. Youm, who portrayed “Stool Pigeon” in the Dominion Stage's production of "King Hedley II."

Another tie involving an RCP performer occurred in the outstanding lead actress in a musical category. Jennifer Redford, who played “Desiree Armfeldt” in "A Little Night Music," shared the award with Maura Lacy, who portrayed “Alice Murphy” in the Little Theatre of Alexandria's production of "Bright Star."

The following is a list of the awards RCP received on Sunday night. A full list of the results of the 2023 WATCH Awards is available online.

• Outstanding Set Design in a Musical: Andrew JM Regiec & Skip Gresko – "A Little Night Music" – Reston Community Players (Richard Farella was also nominated in this category for RCP's production of "Bright Star.")
• Outstanding Set Design in a Play: Nicolas Queyrane – "The Game’s Afoot" – Reston Community Players
• Outstanding Set Construction in a Musical: Tom O’Reilly – "A Little Night Music" – Reston Community Players (O'Reilly was also nominated in this category for RCP's production of "Bright Star.")
• Outstanding Set Construction in a Play: Rick Young – "The Game’s Afoot" – Reston Community Players
• Outstanding Set Decoration and Set Dressing in a Musical: Jerry & Bea Morse – "A Little Night Music" – Reston Community Players
• Outstanding Set Decoration and Set Dressing in a Play: Kate Keifer – "The Game’s Afoot" – Reston Community Players
• Outstanding Properties in a Musical: Mary Jo Ford – "A Little Night Music" – Reston Community Players
• Outstanding Lighting Design in a Musical: Ken & Patti Crowley – A Little Night Music – Reston Community Players (Franklin Coleman was nominated in this category for his work on RCP's production of "Bright Star.")
• Outstanding Costume Design in a Musical: Joan Lawrence – "A Little Night Music" – Reston Community Players
• Outstanding Makeup Design in a Musical: Bianca Lara – "A Little Night Music" – Reston Community Players
• Outstanding Hair Design in a Musical: Sue Pinkman & Wendy Baker – "A Little Night Music" – Reston Community Players
• Outstanding featured actress in a play: Katie Kramer as “Daria Chase” – The Game’s Afoot – Reston Community Players
• Jennifer Redford as “Desiree Armfeldt” – A Little Night Music – Reston Community Players