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Knot Awards Banquet Celebrates 55th Season in Style

2024 Pull-Tight Players Knot Awards Banquet

The theme was black and white, but the talent and dedication on hand the evening of June 29, 2024 in Franklin spanned the spectrum. Pull-Tight Players celebrated the end of our 55th season with awards, songs, laughs and cheers. Longtime artist members and banquet committee co-chairs J.T. Landry and Mark Buchanan gave us a night to remember, opening the evening’s festivities with an appropriately rewritten version of “Welcome to the Renaissance” from our 56th season opener, Something Rotten!

Knot Awards Banquet committee co-chairs Mark Buchanan and J.T. Landry

Board of Directors President Johnny Peppers then offered remarks that brought attention to the team spirit of Pull-Tight Players. He noted the many unseen and unrecognized volunteer activities that keep our organization running year after year. Johnny also thanked our outgoing board members Jennifer Bennett, Leslie Berra, and Wade Woodruff; and welcomed our incoming members Mark Buchanan, Jeanne Drone, and Joey Echeverria.

And speaking of Something Rotten!, the awards ceremony included a decidedly un-rotten preview of the musical that featured its two lead cast members. Pull-Tight newcomers Caylin Maguire (Bea) and Aaron Gray (Nick Bottom) performed “Right-Hand Man” from the show.

Following is the complete list of our 2024 Knot Award winners.

Show Awards

Guys and Dolls

  • Congeniality – Meredith Seymour
  • Techie – Bre Hall, Choreographer

One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest

  • Congeniality – Phil Fitzgerald
  • Techie – Tim Massey, Set Chief

A Tuna Christmas

  • Congeniality – Bryan Kratoska
  • Techie – Tim Massey, Set Designer & Set Chief; Clay Walker, Costume Designer

Home, I’m Darling

  • Congeniality – Bryan Kratoska
  • Techie – Carmela Hofstee, Stage Manager

A Fox on the Fairway

  • Congeniality – Jon Kieffner
  • Techie – Dan Linney, Set Designer & Set Chief; Jim Hofstee, Set Crew

She Loves Me

  • Congeniality – Meredith Seymour
  • Techie – Steve Mook, Set Designer & Set Chief

Acting Awards

  • Best Lead Actress – Abby Newman as Amalia Balash, She Loves Me
  • Best Lead Actor – Chad Stem as Thurston Wheelis et al., A Tuna Christmas
  • Best Supporting Actress – Sydney Hooper as Ilona Ritter, She Loves Me
  • Best Supporting Actor – Chad Stem as Ladislav Sipos, She Loves Me
  • Best Featured Actress – Debbie Kraski as Sylvia, Home, I’m Darling
  • Best Featured Actor – Will Kleiner as Arpad Laszlo, She Loves Me
  • Best Ensemble Actress – Isabel Behr as Ensemble, She Loves Me
  • Best Ensemble Actor – Elijah Bell as Busboy/Ensemble, She Loves Me

Board of Directors Awards

  • Newcomer of the Year – Bryan Kratoska
  • Jim Highfill Techie of the Year – Steve Mook
  • Behind the Scenes – Meredith Seymour
  • Howard Tellis Friends of the Year – Gene and Marnie Cotton
  • Cam Davis Spirit Award – Bre Hall

Artist Member Awards

  • Player of the Year – Steve Mook
  • Hall of Fame – Carmela Hofstee

Pull-Tight’s 55th Knot Awards Banquet Set for June 29

2024 Pull-Tight Players Knot Awards Banquet

Saturday, June 29
Franklin Elks Lodge
485 Oak Meadow Drive
Franklin, TN 37064

Cocktail hour: 6 p.m.
Dinner: 7 p.m.

We will celebrate a memorable 55th season in style with cocktails, dinner, and awards to recognize Pull-Tight’s sensational shows, spectacular performances, and significant contributions from our artist membership. You may even see a musical taste of our upcoming 56th season. It’s an evening you won’t want to miss.

Recalling Truman Capote’s infamous 1966 Black and White Ball, our event space will be decked out in hues of black and white. We ask attendees to reflect the theme with their most festive and stylish ensembles.

