Stage Raw Announces Its 2019 Theater Award Nominees & Theater Festival Weekend

Digital arts journal Stage Raw announces the nominees for its fifth annual Stage Raw Theater Awards, to be held Monday night September 9, 2019, at Los Angeles Theatre Center, 514 S. Spring Street. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. The show starts at 7:30 p.m. Tickets will go on sale Wednesday August 7, 2019. The Stage Raw Theater Awards honor the finest work performed on Los Angeles area stages of 99-seats or fewer, and are selected by a jury of Stage Raw critics. This year's awards celebrate work performed between June 1, 2018 and May 31, 2019.

This year's Awards ceremony will be the culminating event of the 2019 Stage Raw/Play L.A. Theater Festival Weekend, September 6-9 at Los Angeles Theatre Center, and will involve readings of six new plays, and two colloquies, all to be announced soon. The Festival Weekend is a program of The Humanitas Prize, Stage Raw and LA Stage Alliance, with additional support from Los Angeles Theatre Center and the City of Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs. Theaters involved in the Festival Weekend include: Ammunition Theatre Company, Echo Theater Company, Latino Theatre Company, Rogue Machine, The Skylight Theatre, and Theatre of NOTE. More on this to follow.

IAMA Theatre Company and Ammunition Theatre Company ("Ammo") will co-host the 2019 Stage Raw Theater Awards, designing an innovative celebration of live theater that honors the local theater community while placing particular focus on both L.A.'s legacy theaters and its emerging companies.

Currently in its 12th year, IAMA Theatre Company is an L.A.-based ensemble of artists committed to invigorating live performance for a streaming generation. Through cutting-edge, cool and hyper-modern stories, IAMA is invested in the immediacy of production, and strives to bring audiences out of their personal space and into a shared experience.

Ammo was founded in 2015 by a group of passionate artists and activists to reflect the diverse, evolving identity of America. By fostering original works, Ammo's mission is to celebrate underrepresented communities and their stories while inspiring the society that we live in to do the same. Ammo values inclusivity, community, and service, which they practice in their creative and philanthropic endeavors.

Stage Raw (stageraw.com) is a community-funded professional journalism site that was founded in 2014 in response to the cutbacks in arts journalism across the region. It is dedicated to reporting on theater and the arts across the L.A. region that might otherwise lack professional notice. Originally consisting of writers connected to the L.A. Weekly, it has expanded and diversified its writing pool, having recruited writers from state and private colleges and universities. Among its myriad programs, the site just completed its first professional mentoring program, The Z. Clark Branson/Stage Raw Equity and Inclusion Initiative for Young Journalists, and will be continuing that program in the fall in partnership with the Wallis Center for the Performing Arts.

The nominees for the 2019 Stage Raw Theater Awards are:

FIGHT CHOREOGRAPHY

1. Jen Albert and Dawn "Sam" Alden - Marian, or The True Tale of Robin Hood, Theatre of NOTE

VIDEO/PROJECTION DESIGN

1. David Murakami - Bronco Billy, Skylight Theatre Company

2. Yee Eun Nam - Black Super Hero Magic Mama, Geffen Playhouse: Audrey Skirball Kennis Theater

SOUND DESIGN

1. Peter Bayne - Daniel's Husband, The Fountain Theatre

2. John Farmanesh-Bocca and Adam Phelan - Lysistrata Unbound, Odyssey Theatre Ensemble and Not Man Apart Physical Theatre Ensemble

