Marcus, Hodges Join NY Innovative Theatre Foundation; Award Applications Now Accepted

The New York Innovative Theatre Foundation, the organization dedicated to celebrating Off-Off-Broadway, is pleased to announce that Ben Hodges (editor, Theater World) and Abby Marcus (managing director, Vampire Cowboys) are the new co-chairs of the Honorary Award committee, filling the vacancy left by Leonard Jacobs (Clyde Fitch Report). The Innovative Theatre Foundation recognizes and appreciates the five years of service and dedication by Mr. Jacobs.

The applications for the 2010 Honorary Awards are available online and are due by 6pm on May 1, 2010.

The Honorary Awards Committee is comprised of people deeply grounded in the Off-Off-Broadway community. This year, the committee welcomes two new members; performance artist, Desiree Burch and publicist, Katie Rosin. A complete list of committee members is available on the IT Awards website at: www.nyitawards.com/aboutus/hac.asp.

?I am thrilled to be Co-Chairing the Honorary Awards Committee this season,? said Abby Marcus. ?As a past honorary award recipient - my company, Vampire Cowboys, was awarded the Caffe Cino Fellowship in 2006 - I know firsthand how meaningful and special these awards are to the OOB community. I look forward to helping the New York Innovative Theatre Awards continue their good work in providing recognition and honor to companies and artists working in Off-Off-Broadway.?

Over the past six years, the IT Awards have honored over 600 of the brightest and most influential artists from the Off-Off-Broadway community.

The Honorary Awards are:
* The Artistic Achievement Award, presented to an individual who has made a significant artistic contribution to the Off-Off-Broadway community;

* The Stewardship Award, presented to an individual or organization demonstrating a significant contribution to the Off-Off-Broadway community through service, support and leadership;
* The Caffe Cino Fellowship Award, presented to an Off-Off-Broadway theatre company that consistently produces outstanding work. This award also includes a grant ($1,000-$5,000) to be used toward an Off-Off-Broadway production.

Previous recipients include:

2005
Artistic Achievement - Basil Twist
Stewardship Award - Ellen Stewart, LaMaMa, ETC.
Caffe Cino Fellowship ? Inverse Theater Company

2006
Artistic Achievement - Tom O?Horgan
Stewardship Award - The Field
Caffe Cino Fellowship - Vampire Cowboys

2007
Artistic Achievement - Doric Wilson
Stewardship Award - Alliance of Resident Theatres/NY
Caffe Cino Fellowship - Rising Phoenix Repertory

2008
Artistic Achievement - Judith Malina
Stewardship Award - Martin & Rochelle Denton, New York Theatre Experience
Caffe Cino Fellowship - Boomerang Theatre Company

2009
Artistic Achievement ? Maria Irene Fornes
Stewardship Award ? Materials for the Arts
Caffe Cino Fellowship ? The Brick Theater, Inc.

?It is a great honor to be thought of in the same breath as Caffe Cino, the birthplace of Off-Off-Broadway. Much in the same way that Joe Cino?s legendary coffeehouse became an accidental theater hub, The Brick quickly became something more than we planned. Now we?ve grown into a busy theater community, with year-round plays, festivals, late-night events and we?ve hosted hundreds of theater artists in the seven years since our founding. We?re very excited that the IT Awards recognized and supports our commitment to keep at it.? -- Michael Gardner, The Brick Theater, Inc.

BIOGRAPHIES

Ben Hodges (Co-Chair of the Honorary Awards Committee) is editor in chief of the Special Tony Honor Award?winning Theatre World, which, at sixty-six years of age, is the most complete annual pictorial and statistical record of the American theatre, including Broadway, Off-Broadway, Off-Off-Broadway, and regional theatre productions. Ben served as executive producer of the Theatre World Awards for Outstanding Broadway and Off-Broadway Debuts from 2002-2007 and was presented with a 2003 Special Theatre World Award in recognition of his ongoing stewardship of the event. Ben has also served as executive producer LAMBDA Literary Foundation ?Lammy? Awards, given for excellence in LGBT publishing. His independent theatrical publications include The American Theatre Wing Presents: The Play That Changed My Life: America?s Foremost Playwrights on the Plays That Influenced Them, The Commercial Theater Institute Guide to Producing Plays and Musicals, Forbidden Acts: Pioneering Gay and Lesbian Plays from the Twentieth Century, and Outplays: Pioneering Gay and Lesbian Plays from the Twentieth Century.