Awards for acting, congeniality and technical achievements will be presented, as well as awards for Player of the Year, Hall of Fame and more.

Tickets include a catered dinner from Chef Kevin Livingston, the Pop-Up Chef. A cash bar will be available for spirited beverages.

Pull-Tight Players Receives State Congressional and Franklin City Honors for 55 Years of Service

It was a proud day on May 5, 2024, when Pull-Tight Players was recognized for 55 years of bringing affordable, memorable theatre arts to the City of Franklin and Williamson County. During its annual Artist Members’ Meeting, State Sen. Jack Johnson, Franklin’s Mayor Ken Moore, and City Administrator Ken Stuckey attended to personally present their honors.

Pull-Tight received a state congressional resolution honoring its service, and the City of Franklin presented a certificate of recognition.

Pull-Tight’s lifetime board member Iain Macpherson read the state resolution to those in attendance.

Read the Williamson Herald article about the event.

President’s Blog – January 2024

Happy New Year to our season ticket holders, patrons, government partners, corporate partners, and volunteers!

Johnny Peppers, president of the Pull-Tight Players board of directors


What an amazing end to 2023 at the theater. So many great things have been happening over the last few months. We sold out our second show of the season, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, directed by Greg Grimsley, and our Christmastime offering, A Tuna Christmas, directed by Cindy Davis Massey. These two shows couldn’t be more different from each other, and that is one of the best parts of Pull-Tight’s seasonal offerings. You are almost guaranteed to see many different things over the course of a season. The Board of Directors is hard at work finalizing the titles for our 2024-2025 season. Look for that announcement in the coming months.

Next is Home, I’m Darling, directed by Pat Street. This play by British playwright Laura Wade won the Laurence Olivier Award for Best New Comedy in 2019. It is a real treat to bring new art to the community of Franklin, whether it is born a few miles away or across the pond. I hope you plan to catch this one – tickets go on sale on January 22.

Our Youth Actors Guild and Jr. Youth Actors Guild are preparing for auditions for We Will Rock You, School Edition, to be performed at Freedom Middle School in May. Do you know someone ages 6 to 18 who would like to participate in a musical? Check out the audition page for more information and a link to the sign-up form. Do you know a youth who would like to work with a mentor behind the scenes to learn lighting, sound, crew, or stage management? Email the directors, Leslie Berra or Hollie Osteen to learn about these opportunities.

We saw such growth throughout 2023 in volunteer involvement and personal and corporate giving. It amazes me when I look back at the two hundred volunteers who worked on shows on and off stage, the many hundreds of people who have donated to Pull-Tight in the last year, the thousands of people who enjoyed a performance, and the tens of thousands of memories our community created.

We hope you will join us in 2024 by seeing a show, volunteering for the organization in some way, showing your support with a financial donation, or finding a way to share our love for the arts and the City of Franklin, in which we thrive.

Thank you,
Johnny Peppers
Pull-Tight Board of Directors President

Pull-Tight Puts Holiday Cheer at Center Stage in Franklin

For more than 50 years, Pull-Tight Players has brought high-quality entertainment to Franklin and Williamson County. This holiday season, the organization brought its performers and volunteers out of the theater and into the streets to celebrate.

Pull-Tight participated in the Franklin Christmas Parade Dec. 2, with volunteers carrying our banner and a bright red Ford F-150 playing the part of Santa’s sleigh. Kids received candy, and attendees got a taste of the community spirit Pull-Tight is known for.

  • Pull-Tight Players at the Franklin Christmas Parade, 2023
  • Pull-Tight Players at the Franklin Christmas Parade, 2023
  • Pull-Tight Players at the Franklin Christmas Parade, 2023
  • Pull-Tight Players at the Franklin Christmas Parade, 2023
  • Pull-Tight Players at the Franklin Christmas Parade, 2023
  • Pull-Tight Players at the Franklin Christmas Parade, 2023

On Dec. 9 and 10, Pull-Tight lent its talent pool to the main stage entertainment at the annual Dickens of a Christmas street festival. Actress, choreographer, and former board member Bre Hall coordinated the players in a 20-minute review of Christmas favorites.

