Linnea Wong and Dylan Brinn with Huntington drama club advisor Michael Schwendemann.
Linnea Wong and Dylan Brinn with Huntington drama club advisor Michael Schwendemann.

Seniors Capture Kellog & Samodi Theatre Awards

July 19, 2023

David Chavez-Hernandez and Linnea Wong captured this year’s John F. Kellog Theatre Awards and Dylan Brinn garnered the Joseph Samodi Theatre Arts Awards as the Huntington High School drama club capped off another successful campaign.

The three Huntington stars of the stage were announced as the 2023 recipients by high school drama club faculty advisor Michael Schwendemann at the senior departmental awards and scholarships ceremony.

Each of the five seniors received a $50 stipend. They are all veterans of Huntington High School drama and musical productions and have helped make the club one of Long Island’s finest.

Mr. Chavez-Hernandez plans to study at Montclair State University in New Jersey. Ms. Wong will be attending Manhattan College. Mr. Brinn intends to study at SUNY New Paltz.

Mr. Chavez-Hernandez introduced Huntington School Board President Christine Biernacki at the high school’s 162nd commencement exercises in June. He was in productions of “The Addams Family” playing Lurch and “42nd Street” playing Philip Dale and was a dance captain in musicals for the past three years.

Ms. Wong is another four year drama club participant. She plans to study English at Manhattan College. She has served as both the president and secretary of Etcetera, the high school’s literary magazine; secretary of the Women’s Empowerment Club. She volunteered with Meals on Wheels and earned the Seal of Civic Readiness, which is a formal state recognition that a student “has attained a high level of proficiency in terms of civic knowledge, civic skills, civic mindset, and civic experiences.”

Mr. Brinn participated in the high school’s drama club program during all four years of high school, playing roles that ranged from E.J. Lofgren in “Harvey,” Lucas Beineke in “The Addams Family,” Titus Savage in “The Curious Savage,” Pat Denning in “42nd Street,” various roles in “Almost, Maine” and General Genghis Khan Schmitz in “Seussical.” He said Mr. Schwendemann has been a “fantastic director and role model.”