The LA STAGE Alliance Ovation Awards, which celebrate theatrical excellence and achievement during the past year, were presented Sunday, November 2, at the San Gabriel Mission Playhouse.
Major winners
Thirty-five awards were bestowed upon 18 different Southern California theatre companies.
The Geffen Playhouse won three awards for The Country House and one for Slowgirl; Skylight Theatre Company won four nods for The Wrong Man; Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts received two for Parfumerie and two for Maurice Hines is Tappin’ Thru Life; La Mirada Theatre for the Performing Arts was presented two for Floyd Collins and one for Les Misérables; Echo Theater Company won two for Backyard and one for Firemen; and The Theatre @ Boston Court received three for Everything You Touch.
Pictured: James Barbour accepting his Lead Actor in a Musical Award for his work as Jean Valjean in Les Miserables
Other companies honored
Other companies honored were Pacific Resident Theatre, Chance Theater, Fugitive Kind Theater, 3-D Theatricals, Musical Theatre West, IAMA Theatre Company, A Noise Within, Actors Co-op, Actors’ Gang, MainStreet Theatre Company, and Center Theatre Group. The Fountain Theatre received the Best Season Award.
Pictured: Deborah Strang accepting her Lead Actress in a Play award for her role as Lola in Come Back, Little Sheba at A Noise Within
Hosts and presenters
Katie Lowes and Kate Burton, who are now better known for the TV show “Scandal,” hosted the evening. Lowes, who is also co-founder and co-director of the IAMA Theatre Company, celebrated as well an award for Best Play – Intimate Theatre for the production of The Recommendation.
Other presenters included Max Adler, Hugo Armstrong, Alexandra Billings, Debby Boone, Danielle Brazell, Anne Gee Byrd, Deborah Craig, Dana Delany, Drew Droege, Lorna Duyn, Todrick Hall, Daniel Dae Kim, DJ Kurs, Matthew Lillard, Josefina Lopez, Justina Machado, Jenny O’Hara, Peter Paige, Nicole Parker, Freddy Rodriguez, Leon Rossum, Tessa Thompson, and Greg Watanabe.
Pictured: Katie Lowes and Alexandra Billings
The Sherwood Award recipient
Sean Cawelti, the Founding Artistic Director of Rogue Artists Ensemble, received the 2015 Richard E. Sherwood Award, which supports innovative and adventurous theatre artists.
Best Award recipients
The Building Excellence in Small Theatre (BEST) Awards support exceptional non-profit organizations that have implemented innovative strategies to fulfill their mission. The BEST Awards were created by the Sheri and Les Biller Family Foundation and were presented this year to A Noise Within, The Theater at Boston Court, The Blank Theater, East West Players, Fountain Theatre, and Circle X Theatre.
Quote of the night
“Theater is a terrible way to make a living, but an awesome way to be alive.” – Amanda McRaven (pictured), who won the Best Director Award for “The Pliant Girls” at Fugitive Kind Theater
Most entertaining moment
“I’m a choreographer. I mean, who gets to be a choreographer? You guys?!” – Kelly Todd receiving her Choreographer Award for Lysistrata Jones at the Chance Theater
More pictures
Click here to see a few more pictures of this year’s Ovation Awards
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