Stephan Doyle

Connie De Grange

As many cast and crew members of the Sunol Repertory Theater know, Steve Doyle introduced us to the Mello Awards for melodrama excellence. Each year, he would study the attributes of each character, gather costume fabric from Patty Balch, and find Barbies and Trolls and other garage sale odds and ends. He would put these together to create the most incredible and personal trophies/sculptures for each member of the cast and crew. This was a lot of work in itself, but he was also a member of the cast, or the producer or the director, too. One year, he mentioned that he was not sure he could continue the Mello tradition without some help and I eagerly volunteered. We spent an entire day and evening working on the awards. He had them all designed in his head and directed me on how they should be executed. It was late into the night when we finally completed them. Steve had a keen artistic eye and it was clear to me that my work did not compare to his. Nonetheless, Steve expressed his appreciation for my help. Together, we packed up the fabric scraps, glue guns and leftover parts.

At the closing night cast party, Steve had the Mellos laid out on a table hidden behind a long black fabric drape. He wanted to get the maximum drama from the award ceremony. After everyone had gathered and the excitement had grown, he pulled back the fabric to reveal the Mellos. Everyone let out a “Wow” and cheered. As I scanned the Mellos gleaming under the spotlights, I slowly realized that Steve must have stayed up all night long, well after I had left, adjusting each Mello and making sure each one was “over the top.” Admiring his beautiful works of art that he was about to give away, I thought to myself, “Isn’t that just like Steve.”