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2011 Gypsy Rose Lee Award winners announced

29 Jan

The 2011 Gypsy Rose Lee Award winners are as follows:

Excellence in Production of a Play:

Equity: The Brothers Size (Seattle Repertory Theatre).

Also recognized: O Lovely Glowworm (Or Scenes of Great Beauty) (New Century Theatre Company).

Non-Equity: Sick (New City Theater).

Also recognized: Live from the Last Night of My Life (Theater Schmeater).

Excellence in Production of a Musical:

Equity: Iron Curtain (Village Theatre).

Non-Equity: The Drowsy Chaperone (Seattle Musical Theatre).

Excellence in Direction of a Play:

Equity: Juliette Carrillo, The Brothers Size (Seattle Repertory Theatre).

Also recognized:  Valerie Curtis-Newton, All My Sons (Intiman Theatre).

Non-Equity: Karen Lund, Brownie Points (Taproot Theatre Company).

Also recognized: Wayne Rawley, Live from the Last Night of My Life (Theater Schmeater).

Excellence in Direction of a Musical:

Equity: Steve Tomkins, Iron Curtain (Village Theatre).

Non-Equity: Brandon Ivie, The Drowsy Chaperone (Seattle Musical Theatre).

Excellence in Performance as a Lead Actor:

Equity: Michael Patten, O Lovely Glowworm (Or Scenes of Great Beauty) (New Century Theatre Company).

Non-Equity: Jaryl Draper, How I Learned To Drive (Stone Soup Theater).

Excellence in Performance as a Lead Actress:

Equity: Anne Allgood, Mary Stuart (ACT Theatre).

Also recognized: Carolee Carmello, Saving Aimee (The 5th Avenue Theatre).

Non-Equity: Elizabeth Kenny, Sick (New City Theater).

Excellence in Performance as a Supporting Actor – any non-lead:

Equity: Todd Jefferson Moore, A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Seattle Shakespeare Company).

Also recognized: Joshua Carter, Mary Stuart (ACT Theatre).

Non-Equity: Aaron Lamb, An Ideal Husband (Taproot Theatre Company).

Also recognized: Nick Edwards, Shipwrecked (ArtsWest).

Excellence in Performance as a Supporting Actress – any non-lead:

Equity: Bobbi Kotula, Iron Curtain (Village Theatre).

Also recognized: Terri Weagant, A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Seattle Shakespeare Company).

Non-Equity: Stacie Calkins, Hairspray (Seattle Musical Theatre).

Excellence in Performance as an Ensemble:

Equity: Cast of The Brothers Size (Seattle Repertory Theatre).

Non-Equity: Cast of Brownie Points (Taproot Theatre Company).

Also recognized: Cast of A Lie of the Mind (Collektor).

Excellence in Set Design:

Equity: Roger Benington, O Lovely Glowworm (Or Scenes of Great Beauty) (New Century Theatre Company).

Also recognized: Mikiko Suzuki MacAdams, The Brothers Size  (Seattle Repertory Theatre).

Non-Equity: Mark Lund, Something’s Afoot (Taproot Theatre Company).

Also recognized: Michael Mowery, Live from the Last Night of My Life (Theater Schmeater), Richard Schaefer, Arms and the Man (Seattle Public Theater).

Excellence in Costume Design:

Equity: Harmony Arnold, O Lovely Glowworm (Or Scenes of Great Beauty) (New Century Theatre Company).

Also recognized:    Catherine Hunt, In The Next Room, or The Vibrator Play (ACT Theatre).

Non-Equity: Deborah Sorenson, Pygmalion (Sound Theatre Company).

Also recognized: John Allbritton, Hairspray (Seattle Musical Theatre).

Excellence in Lighting Design:

Equity: Geoff Korf, The Brothers Size (Seattle Repertory Theatre)

Non-Equity: Tess Malone, Duel of the Linguist Mages (Annex Theatre).

Also recognized:     Dave Hastings, Crooked (Theater Schmeater).

Excellence in Sound Design:

Equity: Matt Starritt, The Brothers Size (Seattle Repertory Theatre).

Also recognized: Matt Starritt, The K of D (Seattle Repertory Theatre).

Non-Equity: Christopher Overstreet, Duel of the Linguist Mages (Annex Theatre).

Also recognized: Larry A. Ryan, Live from the Last Night of My Life (Theater Schmeater).

Excellence in Musical Direction:

Equity: RJ Tancioco, Iron Curtain (Village Theatre).

Non-Equity: Josh Zimmerman, Hairspray (Seattle Musical Theatre).

Excellence in Choreography or Movement:

Equity: Sonia Dawkins, The Brothers Size (Seattle Repertory Theatre).

Also recognized: Noah Racey, Guys & Dolls (The 5th Avenue Theatre).

Excellence in Local Playwriting:

Elizabeth Kenny, Sick (New City Theater).

Also recognized: Scotto Moore, Duel of the Linguist Mages (Annex Theatre).

