Katie F-S This poet and playwright is a member of the Epicene Furies, an Omaha troupe of performance artists, in which she arranged the script for the Obama project entitled “Conspiring Texts.” She has been to the National Poetry Slam on teams from Omaha, Des Moines, and Denver. Marissa GillGill is also a member of the Epicene Furies. A singer/songwriter, she won the Healing Arts Poetry Slam in April.
y continued from page 3 When All the World Goes White, Circle Theatre See directing and other nominations for the Doug Marr play about a couple caught in a blizzard.
Best Comedic Play The Little Dog Laughed, SNAP! Productions See directing and acting nominations. Much Ado About Nothing, Nebraska Shakespeare Festival Directed by Cindy Melby Phaneuf of the UNO drama faculty, the comedy was paired with King Lear in last summer’s Shakespeare on the Green. This tale of misunderstanding features Beatrice, Benedict, Hero and the comic constable Dogberry. Same Time, Next Year, Omaha Community Playhouse Judith Hart directed Connie Lee and Ben Birkholtz in the story of a couple, both married to others, who rendezvous each year to reignite their long-term romance and share the changes in their lives. Shakespeare in Hollywood, Playhouse See acting nominations for more on this play directed by Carl Beck. She Stoops to Conquer, Brigit Saint Brigit Theatre Directed by Cathy M.W. Kurz, Oliver Goldsmith’s comedy of manners featured young Delaney Kunz as Kate Hardcastle, the title character who wins her way to romance and reforms Tony Lumpkin, the prankster given to aggravating Kate’s stuffy father.
Best Musical Ain’t Misbehavin’, John Beasley Theatre See acting nominations. Company, Omaha Community Playhouse See directing and acting nominations. South Pacific, Playhouse See directing and acting nominations. The Great American Trailer Park Musical, BroadStreet Theatre See directing and acting nominations. Thoroughly Modern Millie, Playhouse See directing and acting nominations.
Best Slam Poet Felicia Webster Originally from Philadelphia, Webster is known for infusing spoken word poetry, beat box vibes and jazz vocals and storytelling in her performance art. She runs open mic poetry in the Old Market and now participates in poetry events through the Love’s Jazz and Arts center.
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Matt Mason Mason is a Nebraska poet who has published a full-length book of poetry and two anthologies. His topics range from religion to themes of the Midwest and life in the Great Planes. Mason is a poetry activist in the Omaha area, overseeing Poetry Menu, a website that lists poetry events in Nebraska. He’s been referred to as the “Godfather” of Omaha slam poetry. Sara Lizh Doble Doble will be representing Nebraska at the Individual World Poetry Slam Championships in the Carolinas. In March of 2009, she will be representing Nebraska at the Women of the World Poetry Slam in Detroit. Doble, also a member of the Epicene Furies, has represented Omaha and Des Moines at the Omaha Poetry Slam, as well as coaching an Omaha team.
Best Supporting Actor in a Play Roderick Cotton, Angels in America, Perestroika, SNAP! Productions An accomplished dancer, he has recently been touring with a musical company. He played Belize, a nurse who cares for the ailing Roy Cohn. Josh Doucette, Love’s Labour’s Lost, Creighton University The Bluejay drama major has performed in several campus productions. Here he played one of Shakespeare’s nobles, who vow to abstain from love and devote themselves to lofty pursuits — until the ladies bring them to their senses. Eric Grant-Leanna, A Hat Full of Rain, Brigit Saint Brigit Theatre Joining this company from Dana College and performing many recent roles, he was cast as the enabling brother of the lead character whose wartime experiences have left him addicted to drugs. Scott Kurz, Anna Christie, Brigit See other nominations for both Kurz and the play. He’s the rough sailor who feels betrayed when he learns of the soiled past of the title woman he loves. Michal Simpson, Angels in America, Perestroika, SNAP! Productions See the play’s other nominations. He has directed and starred in musical and dramatic plays at many local venues. He plays Roy Cohn, the vicious attorney who is dying of AIDS.
Best Supporting Actor in a Musical Nick Albrecht, The Great American Trailer Park Musical, BroadStreet Theatre See other nominations. A Dana College grad in his first community role, he played Duke, the marker-sniffing boyfriend who causes his stripper sweetheart to flee into the arms of a married man. Ben Beck, Thoroughly Modern Millie, Omaha Community Playhouse The son of directors Carl Beck and Susan Baer Collins, he attended the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. He played a Chinese servant who rebels at his role in a white slavery ring.
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Ryan Eberhardt, Company, Playhouse A sales associate at Borsheims, he appears frequently at the Playhouse and other venues. He played Paul, the beleaguered bridegroom whose betrothed sings, “Not Getting Married Today.” Jim McKain, South Pacific, Playhouse A past winner of acting awards, McKain has directed elsewhere, but is seen most often in both dramatic and musical roles at the Playhouse, this time taking the role of Luther Billis, the wheelerdealer Seabee who connives to visit Bali Hai.
