QVHS Drama Club Attends 2026 PrimeStage Drama Awards Ceremony

By: Adele Hydzik

On Jan. 10, members of the Quaker Valley Drama Club attended the 2026 PrimeStage Drama Awards Ceremony at Shadyside. The Drama Club’s production of “The Great Gatsby” was nominated for several awards, including Sevin Leghorn for Best Student Director, Adele Hydzik, Evelyn Bertiaux and Ana Luiza Bacchi for Best Student Costume Design, Bertiaux and Hydzik for Best Student Makeup Design and Bacchi for Best Student Program Design. 

In total, the cast and crew put together 58 rehearsal hours to put on “The Great Gatsby.” The students were initially scared at the prospect of having a Drama Awards judge at each show, this helped to drive them towards success. Through every twist and turn the cast, crew and production staff persevered.

A unanimous memory from the night of the Drama Awards was the numerous mistakes made by the host and in the program, primarily with regards to Quaker Valley. “There were multiple correction announcements, referring to the program,” Hydzik recollects. “It was rather funny because some of the corrections that he was making were actually already correct in the program, so we were just having our names said aloud, like, a thousand times.” 

However, there was one major error in the program that caused concern for the QV attendees. “They forgot to list me as a nominee in the program [for Best Student Director],” Leghorn said. Drama Club co-sponsor Ms. Marasia called the errors to the attention of the awards director, who shared a list of corrections at the end of the show.

Each nominee was extremely grateful for this opportunity. Leghorn praised his the “sweetest and most productive cast” for all of their attentiveness and understanding, even

referring to them as his “little angels.” According to Leghorn, “They are the reason I decided to continue with this in college.” 

Hydzik, who also served as assistant producer and co-costumer, was especially thankful to her family. “[I’m thankful for] my nana, whom I couldn’t have costumed ‘The Great Gatsby’ without,” Hydzik said. “She gave me so many great insights into the world of costuming as well as helped me source the costumes.”

Leading up to this night each nominee has a memory of when they found out about their nomination. For Hydzik, it happened in science class. “I was sitting in science, potentially not giving my full attention, when I got the email,” Hydzik said. “I was not expecting to see my name, and then I ended up seeing it twice on the list. I immediately forwarded the email to my mom.” On the contrary, Leghorn did not find out about his nomination right away. “I was walking into class when Libby [Doebler] stopped me and congratulated me. I said, ‘Thanks! For what?’ And she told me. I was pretty excited."

The hard work and commitment of cast, crew and production staff resulted in four nominations at the Drama Awards. While most of the awards were swept by larger schools with faculty-run productions, the QV nominees were grateful for the opportunity to be recognized and to celebrate the impact of drama in schools.

Evelyn Bertiaux, Ana Luiza Bacchi, Adele Hydzik, and Sevin Leghorn with PrimeStage awards. (listed left to right)

Drama Club members attending the PrimeStage Drama Awards Ceremony together.

All Pictures Credited to Adele Hydzik.