Jeff Awards honor Steve Scott with Special Equity Jeff Award

The Jeff Awards announced today that Steve Scott will be presented with a Special Jeff Award at the Equity awards ceremony to be held on November 6th at Drury Lane Oakbrook. Mr. Scott will be honored for his career achievements that have inspired artistic collaboration, educational outreach and demonstrated dramatic creativity for more than 37 years.

Widely known as an Artistic Associate and Producing Consultant at the Goodman Theatre, Mr. Scott has had a parallel and distinguished career at theatres besides the Goodman. A Phi Beta Kappa graduate of the University of Kansas where he studied theater, Mr. Scott recalls that his classmate and roommate was Mandy Patinkin. They both then worked as actors at the Creede Repertory Theatre in Colorado where he became Artistic Director in the late 1970s. Mr. Scott attended graduate school at the University of Denver.

Mr. Scott notes, "I got my first job at Goodman on my thirtieth birthday as Director of Educational Programs. I was the first person to be officially hired by Roche Schulfer in his new position as Managing Director at the Goodman." Mr. Scott also recounts, "At the Goodman I was in charge of a workshop program for high school students, and one of my first students was Jennifer Beals. Another of my workshop students was Marc Grapey, who became a very successful professional actor despite my warnings." Mr. Scott also remembers "One of my tasks in my early days at the Goodman was to retype the manuscript of Glengarry Glen Ross before its debut in 1983."

From 1980 through 1984 he was the Director of Educational Programs at the Goodman. After a stint with the International Theatre Festival of Chicago, he returned to the Goodman in 1986 as Associate Producer, becoming Producer in 2001. During that period he oversaw more than 200 productions until he left that position in 2017.

Mr. Scott has served on review panels for Theatre Communications Group, the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events, the Stage Directors and Choreographers Society, United Scenic Artists, the Eugene O'Neill Theatre Center, the Chicago Council on Fine Arts, the Illinois Arts Council, National Endowment for the Arts, and the Pew Charitable Trust/Philadelphia Theatre Initiative. He has been a member of the Jeff Awards' Artist and Technical Team since its inception, and also serves as a board member of Season of Concern, artistic advisor for Silk Road Rising and an associate artist with Chicago Dramatists and Collaboraction Theatre companies. He has served on the faculties of Columbia College Chicago, Loyola University, the Latin School of Chicago, and Baker Unviersity (Baldwin City, KS). He has also been a guest lecturer at the Theatre School at DePaul University, Northwestern University, and Northern Illinois University. As an actor, he most recently appeared in the Next Theatre's production ofAre You Now or Have You Ever Been...? (Jeff Award for Ensemble).

The 49th Annual Jeff Awards ceremony honoring excellence in professional theatre produced within the immediate Chicago area will be held on Monday, November 6th at Drury Lane Oakbrook, 100 Drury Lane, Oakbrook Terrace. The ceremony, directed by Michael Weber and produced by Jack Phillips, will feature live performances from nominated musicals. Emceeing the festivities will be esteemed Chicago actors Mierka Girten and Anish Jethmalani.

The Jeff Awards have been honoring outstanding theatre artists annually since it was established in 1968. With up to 55 members representing a wide variety of backgrounds in theatre, the Jeff Awards is committed to celebrating the vitality of Chicago area theatre by recognizing excellence through its recommendations, awards, and honors. The Jeff Awards foster the artistic growth of area theatres and theatre artists and promotes educational opportunities, audience appreciation, and civic pride in the achievements of the theatre community.

www.jeffawards.org

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