Two Chicago Dramatists Playwrights Nominated for 2008/2009 LA Ovation Awards

Chicago Dramatists announced today that Resident Playwright Lydia Diamond's play Stick Fly was nominated for 5 LA Stage Alliance Ovation Awards (including Best Production, Director, Ensemble, Lighting and Scenic) and Resident Playwright Keith Huff's play The Bird and Mr. Banks was also nominated for Ovation Awards for Best Actor for Sam Anderson (Bernard on "Lost") and Best Sound Design.
 
The LA Stage Alliance Ovation Awards are the only peer-judged theatre awards in Los Angeles. Labeled the "highest-profile contest for local theatre," by the Los Angeles Times, the Ovation Awards present an opportunity for the theatre community to join together and focus public attention on the city's rich and lively performing arts scene. Another goal of the program is to draw national attention to the quality and quantity of professional theatre in Los Angeles. The 2008/2009 Ovation Awards Ceremony will be held on January 11, 2010.
 
This special recognition follows the recent success of the smash hit production of A Steady Rain by Chicago Dramatists Resident Playwright Huff which opened in New York starring Daniel Craig and Hugh Jackman in September.  Chicago Dramatists still has a special block of orchestra tickets on reserve to A Steady Rain, the hottest show on Broadway. With stars of this caliber, tickets are in high demand, but Chicago Dramatists will be hosting a benefit performance on November 14th.  The benefit for Chicago Dramatists, the creative force behind the successful production, will be held on Saturday, November 14th at 8:00 p.m. at the Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre, 236 West 45th Street, New York, NY.  Tickets for this exclusive performance of A STEADY RAIN are $200 each, with a portion of the proceeds directly benefiting Chicago Dramatists, the only theatre in the country that is both a playwrights' development center and a full producing theatre. Tickets, including a pre-show cocktail party, are also available for $250. To reserve tickets to the special Chicago affair on Broadway or for more information on donations, contact Cynthia Frahm at 312-633-0630 or cfrahm@chicagodramatists.org.
 
In addition, Chicago Dramatists also celebrates the honor of the TCG New Generations/Future Leaders grant, the announcement of four new resident playwrights and a new associate artistic director, and its selection as only one of four theatres to be included as part of the inaugural Millennium Park "In The Works" Theatre Lab Project this spring.  Last month, Raymond Gaspard, one of the producers of A Steady Rain, optioned Liquid Moon by John Green (a 2002 Chicago Dramatists production), and is developing the script for a New York production. This series of great news, coupled with the current run of Resident Playwright Mia McCullough's Lucinda's Bed, has given Chicago Dramatists the opportunity to grow its organization and shine the spotlight on its talented playwrights. 
 
Chicago Dramatists is one of only ten theatres that have been selected to participate in the ninth round of the New Generations/Future Leaders Program, a grant initiative designed by the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and Theatre Communications Group (TCG). As part of this grant, early-career theatre professionals are mentored by established leaders in the theatre field which allows the company to bring on Richard Perez as Chicago Dramatists' first ever Associate Artistic Director. Through this two-year program, Chicago Dramatists' Artistic Director Russ Tutterow will mentor Richard Perez by sharing his knowledge and experience to advance Perez's journey to become an artistic leader in new work. Perez previously served as the Artistic Director of the Bloomington Playwrights Project in Bloomington, Indiana for seven years. At Chicago Dramatists, he will be responsible for The Playwrights Network, the theatre's national membership program of more than 200 writers, casting, support of Chicago Dramatists' 60 Associate Artists, and collaborations with other Chicago Theatres.  He will also direct, Aiming for Sainthood, by Resident Playwright Arlene Malinowski, to be workshopped and performed in spring 2010 as part of The Millennium Park "In the Works" Project.

The Millenium Park series allows audiences to sit on the stage of the Jay Pritzker Pavilion, and experience works in development by four local theatre companies. "In the Works" is supported by a grant from The Boeing Company Charitable Trust. Chicago Dramatists is scheduled to participate in the "In The Works" Project March 25-27, 2010 at 7:30 p.m. Visit millenniumpark.org or call 312-742-1168 for more information about this program.

Chicago Dramatists has been selected for these unique opportunities due in part to being the only theatre in the country that is both a playwrights' development center and a full producing theatre which continues to push the envelope with the newest plays and most promising playwrights. Through its long-standing Residency program, Chicago Dramatists seeks to nurture accomplished, Chicago-based dramatists who show the potential to make significant contributions to The National Theatre.  Thus, looking forward to the next generation of theatre, the company is also pleased to welcome the following four outstanding writers to the ranks of its 40 Resident Playwrights:  Scott T. Barsotti, Dana Lynn Formby, Andrew Hinderaker, and Ruth Margraff.  Every year, Chicago Dramatists' playwrights earn literally hundreds of professional accomplishments from productions and awards to other honors at large and small theatres in Chicago and around the world; enriching the lives of hundreds of thousands of theatre patrons, exporting Chicago voices across the globe, and significantly boosting Chicago Dramatists' reputation as one of the nation's foremost new play development theatres.
 
Chicago Dramatists is located just minutes from the Loop at 1105 W. Chicago Avenue, at the 24-hour Chicago Avenue stop of the Blue Line subway, and is just off the Ogden and Augusta exits of the Kennedy Expressway. There is street parking available and free reserved parking with ticket purchase. For more information visit www.chicagodramatists.org.

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