3. Jeff Gardner - American Saga: Gunshot Medley - Part 1, Rogue Machine Theatre

4. Stephen George - Lost in Time, Ensemble Studio Theatre/LA

5. John Nobori - Everything That Never Happened, Boston Court Pasadena

LIGHTING DESIGN

1. Tor Brown - American Saga: Gunshot Medley - Part 1, Rogue Machine Theatre

2. Matthew Brian Denman - Cabaret, Celebration Theatre

3. Josh Epstein - American Hero, IAMA Theatre Company

4. Brian Gale - Bronco Billy, Skylight Theatre Company

5. John A. Garofalo - Cost of Living, The Fountain Theatre

6. David Hernandez - The Judas Kiss, Boston Court Pasadena

7. Karyn D. Lawrence - How We're Different From Animals, ÉLAN Ensemble

8. Jaymi Lee Smith - Everything That Never Happened, Boston Court Pasadena

COSTUME DESIGN

1. Ann Closs-Farley - Bronco Billy, Skylight Theatre Company

2. Dianne K. Graebner - The Judas Kiss, Boston Court Pasadena

3. Terri A. Lewis - The Little Foxes, Antaeus Theatre Company

4. Michael Mullen - Cabaret, Celebration Theatre

5. Mylette Nora - August Wilson's Two Trains Running, The Matrix Theatre Company

ORIGINAL MUSIC

1. Romero Mosley - Hype Man, The Fountain Theatre

2. Chip Rosenbloom and John Torres - Bronco Billy, Skylight Theatre Company

CHOREOGRAPHY

1. Stephen Buescher - Stockholm, Triptych Theatre Group

2. John Farmanesh-Bocca - Lysistrata Unbound, Odyssey Theatre Ensemble and Not Man Apart Physical Theatre Ensemble

3. Jonathan Muñoz-Proulx - How We're Different From Animals, ÉLAN Ensemble

4. Janet Roston - Bronco Billy, Skylight Theatre Company

5. Janet Roston - Cabaret, Celebration Theatre

MUSICAL DIRECTION

1. Patrick Gandy - The Color Purple, Greenway Arts Alliance

2. Richard Levinson - Finks, Rogue Machine Theatre

3. Anthony Lucca - Bronco Billy, Skylight Theatre Company

4. Anthony Zediker - Cabaret, Celebration Theatre

SET DESIGN

1. François-Pierre Couture - Everything That Never Happened, Boston Court Pasadena

2. Stephen Gifford - Cabaret, Celebration Theatre

3. Justin Huen - American Hero, IAMA Theatre Company

4. John Iacovelli - August Wilson's Two Trains Running, The Matrix Theatre Company

5. John Iacovelli - Bronco Billy, Skylight Theatre Company

6. John Iacovelli - The Little Foxes, Antaeus Theatre Company

7. DeAnne Millais - Daniel's Husband, The Fountain Theatre

8. Anna Robinson - Stockholm, Triptych Theatre Group

TWO PERSON PERFORMANCE

1. Barra Grant and Monica Piper - Miss America's Ugly Daughter: Bess Myerson & Me, Pageant Productions and Canon Theatricals

2. Burt Grinstead and Anna Stromberg - Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, The Los Angeles LGBT Center

3. Medalion Rahimi and Jeff Marlow - Paradise, JuVee Productions and American Oasis

FEMALE COMEDY PERFORMANCE

1. Lee Garlington - The Joy Wheel, Ruskin Group Theatre

2. Madeleine Heil - The Value of Moscow, Sacred Fools Theater Company

3. Anna Lamadrid - American Hero, IAMA Theatre Company

4. Jenny Soo - Gloria, The Echo Theater Company

MALE COMEDY PERFORMANCE

1. Adam J. Jefferis - Accidental Death of an Anarchist, The Actors' Gang

2. Todd Merrill - Resa Fantastisk Mystisk, Burglars of Hamm

3. Rahul Rai - The Rescued, The Road Theatre Company

4. Maury Sterling - The Joy Wheel, Ruskin Group Theatre

5. Michael Sturgis - Gloria, The Echo Theater Company

6. Bob Turton - Accidental Death of an Anarchist, The Actors' Gang

SUPPORTING FEMALE PERFORMANCE

1. Sorel Carradine - Nude/Naked, Lightning Rod Theater

2. June Carryl - Cabaret, Celebration Theatre

3. Jenny O'Hara - Daniel's Husband, The Fountain Theatre

4. Nija Okoro - August Wilson's Two Trains Running, The Matrix Theatre Company

5. Xochitl Romero - Cost of Living, The Fountain Theatre

6. Clarissa Thibeaux - Hype Man, The Fountain Theatre

7. Jocelyn Towne - The Little Foxes, Antaeus Theatre Company

8. Caitlin Zambito - The Wolves, The Echo Theater Company

SUPPORTING MALE PERFORMANCE

1. Colin Bates - The Judas Kiss, Boston Court Pasadena

2. Stephen Caffrey - The Cripple of Inishmaan, Antaeus Theatre Company

3. John DeMita - The Little Foxes, Antaeus Theatre Company

4. Derek Jackson - American Saga: Gunshot Medley - Part 1, Rogue Machine Theatre

5. Leo Marks - Everything That Never Happened, Boston Court Pasadena

6. Mike McShane - The Little Foxes, Antaeus Theatre Company

7. Dorian Missick - August Wilson's Two Trains Running, The Matrix Theatre Company

8. Rob Nagle - The Little Foxes, Antaeus Theatre Company

9. Dylan Saunders - Everything That Never Happened, Boston Court Pasadena

10.Adolphus Ward - August Wilson's Two Trains Running, The Matrix Theatre Company

