Dan Guerrero and Cate Caplin Named Recipients of Lee Melville Award

Playwrights' Arena, the first and oldest theater dedicated to discovering, nurturing, and producing original works written exclusively by Los Angeles playwrights, is presenting its annual lee Melville Award to Actor/Director Dan Guerrero and to Choreographer/Director Cate Caplin.

The award named after lee Melville, was a critic and fierce champion of theater in Los Angeles who passed away in 2013, recognizes an individual and/or institution for their outstanding leadership in the Los Angeles Theatre Community.Melville was founding editor of the online LA Stage Times magazine and 12 year editor-in-chief of Drama-Logue.

Playwrights' Arena Board Chair, Brett Battles, says "the Board and Associate Artists were unanimous in selecting Cate and Dan for this award, not only for their artistic contributions to Los Angeles, but for their long freindships with lee Melville." Upon notification of the award, Mr. Guerrero noted "how touched I am to receive this award named after my friend, lee Melville."

Dan Guerrero began his multi-faceted career in New York where he moved from East Los Angeles at age twenty to pursue a life upon the wicked stage. He performed off-Broadway, in regional theatre, summer stock and in musical revues at Manhattan's most fabled cabarets including the Bon Soir in Greenwich Village. He later became a successful theatrical agent with clients in the original casts of countless Broadway musicals in the years from A Chorus Lineto Cats. He returned home to Los Angeles for an equally successful time as a casting director for theater and television before turning his talents to producing and directing. Local stage credits include directing at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, the Valley Performing Arts Center, the Los Angeles Theater Center, the Grammy Museum and the Getty Center. Nationally at the Apollo Theatre in NYC, the National Hispanic Cultural Center in Albuquerque, Davies Hall in San Francisco and multiple productions at the Kennedy Center in Washington. Television producing credits include talk shows and live music specials for NBC, HBO, Univision and PBS, most notably the Concert of the Americasco-produced with Quincy Jones. Returning to his roots, the renaissance man has crossed the country with his critically acclaimed solo show¡Gaytino!Made in Americafollowing the 2006 world premiere at the Kirk Douglas Theatre produced by the Center Theatre Group. He continues performing the autobiographical play with music that was recently filmed at his alma mater East Los Angeles College. He followed that 2018 highlight as a guest artist performing at the Redcat with the Berlin-based theatrical group The Gob Squad. Guerrero is an influential activist for the Latino and LGBTQ communities and has been widely recognized for his activism and career achievements. The Dan Guerrero Archives Collection is housed at the UCLA Chicano Studies Research Center that includes his oral history.

Cate Caplin has produced, directed and choreographed over 200 productions and her work has been seen on television, in films, music videos, commercials and in theatrical venues worldwide from the Paris Opera House to the Broadway Stage. She is a 34 times Regional and International Theatrical Ballroom Dance Champion and her Production Company, Night and Day Entertainment, co-founded with creative partner Vernon Willet, custom designs entertainment for private parties, corporate events and industrial trade shows. Cate wrote and directed her first feature film, Mating Dance which won an Accolade Award and can be found on Amazon.com. She is an acting and dance coach, a published writer and has been the recipient of a Garland Award, a Women In Theatre Red Carpet Award, multiple LA Stage Alliance Ovation, Eddon and Scenie Awards and was honored to receive an Award of Excellence from the LA Film Commission for her work as a Writer, Director, Choreographer and Producer. Cate is a member of The Actors Studio Director's Unit, an Associate Member of SDC, and an alum of the Director's Lab West.

The awards will be presented at HOT NIGHT IN THE CITY, the annual Playwrights' Arena fundraiser gala, on Tuesday, April 2, 2019, at Barnsdall Gallery Theatre, 4800 Hollywood Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90027. For tickets go to www.playwrightsarena.org or call 800-838-3006

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