Photos by Ted Soqui
Thanks to generously brief speeches by most of the award recipients and the efficiency of host/co-producer Ziggurat Theater Ensemble, the 24th annual Lawees at LATC clocked in at a record, breakneck one hour and 58 minutes Monday night. Motherland Music provided a pre-show drum circle in the courtyard. On a platform stage constructed in the lobby, Anahata and the Urban Gypsy Dancers belly-danced, and the National Wushu Academy put on a martial-arts display. The svelte women of Hoop Revolution gyrated erotically within plastic spheres while, on ropes and hammocks hanging from upper railings, aerialist Judith Flex and her company cavorted airborne. Michael York presented the Career Achievement Award to Ray Bradbury, who bathed in the crowd’s thunderous ovations — due partly to Bradbury’s animated remarks about the need, when doing theater, to “throw money out the window.” Queen of the Angels Pamela Gordon was almost literally beside herself with the honor. The entire evening was briskly and seamlessly emceed by Dean Purvis and urban clown Michael Rayner, whose interludes of balancing a wheelbarrow on his face and spinning a cheeseburger on an umbrella were among the evening’s highlights. Though A.S.K. Theater Projects has withdrawn its cash support of the Playwriting Award, the Mark Taper Forum has stepped up to the plate by inviting the winning playwright(s) to participate in one of the Taper’s new play programs within the year. The other recipients are as follows:
Anahata belly-dancing in the lobby PRODUCTION OF THE YEAR
La Gioconda, the Collective at Stages Theater Center
REVIVAL PRODUCTION OF THE YEAR (TIE)
The Caretaker, the Pinter Project at the Lost Studio
The Grapes of Wrath, West Coast Ensemble
MUSICAL OF THE YEAR
Laura Comstock’s Bag-Punching Dog, Circle X Theater Company at the 24th Street Theater
DIRECTION
Roger Mathey, Trainspotting, Seat of Your Pants Productions at Theatre/Theater
Ray Bradbury ENSEMBLE
Direct From Death Row: The Scottsboro Boys, Fountain Theater
COMEDY ENSEMBLE
A Mulholland Christmas Carol, Theater of NOTE
LEADING FEMALE PERFORMANCE
Laurie O’Brien, Times Like These, Padua Playwrights Productions at 2100 Square Feet
LEADING MALE PERFORMANCE (TIE)
Morlan Higgins, After the Fall, Fountain Theater
Norbert Weisser, Times Like These, Padua Playwrights Productions at 2100 Square Feet
Ziggurat Theater Ensemble’s opening number SUPPORTING MALE PERFORMANCE
Cooper Thornton, After the Fall, Fountain Theater
SUPPORTING FEMALE
PERFORMANCE
Lauren Campedelli, Pentecost, Evidence Room
COMEDY PERFORMANCE
Joe Fria and Tim Sabourin, Laura Comstock’s Bag-Punching Dog, Circle X Theater Company at the 24th Street Theater
Wushu warrior SOLO PERFORMANCE
Ann Randolph, Squeeze Box, Court Theater
PLAYWRITING (TIE)
Murray Mednick, Fedunn, Judy Arnold Productions at the Odyssey Theater
John O’Keefe, Times Like These, Padua Playwrights Productions at 2100 Square Feet
ONE-ACT PLAYWRITING
Ray Bradbury, Bradbury: Past, Present and Future, Pandemonium Theater Company
ONE-ACT DIRECTION
Anthony Caldarella, The Lover, Open City and Hudson Theatricals at the Hudson Backstage
PRODUCTION DESIGN
Red Thread, Ziggurat Theater Ensemble at the Gascon Center Theater
Emily Liu hoisting an award to the balcony ADAPTATION
William Robens, A Mulholland Christmas Carol, Theater of NOTE
ORIGINAL MUSIC
Susan Christiansen, Red Thread, Ziggurat Theater Ensemble at the Gascon Center Theater
LIGHTING DESIGN
Rand Ryan, Dog Mouth, Padua Playwrights Productions and Evidence Room at Evidence Room
COSTUME DESIGN
Robert Velasquez, Red Thread, Ziggurat Theater Ensemble at the Gascon Center Theater
Queen of the Angels: Pamela Gordon SET DESIGN
Jason Adams, Dog Mouth, Padua Playwrights Productions and Evidence Room at Evidence Room
SOUND DESIGN
Karl Lundeberg, Dog Mouth, Padua Playwrights Productions and Evidence Room
CHOREOGRAPHY
Tim Storms, Matt Emery and Eric Chen, Red Thread, Ziggurat Theater Ensemble at the Gascon Center Theater
SPECIAL COMMENDATION
FOR VIDEO DESIGN
Tim Kiley, Richard III, Circus Theatricals and the Odyssey Theater Ensemble at the Odyssey Theater
