Nominees for the 2013 LA STAGE Alliance Ovation Awards were announced on Sept. 16 at Barnsdall Gallery Theatre in Los Angeles.
The nominations were revealed by past Ovation Award recipients Susanne Blakeslee, Shirley Jo Finney, Ryan Johnson, Michael Matthews, Gregory Nabours, Janet Roston, and John Sloan, along with LA STAGE Alliance Chief Executive Officer Terence McFarland.
Center Theatre Group received the most nominations (29), followed by La Mirada Theatre for the Performing Arts (24), 3-D Theatricals (15), Rogue Machine (12), and Chance Theater (11).
Ovation honors recognize outstanding achievement in areas that are not among the standard list of nomination categories. For the 2012-13 voting season, there are 198 nominations for 66 productions, presented by 40 companies. There were 342 productions registered from 148 companies. Of those productions, 99 were Ovation Recommended, identified during their runs as scoring in the top quarter of all productions in the Overall Production categories.
Founded in 1989, the LA STAGE Alliance Ovation Awards are the only peer-judged theatre awards in Los Angeles. Voters are theatre professionals who are chosen each year, through an application process, by the Ovation Awards Rules Committee. The list of nominees is determined by a tabulation of scores conducted by Green Hasson Janks. This year’s Ovation Award eligibility period ran from Aug. 27, 2012 through Aug. 25, 2013.
This year’s awards ceremony will take place on Sunday, Nov. 3, at 7 p.m. at the San Gabriel Mission Playhouse, 320 S. Mission Dr. in San Gabriel. For more information, including a complete list of nominees, visit www.OvationAwards.com.
Among the nominees were the following Asian Pacific American artists:
• Acting Ensemble for a Play
The cast of “Edith Can Shoot Things and Hit Them” (Artists at Play): Amielynn Abellera, Brian Hostenske, Rodney To
Also nominated: The casts of “Walking the Tightrope” (24th Street Theatre), “Joe Turner’s Come and Gone” (Center Theatre Group), “The Belle of Belfast” (Ensemble Studio Theatre-LA), “In the Red and Brown Water” (Fountain Theatre), “One Night in Miami…”
• Choreography
Anil Natyaveda and Aparna Sindhoor for “Encounter” (East West Players)
Also nominated: Dona Solimando for “Parade” (3-D Theatricals), Tina Kronis for “Track 3” (Theatre Movement Bazaar and Bootleg Theatre), Ameenah Kaplan for “The Royale” (Center Theatre Group), Lee Martino for “Oklahoma” (Musical Theatre West), Kelly Todd for “Triassic Parq: The Musical” (The Chance Theater), Tina Kronis for “Hot Cat” (Theatre of Note)
• Book for an Original Musical
Velina Hasu Houston for “Tea, with Music” (East West Players)
Also nominated: Bret Calder, Patricia Cotter, David Elzer for “Justin Love” (Celebration Theatre), Jim Leonard for “Bad Apples” (Circle X Theatre Company)
• Featured Actress in a Play
Kimberlee Soo as Lucy Law in “The Fourth Graders Present an Unnamed Love-Suicide” (Coeurage Theatre Company)
Also nominated: January LaVoy for “Joe Turner’s Come and Gone” (Center Theatre Group), Brighid Fleming for “The Nether” (Center Theatre Group), Annika Marks for “Doesn’t Anyone Know What a Pancreas Is?” (Ensemble Studio Theatre-LA), Peggy Blow and Iona Morris for “In the Red and Brown Water” (Fountain Theatre), Betsy Zajko for “A Bright New Boise” (Rogue Machine), Catia Ojeda for “Brendan” (Theatre Banshee)
• Lighting Design (Large Theatre)
Lap Chi Chu for “The Royale” (Center Theatre Group)
Also nominated: Jean-Yves Tessler for “Parade” (3-D Theatricals), Allen Hughes for “Joe Turner’s Come and Gone” (Center Theatre Group), Christopher Kuhl for “The Nether” (Center Theatre Group), Steven Young for “Next to Normal” and “Spring Awakening” (La Mirada Theatre for the Performing Arts), Tom Ruzika for “Seven Brides for Seven Brothers” (La Mirada Theatre for the Performing Arts)
• Scenic Design (Large Theatre)
Takeshi Kata for “American Buffalo” (Geffen Playhouse), Myung Hee Cho for “Miss Julie (Geffen Playhouse)
Also nominated: Tom Buderwitz for “Parade” (3-D Theatricals), “The Second City’s A Christmas Carol: Twist Your Dickens!” (Center Theatre Group) and “Fallen Angels” (Pasadena Playhouse), Adrian Jones for “The Nether” (Center Theatre Group), Andrew Boyce for “The Royale” (Center Theatre Group)
• Costume Design (Intimate Theatre)
Anthony Tran for “Triassic Parq: The Musical” (The Chance Theater)
Also nominated: Ann Closs-Farley for “Heart of Darkness” (Actors’ Gang) and “American Misfit” (The Theatre @ Boston Court), Michael Mullen for “Dream Girls” (DOMA Theatre Company), Naila Aladdin-Sanders for “One Night in Miami…” (Rogue Machine), A. Jeffrey Schoenberg for “Mrs. Warren’s Profession” and “You Can’t Take It with You” (The Antaeus Company)