Abby Marcus (Co-Chair of the Honorary Awards Committee) has worked as a Stage Manager and Administrator with The Hangar Theatre in Ithaca, NY; Westport Country Playhouse in Westport, CT; The Shakespeare Theatre in Washington, DC; The Town Hall in New York; Nosedive Productions; Alliance of Resident Theatres/New York; as Company Manager for LAByrinth Theater Company; and as General Manager for HERE Arts Center. Currently, Abby is the Managing Director and Producer for the Caffe Cino Award-winning Vampire Cowboys Theatre Company and Managing Director for The Dramatists Guild of America. Abby received her Bachelor of Arts degree from Ithaca College, and her Master of Arts degree in Performing Arts Administration from New York University.

Desiree Burch (New Honorary Awards Committee Member) Desiree Burch is an NYC-based comedian, emcee, writer, and performer, known for work with the New York Neo-Futurists in Too Much Light Makes the Baby Go Blind and for her acclaimed solo show 52 Man Pickup (four stars from Time Out NY, and The List, UK) which has been featured at Ars Nova, The Ohio Theater, Galapagos Artspace and in the New York (spotlighted by Back Stage) and Edinburgh International Fringe Festivals. One of New York Magazine?s ?10 People that Funny People Find Funny,? Desiree has supplied laughter for MTV, VH1, NBC News, The New York Post, Comedy Central, Huffington Post, Caroline?s, Gotham, Comix and comedy clubs around the country, and in the upcoming feature-length documentary I Heart New York. She previously hosted/curated the reading and variety Smut (?Art that should carry a Parental Advisory Label? ? NY Times) and in 2008, founded The Hysterical Festival for women in comedy.

Katie Rosin (New Honorary Awards Committee Member) runs Kampfire Films PR, a full service Marketing and Public Relations agency, offering exceptional and custom campaigns for each client?s unique needs and projects. Rosin was instrumental in the launch of the Broadway musical Brooklyn and the National Tour of Mother Load. She worked on the publicity team for the comedian, Jerry Seinfeld, and his movie Comedian. Off-Broadway highlights include: GLAAD Award Nominee, She Like Girls, Ohio Theater; ...Another Man?s Poison, Jay Sharp Theater; Swimming With The Polar Bears, 45 Bleecker Street; Glimpses of the Moon, Algonquin Hotel; IT Awards recipient, Elizabeth Rex, Center Stage; Mother Load, Sage Theater; Wasps in Bed, Beckett Theater; Anaïs Nin: One Of Her Lives, Beckett Theater; Triple Threat: 2007 Drama Desk Nominee (mis)UNDERSTANDING MAMMY: The Hattie McDaniel Story, Theatre 5. Kampfire clients include: 3Graces Theater Co., Astoria Performing Arts Center, BOO-Arts, Maieutic Theatre Awards, New York Innovative Theatre Awards, New York Neo-Futurists, Nicu's Spoon, Oberon Theatre Ensemble, Pascal Productions, and Planet Connections Theatre Festivity. Rosin has taught Arts Marketing at NYU. www.kampfirefilmspr.com

The New York Innovative Theatre Foundation is a not-for-profit organization recognizing the great work of New York City's Off-Off-Broadway, honoring its artistic heritage, and providing a meeting ground for this extensive and richly varied community. The organization advocates for Off-Off-Broadway and recognizes the unique and essential role it plays in contributing to American and global culture. They believe that publicly recognizing excellence in Off-Off-Broadway will expand audience awareness and foster greater appreciation of the New York theatre experience.

Website: www.nyitawards.com

 

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