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Near, Volunteer, Audience Choice honorees named

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Posted: Monday, July 4, 2011, 9:54pm

Curtain Players on Saturday June 25 celebrated Season 48 with food, drink, conversation, and a few awards at Jimmy V’s in Uptown Westerville.

James F. Petsche received the Richard D. Near Award, established in the memory of Near to acknowledge "continued dedication to the advancement of Curtain Players."  Near, a charter member of the community theatre company, served the organization as an officer, board member, actor, director, and advocate.

Mark Rasche is the 2011 Curtain Players Volunteer of the Year.

The Near and Volunteer honors were determined by the Curtain Players Board of Directors from nominations received from the Curtain Players rank and file.  The Near Award is not necessarily presented every year, rather only when the board of directors receives a nomination of someone deemed worthy of the honor.  The Volunteer of the Year Award is an annual honor.

Six Curtain Players actors received Audience Choice Awards: Charlie Sloin for The Sunshine Boys; Nolan Martin for Communicating Doors; Debbie Piper for Our Town; Kelly Brown for Cactus Flower; Sue Rasche for Boy Gets Girl; and James F. Petsche for Dinner with Friends.

The Audience Choice Awards are a popular fundraiser as patrons acknowledge favorite performances by making contributions in actors’ cash boxes during the run of each production.  The 2010-2011 campaign generated $934.61, down from last season’s record take of $1083.70.  This money is designated for playhouse maintenance and improvement projects, such as the floor repair and new carpet installation completed in February.