Teeny Awards move to Riverhead

Former Teeny winners Brett Chizever and Erin McKenna perform at
the press conference.

Citing space, the East End Arts Council is moving its annual Teeny Awards ceremony from the Westhampton Beach Performing Arts Center to East End high schools on a rotating basis.
First in the rotation is Riverhead High School.
“While the Performing Arts continues to be a strong supporter, they have 500 seats there, and those seats get filled by supporters, nominees and the nominees’ families,” said Pat Snyder, executive director of the East End Arts Council, “so there was really very little option for the cast of plays to go. It really limited who can attend and then that limits how much people really know about the program.”
The awards, modeled after the Tony Awards and in its seventh year, recognizes standout crews and performances among students across the East End.
“This is about making the event more assessable,” Ms. Snyder said.
Riverhead High School, like many schools in the region, boasts a auditorium that could hold about 900 people.
Meanwhile, a Teeny Award memorabilia display was unveiled at the Applebee’s restaurant on Route 58 in Riverhead Tuesday, during an event that featured a duet performance by two past winners, Erin McKenna and Brett Chizever. They sang “You’re the Top” from “Anything Goes.” See video.