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The 2018 Stage Raw Theater Awards Recap and Gallery

Approximately 400 revelers from LA’s intimate stages rolled into Los Angeles Theatre Center on Monday August 20, for the fourth annual Stage Raw Theater Awards. Thaddeus Shafer and Lauren Ludwig directed an immersive pre-show that featured actors in the lobby and in the upper galleries shouting out phrases to each other — that would re-emerge during the show itself in video clips. That intent got somewhat overwhelmed by the train-station-like lobby buzz as the crowd swarmed in. It nonetheless added to the sense of carnival that was the backdrop to Jer Adrianne Lelliott’s direction for Coeurage Theatre Company, based on a theme of community.

Video clips of artistic leaders explaining the histories of their theaters (Jon Lawrence Rivera, Playwrights Arena; Padraic Duffy, Sacred Fools; Eileen T’Kaye, Boston Court; Daniel Henning, Blank Theatre Co.; Tim Dang, East-West Players, etc.), while a four-piece Dixieland band named Gemali provided soothing transitional accompaniment. So the tone was leisurely and reflective, but not to the point of bogging down. (The Awards rolled in at 2 hours and 15 minutes, after a late start of 7:55 (instead of 7:30).

Actor Norman Lloyd, age 103, received the Lifetime Achievement Award, waving his cane to the crowd and launching his brief remarks with the quip “It’s been a long, long time.” Before accepting her Queen of the Angels Award, Dolores Chavez offered a inspiring, poetical riff about the power of creation in destructive times.

Husband and wife team Harry Groener and Dawn Didawick received supporting male and female nods, respectively. Didawick showed up after having endured an emergency appendectomy the prior day. Talk about the actor must go on . . .

The evening was dedicated to the memory of Nancy Hereford, Center Theatre Group press guru who had died unexpectedly the Tuesday prior, and the event was co-sponsored by the City of Los Angeles Department of Cuyltural Affairs, Los Angeles Theatre Center and Footlights.

Uncaptioned photos by John Klopping are interspersed before and after the list of recipients below:

FIGHT CHOREOGRAPHY
Bjørn Johnson, Red Speedo, Road Theatre Company

VIDEO/PROJECTION DESIGN
J-Walt Adamcyk and Hannah Beavers, Paradise Lost:Reclaiming Destiny, Not Man Apart at Greenway Court Theatre

SOUND DESIGN
Jeff Gardner, Native Son, Antaeus Theatre Company

LIGHTING DESIGN
John Bass, Paradise Lost: Reclaiming Destiny, Not Man Apart at Greenway Court Theatre

COSTUME DESIGN
Wendell C. Carmichael, Les Blancs, Rogue Machine Theatre

ORIGINAL MUSIC
Jeff Gardner, Les Blancs, Rogue Machine Theatre

CHOREOGRAPHY
Anne-Marie Talmadge, Alina Bolshakova, Leslie Charles Roy Jr., and the NMA Ensemble, Paradise Lost: Reclaiming Destiny, Not Man Apart at Greenway Court Theatre

MUSICAL DIRECTION
Dylan Price, 33 Variations, Actors Co-op

SET DESIGN
Joel Daavid, Burns, A Post-Electric Play, Sacred Fools Theater

SOLO PERFORMANCE
Bryonn Bain, Lyrics From Lockdown, The Actors’ Gang

TWO PERSON PERFORMANCE
Alex Hernandez & Tonya Pinkins, Time Alone, Belle Reve Theatre Company

SUPPORTING MALE PERFORMANCE
Harry Groener, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Antaeus Theatre Company

MALE COMEDY PERFORMANCE
Josh Clark, The Hothouse, Antaeus Theatre Company

LEADING MALE PERFORMANCE
Desean Kevin Terry, Les Blancs, Rogue Machine Theatre

SUPPORTING FEMALE PERFORMANCE
Dawn Didawick, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Antaeus Theatre Company

FEMALE COMEDY PERFORMANCE
Anna Lamadrid, Collective Rage: A Play in 5 Boops, Boston Court Performing Arts Center

LEADING FEMALE PERFORMANCE (TIE)
Nan McNamara, 33 Variations, Actors Co-op
& Ashley Romans, Rotterdam, The Skylight Theatre

ADAPTATION
Nambi E. Kelley, Native Son, Antaeus Theatre Company

PLAYWRITING
Alessandro Camon, Time Alone, Belle Reve Theatre Company