Upper School Theatre Teacher Kittson O’Neill has been nominated for two 2026 Barrymore Awards for their work on Same Team, a professional production that brought several members of the Abington Friends School community together on the Philadelphia stage.

Presented by Inis Nua Theatre Company this past spring, Same Team earned seven nominations from Theatre Philadelphia, including Outstanding Overall Production of a Play and Outstanding Ensemble in a Play. Kittson was nominated for Outstanding Direction of a Play and, alongside Lane LaVonne, Outstanding Choreography/Movement in a Play.

The Barrymore Awards recognize excellence in professional theatre across the Greater Philadelphia region. This marks Kittson’s third nomination for directing and first for choreography/movement; she has also previously been nominated for acting.

Written by Scottish playwrights Robbie Gordon and Jack Nurse, Same Team follows five women who come together on a community soccer team with hopes of representing Scotland at the Homeless World Cup. The production required its actors to capture not only the relationships among the players but also the movement and rhythm of the sport itself.

To this end, Kittson recruited now-retired AFS history teacher Drew Benfer to serve as the production’s soccer consultant, helping the creative team bring authenticity to the play’s on-field movement. Meanwhile, Percy Kent ’26 served as assistant stage manager as part of their AFS Senior Capstone project, joining the stage management team behind the production now nominated for Outstanding Overall Production of a Play.

The connections reflect the kind of bridge between classroom learning and professional creative practice that is central to the arts at AFS: students learning alongside working artists, faculty continuing to practice their craft beyond campus and members of the school community finding opportunities to create together.

The 2026 Barrymore Award winners will be announced by Theatre Philadelphia later this fall. Join us in rooting for Kittson and Same Team!