[ssba]
HERE’S MORE INFO ON STAGE RAW’S HOLIDAY “THANK YOU” PARTY
LA Weekly Theater Awards (1980 – 2014): R.I.P.
The alt-weekly ends its own 35-year tradition
Ancient Greek sacrifice performed by Lost Moon Radio, Awards hosts in 2012 and 2013
There’s plenty of room for speculation as to why LA Weekly management terminated its annual LA Weekly Theater Awards, a 35-year tradition — from the recent resignation of Editor-in-Chief Sarah Fenske (the last in a stream of chief editors who supported the raucous, irreverent Awards, honoring excellence in theaters of up to 99-seats) to the recent departure of Publisher Beth Sestanovich (the last in a series of publishers who supported the Awards). But Advertising Director Mat Cooperstein explained management’s reasons in an email dated November 21:
“After much thought and consideration we have decided not to continue with our Theater Awards event in 2015. Our focus for 2015 is utilizing our time and resources towards building, promoting, and evolving events that can bring us profitability for the new year. Unfortunately, this event does not help us towards meeting those directives.
“We know the huge impact our event has had with the theater community and we are sorry that we are going to have to end the long run we have had with this event.”
The news came as something of a surprise, given the paper’s repeated assurances through the year that the Awards would continue — assurances that kept its jury seeing plays throughout the year for that purpose. Celebration Theatre had just agreed to host the 36th annual LA Weekly Theater Awards when Cooperstein’s email was sent.
Host Troubadour Theater Company’s opening number for the 29th annual LA Weekly Theater Awards in 2008
The first annual L.A. Weekly Theater Awards were held in 1980, after a committee of reviewers had been observing local theater productions through the fledgling newspaper’s first year, 1979. It was initially stewarded by Calendar Editor Joie Davidow and taken over in 1985 by Theater Editor Steven Mikulan. The Awards were conceived as anti-awards Awards, honoring and mocking the ritual at the same time. The Awards main attempt was to draw attention to the then-burgeoning small-theater scene, where much of the city’s most innovative and engaging (as well as its tackiest) work was being performed. The “Lawees” were a kind of West Coast answer to New York’s Obie Awards, which are still sponsored by the Village Voice. Though the LA Weekly and the Voice (the granddaddy of the alt-weekly circuit) were initially entirely separate entities, in a twist-of-fate and mergers, they eventually became owned and administered by the same company — a descendant of the New Times alt-weekly chain which eventually adopted the moniker, Village Voice Media.
Meanwhile, at the LA Weekly Theater Awards, local theater companies replaced individual and tag-team hosts (such as John Fleck, Chris Wells and Charlotte Rae, and Sharon Lawrence), so that in subsequent years, the awards shows took on the aesthetic of the hosting company, such as The Fabulous Monsters, Actors’ Gang, Burglars of Hamm, Sacred Fools Theater Company, The Groundlings, the Troubadour Theater Company, Lost Moon Radio and Zombie Joe’s Underground.
Lost Moon Radio, 2013 (Photo by Tim Norris)
John Fleck hosts the LA Weekly Theater Awards in 1996
Because the LA Weekly Awards jury has been seeing nominated productions throughout 2014, and because they all write for this outlet, Stage Raw is positioned to continue the tradition with the First Annual Stage Raw Theater Awards, hosted by Celebration Theatre. Stage Raw is currently exploring options of how to proceed with the ceremony in a fiscally responsible way. An announcement is expected at the the Stage Raw Holiday Festivus on December 22. Stay tuned.
