2011 Ovation Award Nominees Announced

2011 OVATION AWARD NOMINEES ANNOUNCED

REPRISE THEATRE COMPANY LEADS WITH 17,
TROUBADOUR THEATER COMPANY RECEIVES 16,
CENTER THEATRE GROUP GETS 12,
DEMAND PRODUCTIONS GARNERS 11

Nominees for the 2011 LA STAGE Alliance Ovation Awards were announced on the evening of Monday, September 19 at the Falcon Theatre in Burbank. The nominations were revealed by 2010 Ovation Award winners Brendan Hunt, Bruce French, Alan Mandell, David St. Louis, Beth Grant, and Anna Khaja, along with LA STAGE Alliance Chief Executive Officer Terence McFarland.

The Reprise Theatre Company received the most nominations (17), followed by the Troubadour Theater Company (16), Center Theatre Group (12) and Demand Productions (11). The Reprise Theatre Company garnered nominations for Kiss Me, Kate (14), Gigi (1), They’re Playing Our Song (1), and Best Season. The Troubies’ nominations are for A Withers Tale (10), and The First Jo-el (5), as well as Best Season (which also included Fleetwood Macbeth). The CTG nominations are for Venice at the Kirk Douglas Theatre (11), and Leap of Faith at the Ahmanson (1). Demand Productions’ nominations are for Having It All (7) and Girls Talk (4).

The other three Best Season nominations were received by Celebration Theatre (Bash’d! A Gay Rap Opera, The Next Fairy Tale, Take Me Out), the Fountain Theatre (Bakersfield Mist, A House Not Meant to Stand, The Train Driver), and Theatre Banshee (The Crucible, The Field, The Walworth Farce, War).

Ovation Honors, which recognize outstanding achievement in areas that are not among the standard list of nomination categories, have been awarded to The Shakespeare Center of Los Angeles (Composition for a Play, Much Ado About Nothing), Theatre Banshee (Fight Choreography, The Walworth Farce) Rogue Artists Ensemble (Puppet Design, D is for Dog), and Center Theatre Group/Kirk Douglas Theatre (Video Design, Venice).

Founded in 1989, the LA STAGE Alliance Ovation Awards are the only peer-judged theater awards in Los Angeles. For the 2010-2011 voting season, there are a grand total of 196 nominations for 65 productions, presented by 44 companies. There were 388 total productions registered from 173 companies. Of those productions registered, 97 were Ovation Recommended, identified during their runs as scoring in the top quarter of all productions in the Overall Production categories.  PLEASE SEE COMPLETE LIST OF NOMINATIONS AT THE BOTTOM OF THIS RELEASE.

Voters are Los Angeles theater professionals who are chosen each season by the Ovation Awards Rules Committee (through an application process). The list of nominees is determined by a tabulation of scores conducted by the entertainment accounting firm Green Hasson Janks.

LA STAGE Alliance, empowering artists and engaging audiences since 1975, is dedicated to building awareness, appreciation and support for the performing arts in Greater Los Angeles through community building, collaborative marketing/audience development, professional development to strengthen the sector, and advocacy. Providing access to the performing arts for patrons and access to information and resources for organizations has been the mission of LA STAGE for over 35 years. LA STAGE connects artists and arts administrators from over 500 groups annually in a six county region with opportunities to engage, inspire, educate and entertain nearly three million households in our community. LA STAGE engenders a stronger, more networked, creative Los Angeles.

LA STAGE Alliance programs are sponsored, in part, by Actors Equity, The Angell Foundation, Arts Council for Long Beach, California Arts Council, California Community Foundation, City of Los Angeles Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA/LA), City of Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs, City of Pasadena, City of Pasadena Cultural Affairs Division, City of Santa Monica Cultural Affairs Division, City of Santa Monica Cultural Affairs Division, Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, Goldstar, the James Irvine Foundation, Los Angeles County Supervisors through the LA County Arts Commission, Los Angeles Times, MusiCares/Grammy Foundation, National Endowment for the Arts, Ralph M. Parsons Foundation, SDC, The Shubert Foundation. and Sony Pictures Entertainment.

The 2011 Ovation Awards ceremony will take place on Monday, November 14, 2011 at the Orpheum Theatre, 842 South Broadway, in downtown Los Angeles. The curtain will rise at 7:30pm. For more information, visit www.LASTAGEOvations.com.

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09-19-11

Click here for the complete list of 2011 Ovation Nominees.

Announcing: Blank Theatre Opens 21st Season with “Dusk Rings a Bell” by Stephen Belber, Opening Oct. 8

HOLLYWOOD’S BLANK THEATRE WILL OPEN ITS 21st SEASON WITH THE
WEST COAST PREMIERE OF
DUSK RINGS A BELL
BY STEPHEN BELBER
FEATURING THEA GILL AND JOSH RANDALL
DIRECTED BY DANIEL HENNING

PREVIEWS BEGIN OCTOBER 1, 2011
AT THE BLANK’S 2nd STAGE THEATRE IN HOLLYWOOD

The Blank Theatre (Daniel Henning, Founding Artistic Director) kicks off its 21st season with the West Coast premiere of Dusk Rings A Bell by Stephen Belber, directed by Daniel Henning, with previews beginning on October 1 and opening night set for Saturday, October 8 at 8:00. The engagement will run through Sunday, November 13.

