NEWS RELEASE ▪︎ 27th ANNUAL LA STAGE ALLIANCE OVATION AWARDS PRESENTED ON TUESDAY, JANUARY 17

27^th ANNUAL LA STAGE ALLIANCE

OVATION AWARDS

PRESENTED TUESDAY, JANUARY 17

AT THE AHMANSON THEATRE

The 27^th Annual LA STAGE Alliance Ovation Awards, celebrating theatrical excellence and achievement throughout Los Angeles, were presented on Tuesday, January 17 at the Ahmanson Theatre at The Music Center.

Thirty-five awards were bestowed upon 19 different Southern California theatre companies. The most honored companies of the year were Celebration Theatre (The Boy from Oz, Bootycandy); the Los Angeles LGBT Center (Hit the Wall, HAM: A Musical Memoir); The Theatre @ Boston Court for Colony Collapse, The Golden Dragon, and Mojada: A Medea in Los Angeles (co-production with the Getty Villa); Unbound Productions (Wicked Lit 2015); and Sierra Madre Playhouse (Deathtrap, The 25^th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee). The Los Angeles LGBT Center received the Best Season Award (Fool for Love, HAM: A Musical Memoir, Hit the Wall.

Other companies recognized were the Falcon Theatre (The Complete History of America–Abridged), The Broad Stage (1984), The Echo Theater Company (Dry Land), Geffen Playhouse (Guards at the Taj), Orgasmico Theatre Company (Shakespeare’s Night Out), The Road Theatre Company (John is a Father), La Mirada Theatre for the Performing Arts (Dreamgirls), Heart and Flame Productions (We Are The Tigers: A New Musical), The Pasadena Playhouse (Casa Valentina), Rubicon Theatre Company (See Rock City), and 24^thStreet Theatre (Man Covets Bird). For a complete list of winners, go to @ This Stage Magazine (ThisStage.LA).

Ovation Honors, which recognize outstanding achievement in areas that are not among the standard list of nomination categories, were awarded to Gregory Nabours (Music Composition for a Play, The Sparrow at Coeurage Theatre Company); Edgar Landa (Fight Choreography, Son of Semele Ensemble’s That Pretty Pretty; or, The Rape Play); and Greg Ballora, Sean Cawelti, Christine Papalexis, Jack Pullman, and Brian White (Puppet Design, Woody Boy Long Fish at Bootleg Theater).

Additionally, Center Theatre Group presented the 2017 Sherwood Award for innovative and adventurous artists to Pablo Santiago. This award is endowed by the Sherwood family and is accompanied by $10,000 to further Santiago’s artistic work.

The ceremony was hosted by Alexandra Billings, and this year’s presenters included LA theatre luminaries (in alphabetical order) Michael Arden, Randall Arney, Jon Robin Baitz, EB Brooks, Sterling K. Brown, Sara Ryung Clement, Paul Crewes, Dale Dickey, Danny Feldman, Marilyn Fox, Beth Grant, Elizabeth Harper, Rajiv Joseph, Richard Montoya, Oanh Nguyen, Mitch O’Farrell, Bill Pullman, Diane Rodriguez, Ric Salinas, Del Shores, Herbert Siguenza, Ali Stroker, and Kitty Swink. Musical numbers were  presented by DOMA Theatre Company.

Founded in 1989, the LA STAGE Alliance Ovation Awards are the only peer-judged theatre awards in Los Angeles. Voters are Los Angeles theatre professionals who are chosen each year, through an application process, by the Ovation Rules Committee. This year’s Ovation Awards eligibility period ran from August 31, 2015 through August 28, 2016.

Since 1975, LA STAGE Alliance has dedicated to building awareness, appreciation, and support for the performing arts in Greater Los Angeles. All of its initiatives aim to serve and strengthen the sector — both at an individual and community level — providing resources that facilitate audience engagement, collaborative marketing, community building, and professional development.

