Memphians express uneasiness after Ostranders Awards

By Jamie Markham

9/18/2025

Theatregoing Memphians report feeling uneasy after the recent Ostranders Award ceremony due to a “remount” sweeping awards at the Orpheum.

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Remounts are repeat productions by the same company, typically within a season of each other. While remounts are fairly common for many groups, they are typically discouraged by the greater community due to demand for new creative works.

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“Silent Sky,” a remounted production by Theatre Memphis, was nominated nine times and won four awards during the 2025 Ostranders, but this was not the first time that “Silent Sky” has appeared at the award ceremony. In 2024, the original production of “Silent Sky” was nominated 12 times and won five awards.

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“Remounts are literally the exact same show,” said Guiliana Caspersen, a local theatre veteran. “They have the same cast, same set, same costume, same everything. There is a reason why other award ceremonies have rules about remounts.”

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The 41st Ostranders were held at the Orpheum for the last two years. Prior to last year, the event was held at the Halloran Center.

Caspersen has worked in several Ostrander nominated and award winning shows throughout her time in Memphis such as Playhouse’s “The Great Comet of 1812” and Theatre Memphis’ “Beauty and the Beast”. Caspersen worked for the Ostranders during their 2023-2024 season.

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 According to Caspersen, The Memphis Ostranders’ judging process is modeled after the same process employed by the Tony Awards.

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The Ostranders divide their award ceremonies into two groups: Division 1 for larger theaters and Division II for smaller theatres. The Ostranders’ website states rules for both divisions.

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While their rules do not explicitly state anything regarding remounts, it does state that: “an award cannot be given more than once to the same artist or designer at the same producing organization for a production of the same title within five years”.

Almost universally across every award ceremony, the same production cannot win awards during two different ceremonies. For example, a film that is nominated for Best Picture at the Academy Awards one year cannot be nominated for the award the following year.

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Caspersen said that “Silent Sky” should not have been nominated because it won awards last year.

 

 “Theatre Memphis has stellar productions that deserve awards,” Caspersen said. “But there’s an unspoken rule about remounts. They don’t get awards.”

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This unspoken rule rang true until this year for the Ostranders. In the last 41 years, a remount has never been nominated or awarded prior to “Silent Sky”.

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While the Ostranders have not made an official comment regarding the remount violating their rules, “Silent Sky” director, Cecilia Windgate, was recognized this year with the Eugart Yerian Lifetime Achievement award.

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In 2024, “Silent Sky” won awards for Best Lighting Design, Costume Design, Supporting Actor,  and Supporting Actress for a Division I Play. In 2025, the remount won awards for Best Prop Design, Set Design, Supporting Actress, and Best Production for a Division I Play.

 

Remounts are common for many theatre companies, but they do not win awards in more than one year’s award ceremony. The most popular show in Memphis every year is Theatre Memphis’ “A Christmas Carol,” a production that has been remounted for nearly 50 years.

 

While remounts may seem lazy from a distance and an easy way to fill a show slot for a season, they are almost exclusively brought back only by popular demand. In the case of Theatre Memphis, it experienced sold-out shows and extended dates for both runs of “Silent Sky”.

 

 Despite the criticism revolving around “Silent Sky” being a remount, other theatregoers said that the Ostranders have been unfair for several years.

 

 “There’s an issue with recency bias,” said Justin Henderson, an Ostrander nominated actor. “Shows that open seasons tend to get overlooked compared to newer shows.”

 

 Henderson said that shows opening earlier in the year tend to be forgotten in comparison to shows debuting months before the Ostranders. “There’s a few exceptions to this, but most seasonal openers get overlooked,” said Henderson. “If you look at the last two seasons, you’ll see earlier shows get ignored over newer shows.”

 

During this year’s ceremony, the University of Memphis won eight awards - seven of which were for their season finale, “The Most Happiest Fella”. Their seasonal opener, “12N, or What You Will,” only won a single award for Best Set Design.

 

“Silent Sky” tells a similar story for Theatre Memphis according to Henderson. “Grease was the opener for Theatre Memphis last season and it didn’t get a single nomination,” said Henderson. “I’m not one to tout a show like that, but it got completely overlooked.”

During the 2024-2025 Season at Theatre Memphis, “Grease” opened during August of 2024 while the remount of “Silent Sky” was produced during April 2025.

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As it stands now, the Ostranders do not have a cut-off date for award eligibility with “The O’Kays”, which opened the week prior to the Ostranders, winning an award for Best Original Script.

 

Contact Information:

Jam.Markham@Outlook.com