Dusk Rings A Bell will feature (in alphabetical order) Thea Gill and Josh Randall. Originally presented by the Atlantic Theater Company in New York City, Dusk tells the story of Molly and Ray, who spent a romantic summer afternoon together when they were teens, but went their separate ways. They meet, by chance, 25 years later. Both begin to romanticize their reunion, but a renewed connection is disrupted when Ray reveals the sordid details of a crime that left him incarcerated for 10 years. Their encounter reveals two vastly different paths taken, and two lonely souls attempting to reclaim a moment of possibility, when they were young and probably at their very best.

Stephen Belber’s plays have been produced on Broadway, as well as in over 25 countries. His plays include Match (Tony Award nomination for Frank Langella), Tape (Naked Angels, New York/Los Angeles/London), McReele (Roundabout Theatre), A Small, Melodramatic Story (LAByrinth Theater Company), Geometry of Fire (Rattlestick), Fault Lines (Cherry Lane), One Million Butterflies (Primary Stages), and Carol Mulroney (Huntington Theatre Company). He was an associate writer on The Laramie Project (Drama Desk and Lortel Award nominations), and co-writer on the more recent Laramie Project: Ten Years Later. Movies include Tape, directed by Richard Linklater, The Laramie Project (associate writer/Emmy Award nomination for screenwriting), Drifting Elegant, and Management, starring Jennifer Aniston and Steve Zahn, which he also directed. Belber is currently developing screen adaptations of both Match and McReele. Television credits include Rescue Me and Law & Order: SVU (staff writer). He is a member of both Tectonic Theater Project and LAByrinth Theater Company.

Set design for Dusk Rings A Bell is by Kurt Boetcher, lighting design is by Stephanette Smith, costume design is by Michael Mullen, and sound design is by Warren Davis. Caitlin Eckstein is stage manager.
Preview performances of Dusk Rings A Bell are Saturday, October 1 at 8pm, Sunday, October 2 at 2pm, and Tuesday, October 4 – Friday, October 7 at 8pm. The Friday 10/7 performance is available for press review, and opening night is set for Saturday, October 8 at 8:00. The regular performance schedule is Thursday, Friday and Saturday at 8pm and Sunday at 2pm through November 13. All preview seats are $26; regular performance prices are $26 on Thursday and Sunday, $30 on Friday and Saturday. Tickets are on sale now, and may be purchased online at www.TheBlank.com or by calling (323) 661-9827.

The Blank’s 2nd Stage Theatre is located at 6500 Santa Monica Boulevard (at Wilcox), in Hollywood. Secured valet parking is available.

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09-07-11

Pictured: THEA GILL and JOSH RANDALL at first rehearsal, Tuesday 9/6/11.

LA STAGE Alliance Announces LA DANCE ADVANCE Program

LA STAGE ALLIANCE ANNOUNCES LA DANCE ADVANCE

INITIATIVE IS INTENDED TO INCREASE CONNECTIONS
BETWEEN LOS ANGELES AREA DANCE ARTISTS
AND REGIONAL AND NATIONAL AUDIENCES

LA STAGE Alliance has announced LA Dance Advance, an initiative to increase connections between Los Angeles area dance artists with regional and national audiences.

Approximately seven to nine LA-based dance companies and choreographers will be selected for this nine-month program, which will run from October, 2011 through June, 2012. Participants will conduct self-assessments, work with a coach, attend workshops, network with their peers, develop a plan for audience growth, and apply for small implementation grants.

LA Dance Advance will address the fact that dance has long faced challenges in Los Angeles, including a lack of community connections and support structures. As a result, LA dance companies and choreographers have often experienced difficulty developing local followings as well as generating in or out of region booking opportunities.

The inaugural season of this program will select seven to nine dance companies and choreographers located in Los Angeles County, with a demonstrated capacity to reach audiences, and who are at a threshold of audience growth; organizations that are poised for increased touring opportunities, as well as those already actively touring but seeking to perform more in the Los Angeles area. Participants can be non-profit, unincorporated, or for-profit dance companies, or individual choreographers employed by, or volunteering for, a dance company. Dance companies and choreographers interested in applying should visit LASTAGEAlliance.com to submit a letter of intent; deadline is Friday, September 16, 2011. LA Dance Advance includes small implementation grants, but is not primarily a funding program. This initiative is not intended for dance companies and choreographers that already have a well-established capacity for both local performing and touring, emerging dance artists, or those whose primary focus is dance education, or students enrolled in a degree program.

LA Dance Advance is a collaboration of three organizations: LA STAGE Alliance (program administrator), the City of Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs (financial and professional support), and the Southern California Dance Futures Fund (dance-specific leadership and assistance). Funding is provided by the National Endowment for the Arts. For more information, visit LASTAGEAlliance.com/DanceAdvance, send an email to info@LASTAGEAlliance.com, or call (213) 614-0556, ext. 717.

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09-07-11