Larry Knight won a Best Actor Pelican Award for his portrayl of Brutus in Al Letson’s “Julius X.” (photo by Redgie Gutshall)

A record 17 productions were staged at Players By-the-Sea Community Theater last season, from original, cutting-edge dramas such as Al Letson’s “Julius X” to “The Night of the Iguana,” a Tennessee Williams classic.

By all accounts, the recently completed 2007-08 season was the Jacksonville Beach theater’s most “ambitious,” according to Players executive director Joe Schwarz.

On Saturday, Aug. 2, the community theater, which dates to 1966, handed out its annual Pelican Awards, the non-profit organization’s equivalent to Broadway’s Tony Awards.

But Schwarz, who took home a Pelican for his lighting design for “Night of the Iguana,” said he and the rest of the volunteer-based theater group aren’t resting on their recent laurels.

“We really raised the bar last season [in terms of high-caliber productions], and we’re going to push it even higher this year,” said Schwarz, now entering his seventh season as Players’ top executive.

Among the productions on tap for 2008-09: The razor-sharp Stephen Sondheim musical “Sweeney Todd,” Shakespeare's classic tragedy, “Othello,” Arthur Miller’s 1968 family drama, “The Price” and the absurd melodrama, “Urine Town.”

Schwarz acknowledged that Players has never done a full-fledged Shakespearean play before, but that doesn’t seem to faze Players’ self-described “fearless” leader.

“Everybody told me you can’t do ‘Sweeney Todd’ [on the community theater level],” said Schwarz, adding that more than 150 people auditioned for the play, which opens Sept. 5.

“Some shows are technically hard to mount, but I thought it was doable. We certainly have the talent here in Jacksonville. The thing that moves Players forward is the talent.”

The Jacksonville Beach theater at 106 6th St. N. is also a haven for budding area playwrights.

Besides its main stage productions, Players produces a half-dozen or so studio productions each season that help shine a spotlight on up-and-coming writers and directors.

Actor-turned-director Jason Collins picked up one of five Pelicans last Saturday for the Gary Marshall comedy, “Wrong Turn at Lungfish.”

“Benchwarmers,” an original comedy-drama by Jacksonville’s Chris Sheppard, took home three Pelicans.

“We encourage local playwrights to flourish and grow,” said Schwarz, who reads up to 12 submitted scripts a month.

“They have a stage here.”

With a $340,000 budget last season, Schwarz said the theater “did a lot with very little money.”

More than 15,000 patrons attended shows at Players last season, according to Schwarz, and more than 27,000 volunteer hours were logged by members of the cast, crew and local students.

Schwarz said the key to the financial success of Players is not relying on one funding source. And he said volunteers are the backbone of the organization.

“There is a whole higher level of passion and drive here that you don’t get in professional stage environments,” said Schwarz, who spent 25 years as a lighting designer and formerly owned a community theater in upstate New York.

“The set for ‘Night of the Iguana’ was spectacular, and Al Letson’s ‘Julius X’ was just a phenomenal masterstroke in itself. It was packed every night.”

At Players, there is no rest for the weary. Last week alone, there were three different productions in rehearsals, said Schwarz, who is already working on the theater’s 2009-10 schedule.

“We are a community theater in the truest sense,” he said.

2007-08 Pelican Award winners are as follows:

MAIN STAGE

Play — Cabaret

Director — Barbara Williams (Julius X)

Best Actor — Larry Knight (Julius X)

Best Actress — Jen Mears (The Underpants)

Best Supporting Actor — Larry Fairall (Night of the Iguana), Leonard Alterman (The Underpants)

Best Supporting Actress — Renee Freeman (Julius X)

Best Set Design — Keith Klemmt (Night of the Iguana)

Best Lighting Design — Joseph Schwarz (Night of the Iguana)

STUDIO STAGE

Best Play — Wrong Turn at Lungfish

Best Director —  Jason Collins (Wrong Turn at Lungfish)

Best Actor — Roger Lowe (Wrong Turn at Lungfish)

Best Actress — Cee Cee Hayes (Wrong Turn at Lungfish)

Best Supporting Actor — Zach Kanner (Benchwarmers)

Best Supporting Actress —  Renee LeCroix (Wrong Turn at Lungfish)

Best Set Design — Anne Roberts (Benchwarmers)

Best Lighting Design — David Paul (Benchwarmers)

MUSICAL PRODUCTION

Best Actor: Musical — Josh Waller (Cabaret)

Best Actress: Musical — Tracy Olin (Cabaret)

Best Supporting Actor: Musical — Redgie Gutshall (Cabaret)

Best Supporting Actress: Musical — Robyn Neal (Cabaret)

Musical direction — Ellen Milligan (Cabaret)

Choreography — Holly Deckerhoff-Manuel (Cabaret)

Young Performer — Jacob Goodling (It’s a Wonderful Life)

Outstanding Cameo — Aaron Marshall (Cabaret)

Best Costume Design — Lee Hamby (Cabaret)

Outstanding Manager — Shannon Jones (Cabaret, Julius X)

VOLUNTEER AWARDS

Backstage — Patty Fox

Hospitality — Gayle Featheringill

Service — Holly and Redgie Gutshall