LEADING FEMALE PERFORMANCE

1. Kimberly Alexander - Stockholm, Triptych Theatre Group

2. Francesca Casale - All My Sons, Wasatch Theatrical Ventures

3. Jackie Chung - Cry It Out, The Echo Theater Company

4. Diana Cignoni - Faith Healer, Odyssey Theatre Ensemble

5. Cherish Monique Duke - At the Table, The Road Theatre Company

6. Megan Ketch - Cry It Out, The Echo Theater Company

7. Deborah Puette - The Little Foxes, Antaeus Theatre Company

8. Erika Soto - Everything That Never Happened, Boston Court Pasadena

9. Katy Sullivan - Cost of Living, The Fountain Theatre

10.Cheri Lynne VandenHeuvel - I Go Somewhere Else, Playwrights' Arena

LEADING MALE PERFORMANCE

1. Ron Bottita - Faith Healer, Odyssey Theatre Ensemble

2. Matthew Hancock - Hype Man, The Fountain Theatre

3. Rob Nagle - The Judas Kiss, Boston Court Pasadena

4. Alex Nee - Cabaret, Celebration Theatre

5. Montae Russell - August Wilson's Two Trains Running, The Matrix Theatre Company

6. Felix Solis - Cost of Living, The Fountain Theatre

7. French Stewart - Finks, Rogue Machine Theatre

ADAPTATION

1. ÉLAN Ensemble - How We're Different From Animals, Atwater Village Theatre

2. Burt Grinstead and Anna Stromberg - Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, The Los Angeles LGBT Center

PLAYWRITING

1. Inda Craig-Galván - I Go Somewhere Else, Playwrights' Arena

2. Amy Dellagiarino - The Value of Moscow, Sacred Fools Theater Company

3. Sarah B. Mantell - Everything That Never Happened, Boston Court Pasadena

4. Julie Marie Myatt - The Rescued, The Road Theatre Company

PRODUCTION DESIGN

1. August Wilson's Two Trains Running, The Matrix Theatre Company

2. Bronco Billy, Skylight Theatre Company

3. Cabaret, Celebration Theatre

COMEDY ENSEMBLE

1. Accidental Death of an Anarchist, The Actors' Gang

2. American Hero, IAMA Theatre Company

3. Gloria, The Echo Theater Company

4. The Rescued, The Road Theatre Company

ENSEMBLE

1. At The Table, The Road Theatre Company

2. August Wilson's Two Trains Running, The Matrix Theatre Company

3. How We're Different From Animals, ÉLAN Ensemble

4. I Go Somewhere Else, Playwrights' Arena

5. The Color Purple, Greenway Arts Alliance

6. The Wolves, The Echo Theater Company

COMEDY DIRECTION

1. Hunter Bird - Bronco Billy, Skylight Theatre Company

2. James Eckhouse - American Hero, IAMA Theatre Company

3. Chris Fields - Gloria, The Echo Theater Company

4. Carrie Keranen - The Value of Moscow, Sacred Fools Theater Company

DIRECTION

1. Lindsay Allbaugh - Cry It Out, The Echo Theater Company

2. Alana Dietze - The Wolves, The Echo Theater Company

3. Jessica Kubzansky - Everything That Never Happened, Boston Court Pasadena

4. Michael Matthews - Cabaret, Celebration Theatre

5. Marya Mazor - The Rescued, The Road Theatre Company

6. Jonathan Muñoz-Proulx - How We're Different From Animals, ÉLAN Ensemble

7. Jon Lawrence Rivera - I Go Somewhere Else, Playwrights' Arena

8. Kim Rubenstein - Stockholm, Triptych Theatre Group

9. Michele Shay - August Wilson's Two Trains Running, The Matrix Theatre Company

10.Cameron Watson - The Little Foxes, Antaeus Theatre Company

REVIVAL OF THE YEAR

1. Accidental Death of an Anarchist, The Actors' Gang

2. August Wilson's Two Trains Running, The Matrix Theatre Company

3. Cabaret, Celebration Theatre

4. Faith Healer, Odyssey Theatre Ensemble

PRODUCTION OF THE YEAR

1. Cost of Living, The Fountain Theatre

2. Cry It Out, The Echo Theater Company

3. Everything That Never Happened, Boston Court Pasadena

4. Gloria, The Echo Theater Company

5. How We're Different From Animals, ÉLAN Ensemble

6. I Go Somewhere Else, Playwrights' Arena

7. The Wolves, The Echo Theater Company

QUEEN OF THE ANGELS

Tomas Benitez

CAREER ACHIEVEMENT

Jack Stehlin and Jeannine Wisnosky Stehlin