Sponsors for this year’s Ovation Awards ceremony were Wells Fargo, Walt Disney Imagineering Creative Entertainment, F&D Scene Changes Ltd., UCLA School of Theater, Film & Television, Goldstar, USC School of Dramatic Arts, Ken Werther Publicity, Bakers Man Productions, Time Out Los Angeles, TheaterMania | OvationTix, Performances Magazine, Variety, and Peter Konerko Photography. The Ovation Awards were presented in partnership with the New York Drama Desk Awards.

For more information visit www.lastagealliance.com.

#OvationAwards

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01-17-17

NEWS RELEASE ▪︎ ALEXANDRA BILLINGS SET TO HOST 27th ANNUAL LA STAGE ALLIANCE OVATION AWARDS ▪︎ TUESDAY, JAN. 17 at 7:30pm

ALEXANDRA BILLINGS
SET TO HOST
THE 27th ANNUAL LA STAGE ALLIANCE OVATION AWARDS CEREMONY
AT THE AHMANSON THEATRE
TUESDAY, JANUARY 17 AT 7:30PM
PRESENTERS ALSO ANNOUNCED

Alexandra Billings has been set to host the 27th Annual LA STAGE Alliance Ovation Awards Ceremony on Tuesday, January 17 at the Ahmanson Theatre at The Music Center. Red carpet arrivals begin at 6pm and the ceremony begins at 7:30pm.

Actress, singer, author, teacher, and activist Alexandra Billings stars as Davina on Amazon’s multi-award-winning series Transparent. She played Donna in the ABC film Romy and Michelle: A New Beginning, one of the first times a transgender actress played a transgender character on television. Other TV credits include guest starring appearances on How to Get Away with Murder, Grey’s Anatomy, ER, and Nurses (with Lynn Redgrave). She stars in the upcoming feature film Valley of Bones. Billings has been acting since 1968 and has performed in hundreds of plays and musicals across the United States. Her autobiographical solo show Before I Disappear toured from Chicago to Boston to Los Angeles and then off-Broadway where it received rave reviews and ran for over 10 years. She recently performed her newest solo piece, S/He and Me at Cal State Long Beach. Billings’ activism stretches across the continent. In 2016 she moderated a panel during Transgender Awareness Month at the White House. She has won the TPA Award and the Rainbow Spirit Award and was inducted into the Gay and Lesbian Hall of Fame in Chicago. Living with AIDS since the mid-80s, Billings chronicles her life’s journey in her blog Stilettos and Sneakers, and she is a regular contributor to The Huffington Post. From Schoolboy to Showgirl: The Alexandra Billings Story, aired on PBS and received an Emmy Award nomination for Best Documentary.

“The great gift of what we do as artists is to celebrate the human condition,” said Billings. “I am so excited to be in the room with so many humans who believe that what we do is attempt, in the best way we can, to replicate the history of where we’ve been so that where we’re headed can be brighter, more beautiful, and more glorious than we ever dreamed. And then to hand that story to as many other humans as we can. And I’m thrilled to do this with as much hope and as many sequins as possible.”

Los Angeles theatre notables scheduled to be presenters are (in alphabetical order) Luis Alfaro, Michael Arden, Randall Arney, Jon Robin Baitz, EB Brooks, Sara Ryung Clement, Paul Crewes, Dale Dickey, Sheldon Epps, Marilyn Fox, Beth Grant, Elizabeth Harper, Rajiv Joseph, Richard Montoya, Oanh Nguyen, Mitch O’Farrell, Bill Pullman, Diane Rodriguez, Ric Salinas, Del Shores, Herbert Siguenza, Jimmi Simpson, Ali Stroker, and Kitty Swink. All appearances are subject to change. Musical numbers will be presented by DOMA Theatre Company.

Sponsors for this year’s Ovation Awards ceremony are Wells Fargo, Walt Disney Imagineering Creative Entertainment, F&D Scene Changes Ltd., UCLA School of Theater, Film & Television, Goldstar, USC School of Dramatic Arts, Ken Werther Publicity, Bakers Man Productions, Time Out Los Angeles, TheaterMania | OvationTix, Performances Magazine, Variety, and Peter Konerko Photography. The Ovation Awards are presented in partnership with the New York Drama Desk Awards.

