Presentation made at regional ceremony in Boston.
Public Television for Western New England earned a Regional Emmy Award on June 2 at the 35th Annual Boston/New England Emmy Awards Ceremony from the Boston/New England Chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS).
Mark Langevin, cameraman for WGBY 57, and Julie Akeret, an independent producer/director form Akeret Films, were awarded the Emmy in the Outstanding Cultural/Historical Program category for their work on the documentary "Theatre on the Edge: Growing Art and Community at Double Edge Theatre."
Narrated by actress Karen Allen , the documentary follows the internationally recognized laboratory theater company, Double Edge, a company that relocated from Boston to the rural town of Ashfield in search of a community connection they hadn’t been able to find in the city.
Double Edge performances, according to a release from WGBY, often blur traditional boundaries between performers and viewers. The result is a dream-like feast for the senses, incorporating life-size puppets, stilts, swings, live music, and even the animals, fields, and ponds of the 100-acre farm on which Double Edge lives and works.
The documentary includes interviews with company members, visiting theater directors and critics, as well as community members and the audiences who attend the productions.
The film follows the company as they rehearse for their production, "The Garden of Intimacy and Desire."
The film also includes rehearsals and performance of the company’s summer production, "Arabian Nights," a spectacle geared for a wide audience, using the company’s extraordinary farm as a set.
Akeret and Langevin were overjoyed with the win.
“It was an honor to be nominated I really never expected to win. I could not have done it without my amazing partner Julie and the extremely talented folks at Double Edge.” said Langevin in the release.
Akeret was also thrilled with the nod from NATAS saying" “Receiving an Emmy is an honor and a total surprise. An honor because the competition was stiff and a surprise because it’s an offbeat documentary about a remarkable but unusual theater. I wasn’t sure how it would resonate with the Emmy judges.”
WGBY 57 was honored with three Regional Emmy nominations:
Outstanding Documentary: "AUTISM: COMING OF AGE" (Catherine Sager, producer;)
Outstanding Historical/Cultural Program: "THEATRE ON THE EDGE: GROWING ART" (Julie Akeret, director; Mark Langevin, camera)
Outstanding Special Event Coverage: "TOGETHER IN SONG FESTIVAL FINALE "(Lynn Page, producer.)
“WGBY has made a commitment to the area to present local content to our viewers in the most meaningful way possible. Everywhere I go I hear from people in the community about how much our work means to them.
"The recognition of our peers in the television arts and sciences industry is the icing on the cake. I couldn’t be more proud of our talented and dedicated staff here at WGBY.”," said to Rus Peotter, General Manager of WGBY.