Chance Theater Receives 6 Ovation Nods; HAIR Celebrated

The Chance Theater has received six 2009 Ovation Award nominations from Los Angeles Stage Alliance: five nominations for HAIR: The American Tribal Love-Rock Musical, and one nomination for Best Season, a new category whose other nominees include Geffen Playhouse, Rubicon Theatre Company, Troubadour Theater Company, and Fountain Theatre. They are the only theater from Orange Country to receive recognition by the awards committee.

The five nominations for HAIR include Production of a Musical (Intimate Theatre), Direction of a Musical (Oanh Nguyen), Choreography (Kelly Todd), Costume Design (Erika C. Miller), and Scenic Design (Christopher Scott Murillo).

"These six nominations are quite meaningful to us," said Artistic Director Oanh Nguyen. "They are a firm recognition of not just the work that we put onstage during the 2008/2009 season, but a culmination of the work the Chance has been doing for eleven years. This is the first season that we were eligible for Ovation Awards and we could not be more humbled and honored by the response from our professional peers."

"The Chance is the only OC theater nominated for an Ovation Award this year," notes Managing Director Casey Long. "And to be nominated in The category of Best Season - an award that spans the numerous eligible theatres ranging in budget size from our small organization to theatres 20 times our size - is especially gratifying. It's a testament to our tireless and talented resident ensemble, brilliant artists, and our entire family of supporters."

The Ovation Awards were established in 1989 to celebrate artistic excellence in theatre production, design and performance, and to bring attention to the Greater L.A. theatre community on a local, state and national level. The Ovation Awards are distinct from other Los Angeles theatre awards, and virtually all other theatre awards in the United States, by being 100% peer-judged by active theatre professionals in the Greater Los Angeles area. The Ovation Awards season runs from Sept 1 to Aug 31 each year, and culminates in a black-tie awards ceremony to be held on January 11, 2010 at the Redondo Beach Performing Arts Center, home of the Civic Light Opera of South Bay Cities. The curtain will go up at 7:30pm. More info on the ceremony can be found at www.LAStageBlog.com/ovation-awards.

Recently named "Outstanding Arts Organization" for the second time in five years by Arts Orange County, the Chance is proud to be one of the leading ensemble based theatre companies in Southern California. Voted "Best Theater Group" by MyFoxLA for two years in a row and "Best Small Theater" by Orange Coast Magazine, the Chance is a recipient of the 2007 Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle's (LADCC) Polly Warfield Award for Excellence. Founded in 1999, the Chance Theater's mission has always been to intimately present personally meaningful, uniquely engaging stories that promote dialogue within our community and provide a visceral experience for theatergoers. As a constituent member of Theater Communications Group (TCG), Network of Ensemble Theaters (NET), and the Los Angeles Stage Alliance (LASA), the Chance continues to bring national attention to the Southern California and Orange County theater scene through its recent achievements, which include a 2006 GLAAD Media Award nomination for Outstanding Los Angeles Theater and six 2009 Ovation Award nominations.

For more information visit chancetheater.com

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