Donna Inglima To Receive Laguna Beach Arts Alliance Lifetime Achievement Award

Donna Inglima, Director of The Youth Theatre, Education & Outreach at The Laguna Playhouse, will be the recipient of 2017 LBAA (Laguna Beach Arts Alliance) Lifetime Achievement Award and Playhouse Board members Betsy and Gary Jenkins will receive the LBAA Individual Arts Patron Award on April 2, 2017, at the 11th Annual Art Star Awards.

For the past 19 years, Donna has directed over 40 plays for Laguna Playhouse and grew the outreach program, TheatreReach: Bringing Books to Life into a Theatre for Young Audiences Professional Tour. She's adapted with collaborators Joe Lauderdale and Mark Turnbull By the Great Horn Spoon! by Sid Fleischman and has done original stage adaptions and directed productions of The Sign of the Beaver by Elizabeth George Speare, Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O'Dell and Give a Boy a Gun by Todd Strasser. She written acting exercises for each TheatreReach production that are provided to the schools for teacher and student use. She served on the Drama Faculty of Syracuse University, Utica College and the American Musical and Drama Academy. She was also the Artistic Associate for the American Playwrights Theatre in New York, and Director of the Apprentice Program at the Berkshire Theatre Festival. She founded Animal Crackers Unlimited, in Upstate NY ,that produced over 30 plays for adults and youth. She is a member of the Society of Stage Directors and Choreographers and Actors' Equity Association. Inglima received her MFA in Theatre from Syracuse University.

Ann E. Wareham, Artistic Director of Laguna Playhouse comments, "Everyone at The Playhouse is so thrilled for Donna and Betsy and Gary to be honored in such a public and extraordinary way." Comments Laguna Playhouse Executive Director Ellen Richard, "We all know the exceptional work, values and talent they have provided to our theatre and our community. For the past two decades, Donna's work in particular, with our youth has been exceptional and we applaud her on this recognition which is so well deserved."

Faye Baglin, Chair of the LBAA Board of Directors, said, "It is wonderful to be able to acknowledge Donna for her tireless work behind the scenes, bringing compelling theatre to the community, while building character and life skills in her theatre students. She's an unsung heroine, beyond worthy of this honor."

To purchase tickets to attend the 11th Annual Art Star Awards, please contact: info@lagunabeacharts.org. Tickets are $100 each and include dinner as well as all the festivities.

The Laguna Beach Arts Alliance was established in 2002 as the result of an exciting partnership among more than 20 Laguna Beach organizations. The mission is to serve as an advocate for the arts, promote collaboration and networking among the arts organizations of Laguna Beach, and to serve as a united voice for the arts in the city. Members of the Arts Alliance include City of Laguna Beach Arts Commission, Blue Water Green Earth, Community Art Project, Festival of Arts, First Thursdays Art Walk, KX 93.5 Radio, Laguna Art-A-Fair Festival, Laguna Art Museum, Laguna Beach Craft Guild, Laguna Beach Live!, Laguna Beach Sister Cities Association, Laguna College of Art & Design, Laguna Concert Band, Laguna Dance Festival, LOCA Arts Education, Laguna Playhouse, Laguna Plein Air Painters Association, Lagunatunes Community Chorus, No Square Theatre, Sawdust Art Festival, [seven-degrees], and Visit Laguna Beach,.

For more information on all shows and programming at Laguna Playhouse visit www.lagunaplayhouse.com. Laguna Playhouse is located at 606 Laguna Canyon Road in Laguna Beach.