The San Francisco Bay Area Theatre Critics Circle Announces 45th Excellence In Theatre Award Recipients

The San Francisco Bay Area Theatre Critics Circle (SFBATCC) announced the recipients of their 45th Excellence in Theatre Awards in a video presentation released on their website earlier this month.

In recognition of the pandemic-necessitated closures of Bay Area theaters, the recipients came from a pool of nominees from productions mounted in the first quarter of 2020 and the last half of 2021.

The SFBATCC presented 52 awards across 24 categories. These were the first awards to be announced since the Circle eliminated gender distinction in its performance categories and split the "play" category into "drama" and "comedy".

The SFBATCC continued to utilize a three-part separation in certain award categories between theatres with (1) fewer than 100 seats; (2) with 100 to 300 Seats; and (3) more than 300 seats. As such, theatre companies of similar sizes were under consideration for recognition of their outstanding work.

The Spreckels Theatre Company of Rohnert Park's mounting of David Templeton's Galatea was the most recognized production receiving seven total awards including Set Design, Projection Design, Stage Direction, Original Script, Principal Performance in a Drama, Entire Production North Bay, and Entire Production Bay Area. Templeton's script recently received a 2022 Steinberg/ATCA New Play citation.

The TheatreWorks Silicon Valley production of Lizard Boy received six awards including Lighting Design, Sound Design, Stage Direction, Principal Performance in a Musical, Ensemble in a Musical, and Entire Production South Bay/Peninsula.

San Francisco Playhouse received eight awards over four productions including Twelfth Night's recognition in the Choreography, Costume Design, Music Direction, and Featured Performance in a Musical categories.

In total, performing artists, craftspeople, and shows from 22 producing entities throughout the San Francisco Bay Area were recognized by the SFBATCC with this year's Excellence in Theatre Awards.

For a complete list of nominees and recipients, visit the SFBATCC website at www.sfbatcc.org