News

Two UCLA TFT alumni and a Department of Theater faculty member were named winners during the 2015 LA Stage Alliance Ovation Awards ceremony that took place on Monday, Nov. 9 at the Ahmanson Theatre in Downtown Los Angeles.

KATIE BOECK (B.A. ’10) earned an Ovation Award in the category of Acting Ensemble of a Musical as part of the cast of Spring Awakening. Lecturer DREW DALZELL received a Sound Design (Large Theater) Ovation Award, shared with Noelle Hoffman, for his work on Wicked Lit 2014. Additionally, MAT SWEENEY (B.A. ’05) received a 2015 Ovation Honor: Composition for a Play, for The Temptation of St. Antony, shared with Ellen Warkentine. Sweeney, the artistic director of Four Larks Theatre, was also nominated in the categories of Best Direction of a Play and Choreography, both for Four Lark Theatre's production of The Temptation of St. Antony.

When the 2015 LA Stage Alliance Ovation Awards nominations were announced on Thursday, Sept. 24, UCLA TFT's Department of Theater was out in force. Including Boeck, Dalzell and Sweeney, a total of eight faculty members, one of whom is also a UCLA TFT alumnus, and 11 other alumni were recognized for their contributions to regional theater in the Greater Los Angeles area during the 2014-15 theater season with a total of 21 nominations.

Prior to BRIAN KITE’s (B.A. ’91, M.F.A. ’04) recent announcement as the Department of Theater Chair, he was the former artistic director of the La Mirada Theatre for the Performing Arts. La Mirada received 10 nominations including Best Season and Best Production of a Musical (Large Theatre) for Carrie: The Musical.

Lecturer MARY JO DUPREY and Visiting Associate Professor ELLEN GEER were nominated for Best Direction of a Play and Lead Actress in a Play, respectively, for their work in August: Osage County, which received total of four nominations, including Best Production of a Play (Large Theatre).

JARED STEIN (M.F.A. '01, Theater) was nominated for Best Musical Direction for Spring Awakening, one of the 16 nominations the musical received.

A full list of UCLA TFT nominees follows:

JONATHAN BURKE (Academic Coordinator)
Sound Design (Large Theatre) — The Last Five Years

KATIE BOECK (B.A. '10, Theater)
Acting Ensemble of a Musical — Spring Awakening

DREW DALZELL (Lecturer)
Sound Design (Large Theatre) — Wicked Lit 2014

MARY JO DUPREY (Lecturer)
Best Direction of a Play — August: Osage County

ANTHONY FANNING (Lecturer)
Scenic Design (Large Theatre) — Switzerland

ELLEN GEER (Visiting Associate Professor)
Lead Actress in a Play — August: Osage County

CRISTINA GERLA (B.A. '11, Theater)
Acting Ensemble of a Play — Failure: A Love Story

MICHELLE HOLMES (M.F.A. '83, Theater Arts)
Featured Actress in a Musical — The New Mel Brooks Musical: Young Frankenstein

JEAN KAUFFMAN (B.A. '06, Theater)
Acting Ensemble of a Musical — Ragtime

BRIAN KITE (B.A. '91, M.F.A. '04, Theater) (Chair, Department of Theater; former artistic director, La Mirada Theatre for the Performing Arts)
Best Season — Billy Elliot The Musical, Carrie: The Musical, Good People, Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice, A Musical and Mary Poppins (La Mirada Theatre for the Performing Arts)
Best Production of a Musical (Large Theatre) — Carrie: The Musical (La Mirada Theatre for the Performing Arts)

JESSICA KUBZANSKY (Visiting Assistant Professor, co-artistic director, The Theater @ Boston Court)
Best Season — My Barking Dog, Samuel Beckett's Happy Days, Shiv and The Missing Pages of Lewis Carroll (The Theatre @ Boston Court)

TRACIE LOCKWOOD (B.A. '00, Theater)
Acting Ensemble of a Play — A Permanent Image

JULIE MORGENTALER (B.A. '09, Theater)
Acting Ensemble of a Musical — Ragtime

NICK SANTIAGO (M.F.A. '10, Theater)
Video/Production Design — A Permanent Image

TONI SMITH (M.F.A. '09, Theater)
Featured Actress in a Musical — The New Mel Brooks Musical: Young Frankenstein

JARED STEIN (M.F.A. '01, Theater)
Best Musical Direction — Spring Awakening

MAT SWEENEY (B.A. '05, Theater)
Best Direction of a Play — The Temptation of St. Antony (nominated with Sebastian Peters-Lazaro)
Choreography — The Temptation of St. Antony (nominated with Sebastian Peters-Lazaro)

JOSE LUIS VALENZUELA (Professor, Head of Directing; Artistic Director, Los Angeles Theatre Center)
Best Presented Production — Andre & Dorine (Los Angeles Theatre Center)

PAIGE WHITE (M.F.A. '06, Theater)
Lead Actress in a Play — Trying

Posted: November 10, 2015