Best Supporting Actress in a Play Krystal Kelly, Let It Bleed, University of Nebraska at Omaha An undergraduate theater major at UNO, she played the wife of a man dealing with gang violence in this one-act segment of the New Ways/New Works program. Kirsten Kluver, Angels in America, Perestroika, SNAP! Productions See others. She appears in multiple roles, but most significantly as the title Angel. Jennifer McGill, Doubt, a Parable, Brigit Saint Brigit Theatre A Beloit College grad who works for Legal Aid of Nebraska, she’s Sister James, the younger colleague of the judgmental nun and the priest suspected of an improper relationship with a student altar boy. Theresa Sindelar, Shakespeare in Hollywood, Omaha Community Playhouse A cake decorator by day, she has interpreted wide-ranging comedic roles from Mae West to Ben Affleck, mostly at the Playhouse. Here she played the producer’s girlfriend aiming for film stardom. Ashley Spessard, The Crucible, Playhouse She studied drama at Creighton before tackling the role of the young woman, angry at her rejection by a married man, whose false claims spark the Salem witch-hunt.
Best Supporting Actress in a Musical Susan Baer Collins, Company, Omaha Community Playhouse See her directing nomination and others for the production. She played Joanna, the bitter mature woman who sings, “Ladies Who Lunch.” Cathy Buresh Hirsch, The Great American Trailer Park Musical, BroadStreet Theatre Recently playing Mrs. Cratchit in A Christmas Carol, she kept rehearsals in stitches with her portrayal of Pickles, a neighbor who sings “The Other Side of the Tracks.” Angela Jenson-Frey, Thoroughly Modern Millie, Playhouse See lead actress nomination. In this musical, she’s the innocent country girl sold into white slavery by her Chinese landlady. Kim Jubenville, Thoroughly Modern Millie, Playhouse Often cast in comedic roles in such Playhouse productions as The Tale of the Allergist’s Wife, she plays the aforementioned landlady who provides rooms to unwitting newcomers and then ships them off to their ruin. Judy Radcliffe, South Pacific, Playhouse From Mrs. Hannigan in Annie to the folksy friend of singer Patsy Cline, she is a popular performer on the main stage of the Playhouse. She became Bloody Mary, the Tonkinese mama who sings “Happy Talk” and “Bali Hai.”
Achievement in Scenic Design Robbie Jones, Much Ado About Nothing, University of Nebraska at Omaha See best comedic play nomination. The technical director on the UNO drama faculty, he set the Shakespearean players in the university’s versatile black box theater. Liz Kendall, Great American Trailer Park Musical, BroadStreet Theatre From Council Bluffs, she has acted in such shows as Five Women Wearing the Same Dress. She designed two trailers in a setting of car parts and lattice work, with an interior view of one trailer. Jim Othuse, South Pacific, Omaha Community Playhouse He arrived with director Charles Jones in the mid-’70s and continues creating award-winning designs for plays and musicals, such as the hilltop plantation and sandy beaches of this World War II story. Paul Pape, Love’s Labour’s Lost, Creighton University The designer, a UNO grad who has also done scenic work there, creates unique designs, including wedding cake toppers, for a living. For the Shakespearean comedy, he fashioned a hedge maze that both concealed and revealed players.
Achievement in Lighting Design Ernie Gubbels, The Little Dog Laughed, SNAP! Productions See the play’s other nominations. For years, he has worked backstage, most frequently for the Chanticleer Community Theater and for SNAP!/Shelterbelt shows. Jim Othuse, South Pacific, Omaha Community Playhouse See above. Bill Van Deest, The Crucible, Playhouse See other nominations. A Creighton University drama faculty member, he often provides their scenic and lighting designs, but finds time to lend his expertise to other theaters such as the Blue Barn and Playhouse. Ted Wier, A Chorus Line, Ralston Community Theatre See the musical’s other nominations. He serves on the staff at Millard South High School, and provides technical support and design for their productions. Carol Wisner, Seascape, Blue Barn See the play’s other nominations. The wife of fellow nominee Van Deest, she is props master for Opera Omaha, and does lighting for the Nebraska Shakespeare Festival.
Achievement in Sound Design Tim Burkhart/John Gibilisco, South Pacific, Omaha Community Playhouse See the musical’s other nominations. Burkhart, who designed sound for the first Playhouse version of this musical in 1988, shared credits with the theater’s longtime, oft-honored designer Gibilisco. John Gibilisco, The Crucible, Omaha Community Playhouse See above and the play’s other nominations. Dave Podendorf, Angels in America, Perestroika, SNAP! Productions See play’s other nominations. Another backstage contributor whose talents benefit Chanticleer, SNAP!/ Shelterbelt and others.
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