“Our Dickens of a Christmas performance was such a delight,” said Hall. We plucked out the best bits from all your festive favorites, including Every Christmas Story Ever Told (And Then Some), How the Grinch Stole Christmas, A Christmas Story, the Musical, Elf, the Musical, and It’s a Wonderful Life.

“Our all-star cast and creative team had a jolly good time rehearsing this review. Our only mission was to lift spirits and spread cheer, while celebrating the talents of our diverse and inclusive community theater.

“Our eyes are set on the future as we plan to outdo ourselves every year, proving that Pull-Tight has been a staple of this town for ages and will continue to dazzle audiences for decades to come.”

  • Noah Osteen
  • Lauren McGill
  • Ross Canales
  • Lauren McGill
  • The Pull-Tight Players at Dickens of a Christmas, 2023
  • Sydney Hooper
  • Lauren McGill and Ross Canales
  • Sydney Hooper
  • Eli Bell
  • Meredith Seymour
  • The Pull-Tight Players at Dickens of a Christmas, 2023
  • JT Landry with the leg lamp from A Christmas Story
  • The Pull-Tight Players at Dickens of a Christmas, 2023
  • Lauren McGill, Ross Canales, and Eli Bell
  • Meredith Seymour
  • The Pull-Tight Players at Dickens of a Christmas, 2023
  • Leo Moucka, Sydney Hooper, and Ross Canales
  • The Pull-Tight Players at Dickens of a Christmas, 2023
  • Sydney Hooper
  • Ross Canales
  • Ross Canales and Lauren McGill
  • Eli Bell and Meredith Seymour
  • Meredith Seymour
  • The Pull-Tight Players at Dickens of a Christmas, 2023
  • JT Landry and Sydney Hooper
  • The Pull-Tight Players at Dickens of a Christmas, 2023
  • Leo Moucka as Santa and Sydney Hooper
  • Leo Moucka as Santa and Sydney Hooper

The theatre also set up a booth during both days of the festival. Visitors stopped to chat with volunteers about Pull-Tight, play games, and grab a candy cane or two.

  • Melanie McBurney at Pull-Tight Players' Dickens of a Christmas booth, 2023
  • Pull-Tight Players' booth at Dickens of a Christmas, 2023

Pull-Tight’s first participation in a downtown Franklin parade may date back to the nation’s Bicentennial in 1976. Members rode in a float and presented an original play highlighting local history, A Franklin Diary, by Jan Slusher. Cindy Davis Massey, who participated in this year’s Christmas Parade, can be seen below at the front of the float in 1976.

Pull-Tight Players volunteers riding on a float in a Franklin parade, 1975

Events team

  • Heather Bottoms
  • Mark Buchanan
  • Joey Echeverria
  • Michael Hall
  • John Fraser
  • JT Landry
  • Melanie McBurney
  • Sarah Woodruff

Entertainers

  • Eli Bell
  • Ross Canales
  • Sydney Hooper
  • JT Landry
  • Lauren McGill
  • Leo Moucka
  • Noah OSteen
  • Marjorie Pess
  • Meredith Seymour

Creative team

  • Bre Hall, Coordinator
  • Becky Leopard, Choreographer
  • Dustin Greenleaf, Music Director

Booth volunteers

  • Heather Bottoms
  • Stephanie Dillard
  • Joey Echeverria
  • Richard and Joanne Eddinger
  • Michael Hall
  • Phillip Johnson
  • Sarah Kieffner
  • JT Landry
  • Kyle Langford
  • Melanie McBurney
  • Cabot Pyle
  • Sarah Woodruff
  • Special shoutout to Johnny Peppers for his tent

Parade walkers

  • Cindy and Tim Massey
  • Hollie and Noah OSteen
  • Sarah and Garrett Woodruff
  • Extra shoutout to Vicky Stiles for the “Pull-Tight Players” Christmas sign
  • Steve Mook for the platform

Contact Us

Pull-Tight Players Theatre
PO Box 682609
Franklin TN 37068-2609
Box office: tickets@pull-tight.com
General: info@pull-tight.com

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