P.O. Box 691 Sebring Florida USA 33871 Tel: 863-382-2525
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P.O. Box 691 Sebring Florida USA 33871 Tel: 863-382-2525 |
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William "Mac" Byron - A Committed Member and Gracie Award Winner By: Roy Riedy |
The first show that William "Mac" Byron was associated with at the Little Theatre was Janelou Buck's June, 1992 production of Inherit the Wind, a dramatic presentation of the much publicized "Monkey Trial" of the 1920s. The play was the first of now 53 plays that he has been involved with since joining HLT.. Mac ended his first season at HLT as Sergeant Gregovich in the second presentation of Marian Dunham's Teahouse of the August Moon which commemorated the tenth year of the organization's residency in The Lakeside Playhouse.
He was involved with four productions during the Nineteenth Season. He worked with the stage crew of Tena Conyer's heavenly Nunsense; he was involved with the light design and set construction for Walt Zelenenki's offbeat Come Back to the Five and Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean; he appeared as Sir Lionel in Frank Oberhausen's reprise of Camelot in April; and in June Mac was seen as Uncle Willis Tracy in Marian Dunham's presentation of The Philadelphia Story.
Mac was rewarded for his hard work by being nominated three times at the end of the season at the Eighth Zenon Ceremonies. One nomination was a Best Supporting Actor Zenon for his part of Uncle Willis in The Philadelphia Story; another a Production/Technical Zenon for his backstage work; and the third, a Best Lighting Design for his electrical contributions to Come Back to the Five and Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean.
Mr. Byron was just as busy the Twentieth Season with four more plays. The season opened with the sequel to Tena Conyer's immensely popular opener of the previous season, Nunsense II, The second coming for which Mac and Producer Margie Pollard made up the two person stage crew. He was the Producer and Stage Manager for the January presentation of Peter Pollard's production of Neil Simon's The Odd Couple (Female Version). In June he was the Assistant Director of Tammie Pollard's hilarious Lend Me A Tenor; and in August he was the Motorman of the trolley in Marian Dunham's musical Meet Me In St. Louis.
Same Time, Next Year was directed by Tena Conyer and Andy Conyer in June of the Twenty-first Season and Mac provided the Sound for the production. In August he was the Assistant Director and Stage Manager for Marian Dunham's ambitious musical Gigi.
Mac threw himself into the Twenty-second Season with colossal vigor and was involved in no less than five different productions. In November he worked on the Light Design with Frank Oberhausen for Peter Pollard's presentation of The Goodbye Girl; the following month he directed an "Extra" one weekend production of the comic Greater Tuna; in January he did the lighting for Roy Riedy's The Foreigner; in March he worked on the set for Frank Oberhausen's third presentation of Fiddler on the Roof; and in August co-directed with Marian Dunham, the Tony winning musical, The Secret Garden. His total involvement in the season was recognized at the Eleventh Annual Zenon Awards with three nominations, two for Best Lighting Designs, and a third for Best Stage Manager.
Melanie Boulay made her directorial debut with her January, 1997, presentation of To Kill A Mockingbird in which Mac played the part of Bob Ewell. He was part of the Stage Crew of Frank Oberhausen's flamboyant musical La Cage aux folles in April and in May he was elected to the HLT's Board of Directors. In June he directed the comedy George Washington Slept Here and in October at the Zenon Ceremonies he received three Zenon nominations, one for Best Actor in a Supporting Role, another for Best Lighting Design, and the third for Best Play of the season. In January, 1998 Mac played the part of Leo Silver in Peter Pollard's production of My Favorite Year.
HLT's Twenty-sixth Season opened with One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest by first time director John Lovelette and Mac was back in action as part of the set construction crew. In February, 2000, he appeared as King Ferdinand in the Children's Academy of Theatre, Inc. (CAT) production of Cinderella, Cinderella presented at Lakeside Playhouse. In April he was a sound technician for Sue McCollum's production of Bye Bye, Birdie, and in June appeared in the program of Mike Logsdon's Run For Your Wife, and Melanie Boulay's Oliver! as the Chairman of the Gourmet Staff. At the Fifteenth Zenon Ceremonies Mac was nominated for a Zenon for his work as a sound technician on Bye Bye, Birdie.
During the Twenty-seventh Season Mac served up another helping of Tuna at Christmas time when he directed A Tuna Christmas in December as another "Extra" HLT show. In April he appeared as Senator Wingwoah in Jim McCollum's production of The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, in May he was reelected to the HLT Board of Directors, in June he worked with Mark Elliott as a lighting technician on Steve McDaniel's Moon Over Buffalo.
Besides his theatrical duties Mac was also involved with the Gourmet Division, either as its Chairman or as a Master Chef for the entire Twenty-seventh season. At Zenon time, Mac received another nomination for Best Actor in a Supporting Role for his portrayal of Senator Wingwoah in The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas.
During the Twenty-eighth Season Mac continued to work in the Gourmet Division but found time to appeared as the Doctor in Peter Pollard's absorbing production of Foxfire in January, and work as a sound technician for Joe Willis' colorful Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat in March, a service that brought him a nomination at the October Zenon Ceremonies.
The Twenty-ninth Season saw Mr. Byron as active as ever. He was associated with all five main stage presentations. He served as a Master Chef in Gourmet for all of the plays and was also a sound technician for Allen Branch's June production of The Hound of the Baskervilles, and designed the lighting for Sue McCollum's August revival of The Fantasticks, for which he received a Zenon nomination at the Eighteenth Annual Zenon Awards in October, 2003.
Once again, during the Thirtieth Season, Mac served as a Master Chef for all five of HLT's shows. He was also seen on stage as the Westminster Hotel Manager in Mike Logsdon's wonderful January farce, Out Of Order.
Most recently, during the Thirty-first Season, Mac has been associated with the Gourmet Division in his role as a Master Chef for all three shows that have been presented. In January he also found time to work on the set construction and stage crew of Pete Pollard's Tale of the Allergist's Wife.
During Mr. Byron's fourteen years association with Highlands Little Theatre, he has been affiliated with 53 productions at the Lakeside Playhouse and 7 Zenon Ceremonies, he has attended 1 First Nighter program and has seen his name in 63 HLT Newsletters and 62 local news articles for a total of 186 citations. Your commitment to HLT has been outstanding Mac and it is a fine example to follow for all who truly want to be an active member. Congratulations on your well deserved Gracie Award.