 

Northwest premiere of Year Zero at Hugo House

25 Sep

SIS Productions, a Seattle group that supports works that involve Asian American

SIS Productions presents the Northwest premiere of "Year Zero" by Michael Golamco, author of "Cowboy Versus Samurai." Photo courtesy of SIS Productions.

women, themes and issues, will present the Northwest premiere of Year Zero by Michael Golamco on Sept. 30.

Directed by Miko Premo, Year Zero tells the story of Vuthy, a quirky 16-year-old who’s “too Cambodian for the black and Latin kids, and not Cambodian enough for the Cambodian kids,” and his older sister, Ra, who is working towards the American dream of a higher education.

Year Zero by Michael Golamco runs Sept. 30 through Oct. 22. at Richard Hugo House, located at 1634 11th Ave. in Seattle. Tickets are $12-$15. For more information, visit www.sis-productions.org.

God of Carnage in Portland

22 Aug

Artists Repertory Theatre is bringing the 2009 Tony winner for Best Play to a Pearl District loft in Portland, where well-intentioned parents are the real bullies and the mysterious French dish, clafoutis, holds all enthrall.Clafoutis, God of Carnage at Artists Repertory Theatre in Portland

Following on the heels of his appearance at the other Repertory Theatre in Seattle last October, Denis Arndt, a veteran of the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, is heading to the Rose City to direct the Portland production.

French playwright Yasmina Reza’s script keeps two sets of parents, who meet up to discuss a fight between their sons, hovering perilously between the polar opposites of civilization and brutality, ethics and immorality, and maturity and childish misbehavior.

God of Carnage stars Patrick Dizney, Michael Mendelson, Trisha Miller and Allison Tigard. The production runs Sept. 6 through Oct. 9 at Artists Repertory Theatre’s Alder Stage, located at 16th and Alder Street in Portland. For more information, visit www.artistsrep.org.

- Katherine Luck

Can of food gets you into Tin Can Studio for bellydance

12 Aug

Tin Can Studio, located at the Old Rainier Brewery, will host a grand opening party on

Bellydance troupe Hands of Kali will perform at the Old Rainier Brewery on Aug. 13. Photo courtesy of Hands of Kali.

Aug. 13, from 6 to 9 p.m., featuring bellydance performances by Hands of Kali, Adderstone, and Grace Constantine of Portland. An aerial performance by Gale Force and musical performance art by The Fog People will also be featured. The grand opening coincides with the Old Rainier Brewery quarterly artwalk.

The new headquarters of Hands of Kali, Tin Can Studio is a 1,400-square-foot dance studio with a mission that includes feeding the hungry. Admission to the grand opening is one can of food, which will be donated to Rainier Valley Food Bank.

Tin Can Studio is located at 3130 Airport Way S., #510, in Seattle. For more information, call (206) 909-5744 or visit www.tincanseattle.com.

Award-winning authors develop new musical at Village Theatre

10 Aug

A new musical, Cloaked, will return to Village Theatre’s new works program, Village Originals this month. The production, running Aug. 12-21, is open to the public.

2010 Village Originals Festival of New Musicals reading of "Cloaked." Photo by Sam Freeman.

Written by award-winning authors Danny Larsen (composer/co-lyricist) and Michelle Elliott (book/co-lyricist), Cloaked was last seen locally at Village Theatre’s 2010 Festival of New Musicals. Elliot recently won the Kleban Prize as librettist for Cloaked. The writing team was also recently awarded the Jonathan Larson Award to support further development of the piece.

Cloaked tells the tale of two people who venture into the wilderness of the Internet in search of a human connection, and what happens when reason falls away and they lose themselves in the fantasy.

Village Originals is a nationally recognized program that has workshopped the development of over 90 new musicals, many of which have gone on to stages around the world. Past productions include Next To Normal (Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award-winner), Million Dollar Quartet (Tony Award-winner), and The Ark (opened off-Broadway in 2005).

Cloaked can be seen at First Stage Theatre, located at 210 Front St. N. in Issaquah from Aug. 12 to 21. Tickets are $25-$30.For more information, call (425) 392-2202 or visit www.villagetheatre.org.

Seattle Shakespeare takes over Intiman space for half season

9 Aug
Half of Seattle Shakespeare Company’s 2011-2012 season will be produced at Intiman Playhouse, the company

Darragh Kennan and Mary Ewald. Photo by John Ulman.

announced on Aug. 8. The season opener, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and Pygmalion will be performed at Intiman. The other half of its season, including the plays Coriolanus and As You Like It, to be directed by interim artistic director George Mount, will be produced at Center House Theatre.

Single tickets go on sale Sept. 6 at the box office and online at www.seattleshakespeare.org.

More puppets!

29 Mar

There are several worthy candidates for Worst Movie Ever that have passed through the snarky, puppet-covered hands of cult classic TV show “Mystery Science Theater 3000.” Arguably the worst of the worst was the 1966 horror show (in more ways than one) Manos: The Hands of Fate. This bomb featured the talents of no one you’ve ever heard of playing a panoply of bizarre characters, including members of an average Joe 1960s family, a Groundkeeper Willie sort with inexplicably huge legs and a polygamous variety of cult leader/sorcerer decked out in a robe covered with huge red hands.

Yes, it’s as bad as it sounds.

