Gaylord and Dorothy Donnelley Foundation To Receive 2019 Corona Award

Gaylord and Dorothy Donnelley Foundation, To Receive 2019 Corona Award, Monday, January 28, Hosted by Steve Scott

Awardee to be recognized for its long-time contributions to Chicago's vibrant theatre community. Eclipse Ensemble Member and Goodman Theatre Artistic Associate Steve Scott to host, with guest speakers to be announced in the coming weeks.

Eclipse Theatre Company announces the recipient of 2019's Tenth Annual Corona Award: The Gaylord and Dorothy Donnelley Foundation. The Corona Award honors individuals and organizations which play an important role in supporting and nurturing the growth of the Chicago theatre community as well as small- to medium-sized theatres like Eclipse Theatre.

The 2019 Corona Award event will begin at 6:30pm with a buffet dinner and entertainment followed by the award ceremony at 7:30pm on Monday, January 28, 2019 at The Athenaeum Theatre, located at 2936 N. Southport Ave. in Chicago. Tickets are $40 in advance and $45 at the door. Events of the evening also include a Silent Auction and Raffle. Tickets can be purchased at the door or online at www.eclipsetheatre.com

Past Corona Award Recipients have included Chicago casting director Jane Alderman, Timeline Theatre Managing Director Elizabeth K. Auman, Steppenwolf Associate Artistic Director Erica Daniels, Goodman Theatre Associate Producer Steve Scott, Goodman Theatre Resident Director Chuck Smith, League of Chicago Theatres Executive Director Deb Clapp, and Mary- Arrchie Artistic Director Richard Cotovsky, Goodman Theatre Stage Manager Joseph Drummond, and Court Theatre Resident Artist and Director Ron OJ Parson.

In the selection of The Gaylord and Dorothy Donnelley Foundation as the recipient of this year's Corona Award, Eclipse Board Chair Steve Scott noted the Foundation's "passionate championing of Chicago's fertile non-Equity theater community. "For decades, the Donnelley Foundation has provided essential support for these theaters, companies whose size may eliminate them from consideration for other grants," Scott said. "These theaters are the backbone of our community, and many of the artists who begin their careers there will become the major creative figures of the American theater. Through its generosity and foresight, the Donnelley Foundation has made incomparable contributions to the professional theater, locally, nationally and internationally."

The Gaylord and Dorothy Donnelley Foundation supports over 170 small, professional arts Organizations of all disciplines throughout the Chicago region. The Foundation is committed to small groups, who reach into every neighborhood, provide opportunities for new and emerging artists, and are the backbone of artistic vitality in the region. It offers unrestricted, multi-year general operating grants to small organizations to allow them the flexibility to use the funds as they see fit and to provide a sense of stability. Its goal is to help strengthen an organization so that more of its time, energy and funds can go to the creation of the art itself. Eclipse Theatre Company and a multitude of other small theatre companies have benefitted from the support of the Gaylord and Dorothy Donnelley Foundation for many years.

Steve Scott recently retired as Producer of Goodman Theatre, where he had overseen more than 200 productions; he is also a member of the Goodman's Artistic Collective. Goodman directing credits include The Santaland Diaries; Ah, Wilderness!; Vanya and Sonya and Masha and Spike; Wit; Horton Foote's Blind Date; the world premiere of Tom Mula's Jacob Marley's Christmas Carol; and six seasons of A Christmas Carol. He is a twenty-year member of the Eclipse Theatre ensemble, where his most recent credits include William Inge's Bus Stop and Lynn Nottage's Intimate Apparel. He has also directed productions at Northlight Theatre, A Red Orchid Theatre, Silk Road Rising, Shattered Globe, American Blues, Redtwist Theatre (where he is also a company member), and many others. A faculty member at the Theatre Conservatory of the College of Performing Arts at Roosevelt University, he also serves on the advisory board of Congo Square Theatre, as well as the board of Season of Concern. In addition to Eclipse's Corona Award, he is the recipient of six Jeff Award nominations, an After Dark Award, the Illinois Theatre Association's Award of Honor, the League of Chicago Theatre's Lifetime Achievement Award, and the 2017 Special Jeff Award for his contributions to the Chicago theatre community.

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