For more information and details on how to attend the Ovation Awards ceremony on January 17, visit www.OvationAwards.com. #OvationAwards

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01-05-17

NEWS RELEASE ▪︎ 27th ANNUAL OVATION AWARDS NOMINATIONS ANNOUNCED

27TH ANNUAL LA STAGE ALLIANCE

OVATION AWARDS NOMINEES ANNOUNCED

LA MIRADA THEATRE FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS LEADS WITH 22,

CENTER THEATRE GROUP FOLLOWS WITH 20,

GEFFEN PLAYHOUSE HAS 18,

CELEBRATION THEATRE GETS 16,

THE THEATRE @ BOSTON COURT WITH 11,

LOS ANGELES LGBT CENTER RECEIVES 10

Nominees for the 27th Annual LA STAGE Alliance Ovation Awards were announced on Wednesday, November 2 on @ This Stage Magazine [ThisStage.la]. The ceremony will take place Tuesday, January 17, 2017 at the Ahmanson Theatre at The Music Center. The curtain will rise at 7:30pm.

La Mirada Theatre for the Performing Arts leads the pack with 22 nominations for their productions of American Idiot (7), First Date (7), Dreamgirls (4), and Empire (4). Center Theatre Group follows with 20 nominations for their productions of Endgame (10) and Women Laughing Alone with Salad (1) at the Kirk Douglas Theatre; Father Comes Home from the Wars, Parts 1, 2 & 3 (6 noms) at the Mark Taper Forum; and Grey Gardens (2) and A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder (1) at the Ahmanson Theatre. Geffen Playhouse received 18 nominations for their productions of Guards at the Taj (7), Barcelona (6), Outside Mullingar (2), These Paper Bullets! A Modish Ripoff of William Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing (1), Big Sky (1), and Best Season. Celebration Theatre garnered 16 nominations for their productions of The Boy from Oz (10), Bootycandy (3), Dream Boy (2), and Best Season. The Theatre @ Boston Court has 11 nominations which break down as follows — Mojada: A Medea in Los Angeles (co-production with The Getty Villa), 4 noms; The Golden Dragon (3), Colony Collapse (3), and Seven Spots on the Sun (1). The Los Angeles LGBT Center received 10 nominations for their productions of Hit the Wall (5) and HAM: A Musical Memoir (4), as well as Best Season.

Ovation Honors, which recognize outstanding achievement in areas that are not among the standard list of nomination categories, have been awarded to Gregory Nabours (Music Composition for a Play, The Sparrow at Coeurage Theatre Company); Edgar Landa (Fight Choreography, Son of Semele Ensemble’s That Pretty Pretty; or, The Rape Play); and Greg Ballora, Sean Cawelti, Christine Papalexis, Jack Pullman, and Brian White (Puppet Design, Woody Boy Long Fish at Bootleg Theater).

For the 2015-2016 voting season, there are a grand total of 214 nominations for 70 productions presented by 45 companies. There were 280 total productions registered from 116 companies. Of those productions registered, 56 were Ovation Recommended, identified during their runs as scoring in the top quarter of all productions in the Overall Production categories. [A COMPLETE LIST OF NOMINEES IS AVAILABLE AT ThisStage.la.]

Founded in 1989, the LA STAGE Alliance Ovation Awards are the only peer-judged theatre awards in Los Angeles. Voters are Los Angeles theatre professionals who are chosen each year, through an application process, by the Ovation Rules Committee. This year’s Ovation Awards eligibility period ran from August 31, 2015 through August 28, 2016.

LA STAGE Alliance is a nonprofit arts service organization dedicated to building awareness, appreciation, and support for the performing arts in Greater Los Angeles. This year’s Ovation Awards ceremony is sponsored in part by Wells Fargo, Bakers Man Productions, Time Out Los Angeles, Performances Magazine, and Ken Werther Publicity.

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11-02-16