San Francisco Bay Area Theatre Critics Circle Announces 2019 Special Award Recipients

The San Francisco Bay Area Theatre Critics Circle has announced the recipients of its four Special Awards for 2019. The Special Awards will be presented as part of its 43rd Annual Excellence in Theatre Awards Gala to be held on Monday, March 25, 2019 at San Francisco's historic Victoria Theatre. The event will be co-hosted by author and playwright David Templeton and singer/actress Daniela Innocenti Beem with musical entertainment provided by The Lost Trio.

The SFBATCC 2019 Paine Knickerbocker Award for a continuing contribution to Bay Area theatre will be presented to Shotgun Players. Since 1992, the Shotgun Players have shown and ingenuity in surviving and then growing to become an integral part of the San Francisco Bay Area theater scene. They have a long history of critical and commercial successes, have nurtured the growth of many fine actors, and never lost sight of their core values - artistic excellence, social relevance, and community engagement.

The recipient of the SFBATCC 2019 Annette Lust Award - given to a promising new theatrical talent or an organization that has demonstrated early in its existence the potential to have a significant impact on Bay Area theatre - is Bay Area Musicals. One of San Francisco's newest theatre companies, BAM is an outstanding example of an emerging theater organization. Now in their fourth season, they maintain a high standard of professionalism in their work and have attracted some of the Bay Area's top musical theatre performers to their critically-acclaimed and audience-pleasing productions.

The 2019 SFBATCC Gene Price Award honors a person who embodies superlative professionalism and passion for Bay Area theatre. This year's recipient is Bay Area theatre legend Richard Connema. It's not just the 1400 theatrical reviews under his belt, or that fact that he has tirelessly promoted Bay Area theatre for years - it's simply that nobody embodies passion for Bay Area theatre more than the beloved Richard Connema.

The 2019 SFBATCC Jerry Friedman Award, given to an individual who has furthered the creativity and growth of theater in the Bay Area throughout their career, will be awarded to Meredith Hagedorn. Founder and for 19 years the Executive Artistic Director of Dragon Productions Theatre Company, Meredith Hagedorn has spent the last two decades committed to the Peninsula theatre community. She stepped aside in January and has "passed the torch" on to the next generation of leaders.

Along with the four special awards, over 60 awards in performance, direction, design and production categories will also be presented at this year's Gala. Those nominations were announced February 1, 2019.

The SFBATCC is a private 501(c)(6) non-profit organization dedicated to promoting and serving theatres of all types and sizes in the greater region by recognizing excellence and outstanding achievement in the field. Active since 1976, the Circle consists of reviewers covering theatre in all nine Bay Area counties across various media.

For the latest information on the Awards, the Gala, and the Critics Circle, please go to www.sfbatcc.org

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