The only way it could possibly be redeemed would be with…more puppets. To that end, Puppet This and Eclectic Theater Company have created Manos – The Hands of Felt running April 1-16 at the suitably late hour of 10:30 pm at Seattle’s Odd Duck Studio.

The Master rebukes Torgo in "Manos – The Hands of Felt." Puppets by Rachel Jackson and Paul Velasquez. Photo by Bob Koerner.

As adapted by Rachel Jackson and directed by Bob Koerner, Manos – The Hands of Felt mines not only the low budget B-movie plot of the original, but the story behind the story, including Manos’ own writer/director/producer/star Harold P. Warren, with help from puppeteers Sann Hall, Michael Robles, Jenny Schmidt, Paul Velasquez and Puppet This co-owners Rachel Jackson and Elizabeth Westermann.

Odd Duck Studio is located at 1214 10th Ave. in Seattle. Tickets are $12 for the general public; $10 for those escorting a puppet.

Visit www.PuppetThis.net for more information.

The ‘Pinter Pause’ year-round

16 Mar
Seattle’s ACT theatre is expanding Pinter Fortnightly, a series of readings of Harold Pinter’s plays, to run year-round.

Starting April 4, program curator and actor Frank Corrado will be joined by local performers on stage in ACT’s Bullitt Cabaret space. The first production, a reading of The Birthday Party, will feature Mark Chamberlin, Allen Galli, Suzy Hunt, Darragh Kennan, Hana Lass and Brian Thompson. A Slight Ache with Marianne Owen and Frank Corrado follows on April 18. May 2 will feature three short plays: Party Time, Press Conference and New World Order. A full weekend workshop of Pinter readings is planned for November.

Corrado received a $25,000 Fox Fellowship Grant from Theatre Communications Group to expand the Pinter Fortnightly series, which debuted in March 2009.

“I lamented the fact that with the exception of one play, Betrayal, the major theatres in Seattle had for many years failed to produce any other play by the 2005 Nobel laureate,” said Corrado, a professional actor and playwright who has lived in Seattle for 30 years. “Our first reading was of No Man’s Land, a play that had been written in 1975, but had never been professionally produced in Seattle. Some 40 people showed up, and the audience response, as expressed in a lively and provocative discussion that followed the reading, was gratifyingly positive. I applied for and was awarded the Fox Foundation Grant, which also includes a cash award to ACT as the sponsoring theatre. The grant will allow us to build a permanent home for Pinter Fortnightly and expand the series’ scope and reach.”

For tickets, visit www.acttheatre.org.

Stephanie Shine to resign as artistic director of Seattle Shakespeare Company

10 Mar

After 17 years with Seattle Shakespeare Company, Stephanie Shine announced today that she will resign from her post as artistic director effective June 30.
“It has been my pleasure and honor to serve this organization and to help it grow into its current artistically and financially strong position,” said Shine in a statement released on March 10. “If the organization did not enjoy this historically unprecedented position, my decision would be much more difficult.”

Shine was education director of Seattle Shakespeare Company for 4 years and artistic director for 13 years.

Asked about her future, Shine stated, “There are a number of other compelling theatre opportunities being made available to me around the country, and I have new additions to my family. I am looking forward to this next phase in my professional and personal life, as well as a continued artistic relationship with this much loved company and community.”

“It pains many to see Stephanie leave, especially when the company is experiencing such tremendous triumphs,” said Seattle Shakespeare Company’s Board of Directors Chairman Phil Miller. “With the recent announcement of Managing Director John Bradshaw’s departure, Stephanie saw this time as a unique and strategic opportunity for the Board of Directors to re-imagine Seattle Shakespeare Company’s executive leadership and move forward with a master plan that will lead the organization to broader growth and stability. We are sad to lose her, but know that she is making the hard choice for both herself and the well-being of the company. We applaud her leadership, artistry and foresight, and desire success and happiness for her when she steps out on to her next challenge. We also look forward to having her back on our stage as a director or actress.”

With the news of Shine’s departure coming at the end of Seattle Shakespeare Company’s fiscal year, the board of directors is re-evaluating the company’s executive leadership and internal organizational structure. A permanent plan is anticipated to be in place by July 1.

ACT Lecture Series

23 Aug

Just in time for back to school season, ACT is launching a new lecture series, InterACTions, that will cover

Ponder the mysteries of art and science at ACT. Photo by Chris Bennion, courtesy of ACT.

the weighty topics of history, philosophy and science. If you’re a studious 25 years or under, $5 will get you in to hear ACT Artistic Director Kurt Beattie present their first event, “Mindscapes: Art, Imagination and the Posthuman Future,” when he will discuss theatre as a means of cultural investigation and as a catalyst to raising our consciousness to the issues we live today. Post-grad tickets are $15.

A few of the lighter conundrums that will be posed: “How does theatre raise our consciousness and the issues that confront us? Where does novelty emerge and how is society killing innovation? What is consciousness? And how are biomedicine and cybernetics contributing to the alteration, enhancement, and evolution of the human?”

Get the answers (or more questions to ponder) on Sunday, Aug. 29, at 4 p.m. at ACT.

For more information about upcoming speakers and topics, visit www.acttheatre.org.

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