Lamb Budach Awards for 2011-2012:
A tradition for Grove Players is to award a senior student at Downers Grove South and North High Schools a monetary award for their proven excellence in their school’s theatre program.

Downers Grove North:

Marilyn Ludwig of Grove Players was on hand to present the award to Sam Staley. Sam participated in all of the plays, both on and backstage, during his four years at North. The highlight of his DGN career was having the one-act he directed selected for Theatre-fest. This was the first time a play from North had ever been selected for this honor. While participation in Grove Players is not a requirement for the award, Sam was also active in Grove Players: an actor in two shows, and assistant stage manager, a sound operator, and a member of the construction crew and the hospitality committee. Sam was also an actor and director in Tree House Summer Theater for four years. Sam will continue his studies at C.O.D.

Downers Grove South:

Grove Players’ Michael Pemberton presented this award which was split between two outstanding seniors at South.

Patrick Heffernan has designed lights for eight shows at Downers Grove South High School, five shows at the School for Performing Arts, seven shows for Bravo! Performing Arts and one show each at t. Peters & Paul School and Washington Jr. High School. He has been a Lighting Designer at the Summer Place Theatre and Epic Theatre Company. In addition to all that, Patrick has designed the lights for four of Grove Players’ shows: Oliver!, The Shadow Box, Moonlight and Magnolias, and Once Upon a Mattress.
He will be attending C.OD. next year for Electro-Mechanical Technology and then transferring to another college (to be determined) to do theatre.

Erin Christine Walsh was very active in speech and theatre at South. She is a state champion in Dramatic Duet Acting, Oratorical Declamation, and Prose Reading. She has acted in eight shows at DGS, as well as shows with Magical Starlight Theatre, North Central College (as Irene Malloy in Hello, Dolly!), BAM Theatre, and Oak Brook Academy. She is also a member of State and District Honors Choirs. As a matter of fact, she sang the national anthem at the awards ceremony at which she and Pat won their Lamb-Budach Awards!. Erin was also one of the six leads in our production of Schoolhouse Rock Live! In 2006.
Erin will be attending Syracuse University in the fall, studying for her BFA in Acting.