WICHITA, Kan. — Several area schools were awarded during Sunday night’s Jester Awards Ceremony from the Music Theatre of Wichita. The event was held at the Century II Performing Arts Center’s Convention Hall.

Honorees were named in 25 different categories and scholarship awards were presented to three students, lead male and female honorees and a technical theatre recipient.

Sterling High School’s production of Fiddler on the Roof won five jester Awards including Overall Production for the year. The production also won Jester Awards for Direction of Show, Ensemble and Chorus, Production Number and Vocal Musical Direction.

Buhler High School’s Rachel Thomson was named Best Supporting Actress for her role in “Into the Woods.” Buhler’s Greg Bontrager was also awarded for Lighting Design and Sheri Cunningham was awarded a Jester for Graphic Design along with Nickerson High School’s Scott Logan for his work in the schools production of Seven Brides for Seven Brothers. Buhler’s Alberton Martinez won a Jester for his work in Design Guest.

The Jester Awards program was designed in 2001 to celebrate excellence in area high school musical theatre. The accolades program showcases the next generation of musical theatre talent in Kansas. Each year, trained volunteer judges attend and evaluate dozens of performances.

Ten schools submitted 13 productions for consideration in the program’s first year. This year, 102 judges viewed 127 performances of 40 productions, involving more than 2,800 students and 40 schools across the state of Kansas.