NEWS RELEASE ▪︎ 2016 0VATION AWARDS NOMINATIONS TO BE ANNOUNCED DIGITALLY WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 2

2016 OVATION AWARDS NOMINATIONS
TO BE ANNOUNCED DIGITALLY
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 2
ON @ THIS STAGE MAGAZINE

The 2016 LA STAGE Alliance Ovation Awards nominations will be announced digitally on Wednesday, November 2 on @ This Stage Magazine (ThisStage.LA).

Said Steven Leigh Morris, LA STAGE Alliance Executive Director, “This is the first time I’ve been involved with the Ovation Awards in this capacity. I’ve been extremely impressed by the commitment of both the staff and the Ovations Rules Committee in their efforts to ensure the ongoing integrity of the program. Los Angeles has a bounty of excellent theatre at all levels of production and it’s thrilling to see this talent recognized through the Ovation Awards.”

The Ovation Awards are the only peer-judged theatre awards in Los Angeles. Voters are LA theatre professionals chosen each year by the Ovations Rules Committee, through a rigorous application process.

During the 2015-16 voting season, 280 productions were registered for awards consideration by 116 producing organizations, and 3,923 individual artists were evaluated. Voters cast a total of 8,049 ballots.

The date of this year’s Awards ceremony will be announced shortly. For more information about the Ovation Awards program, including sponsorship and advertising opportunities, visit OvationAwards.com.

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09-28-16

NEWS RELEASE — STEVEN LEIGH MORRIS NAMED EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR AT LA STAGE ALLIANCE

LA STAGE ALLIANCE ANNOUNCES
STEVEN LEIGH MORRIS
AS NEW EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

THE LASA BOARD LOOKS TO NEW LEADERSHIP
TO CONTINUE THE WORK OF THE 40-YEAR-OLD
ARTS SERVICE ORGANIZATION

Steven Leigh Morris has been named Executive Director of LA STAGE Alliance, it was announced today by Brian Kite, LASA Board Chair. Morris succeeds longtime leader Terence McFarland, who left the post in April of this year. Morris’s start date with the not-for-profit arts service organization will be announced shortly.

“Steven Leigh Morris is an incredible presence in Los Angeles theatre,” said LASA Board Chair Brian Kite. “As a community, he has praised us when our work soared and looked us in the eye when we missed the mark — he is a true leader. It is my honor to introduce such a talented, inspiring, and creative force as the new leader of LA STAGE Alliance.”

Said Morris, “I’m grateful and honored by the trust LASA has placed in me and I feel privileged to be working with this fine organization to serve such a smart and impassioned community. The key word in LASA’s name is “alliance,” and that’s what I hope to accentuate in this new role — how can we work together to forge the kinds of alliances that can help give the LA theatre community the traction, recognition and audiences it needs and deserves?”

Steven Leigh Morris is the founding editor of the community-funded digital arts venture Stage Raw (www.stageraw.com). Morris chaired the Jury for the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 2012 and served on that Jury in 2011. For his writings in the LA Weekly he received the Critic of the Year prize from the National Entertainment Journalism Awards in 2011. His play Moskva, adapted from Mikhail Bulgakov’s novel The Master and Margarita was produced by City Garage in Santa Monica’s Bergamot Station last year. His play Beachwood Drive was presented off-Broadway and was subsequently published by both Samuel French and Smith & Kraus (in its Best New American Playwrights of 2009 anthology). His farce about the press, Red Ink, has been in development at the New York Theatre Workshop, The Yale Cabaret Hollywood, and Echo Theater Company. Morris has been the lead theatre critic at the LA Weekly for 15 years. His theatre features have also been published in The New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, American Theatre Magazine, Back Stage, World’s Fair Magazine in San Francisco, and DRAMA Magazine in London. From 2006 to 2011 Morris served on the faculty of the NEA/Annenberg School of Journalism Institute for Criticism in Theatre and Musical Theatre. He has been an adjunct professor of theatre at the University of Southern California, and currently serves as adjunct professor of theatre at California State University San Bernardino and Dominguez Hills. Morris’s first novel, Fowl Play, combining his dual passions for theatre and barnyard poultry, will be published by Padaro Press and Open Road Media in the spring of 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.

For more information, visit lastagealliance.com.

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11-03-15

Photo by Ron Bird Photography.

NEWS RELEASE — FRENCH & VANESSA CLAIRE STEWART SET TO HOST 2015 OVATION AWARDS

FRENCH & VANESSA CLAIRE STEWART
SET TO HOST
THE 2015 OVATION AWARDS CEREMONY
AT THE AHMANSON THEATRE
MONDAY, NOVEMBER 9 AT 7:30PM

French and Vanessa Claire Stewart have been set to host the 2015 LA STAGE Alliance Ovation Awards Ceremony on Monday, November 9 at the Ahmanson Theatre at The Music Center. Red carpet arrivals begin at 6pm and the curtain will rise at 7:30pm.

French Stewart has been a proud participant in L.A. theatre for the past 30 years, both as a member of Justin Tanner’s legendary Cast Theatre (Zombie Attack, Pot Mom, Party Mix, Teen Girl and Happy Time Xmas) and as a member of Sacred Fools Theater Company. Selected stage credits include Matthew Modine Saves The Alpacas, Watson, Voice Lessons, and Stoneface (at The Pasadena Playhouse). Stewart is best known for his work on the classic TV series Third Rock From The Sun. Other television credits include Seinfeld, The Larry Sanders Show, Just Shoot Me, The Drew Carey Show, Newsradio, Community, Psych, Bones, The Closer, Castle, Pushing Daisies, Private Practice, Mom, and a recurring role on The Middle. Stewart’s film credits include Stargate, Leaving Las Vegas, Surveillance, The Flock, and cult favorite Love Stinks.

Vanessa Claire Stewart is co-artistic director of Sacred Fools Theater Company. She co-wrote and starred as Keely Smith in Louis and Keely: Live at the Sahara which won Ovation Awards for Best Actress and Best Musical and the LA Weekly Award for Best Musical. She also penned Stoneface for husband French Stewart. She is writing the book and lyrics for an original musical about serial killer HH Holmes entitled Deadly which was recently workshopped at Sacred Fools and The Chance Theater. Film and television credits include The List, Girls Girls Girls, Rules of Engagement, The Wanda Sykes Show, and the upcoming Sensitive Men.

Sponsors for this year’s Ovation Awards ceremony are The Sheri & Les Biller Family Foundation, TheaterMania, Goldstar, Walt Disney Imagineering Creative Entertainment, USC School of Dramatic Arts, UCLA School of Theater, Film & Television, Variety, Green Hasson Janks, Bakers Man Productions, Performances Magazine, City Tavern, Peter Konerko Photography, and Ken Werther Publicity. For more information and details on how to attend the Ovation Awards ceremony on November 9, visit www.OvationAwards.com.

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10-27-15