arts & entertainment readers’ PiCKs GaZette.COm/BestOF
ACTOR
GOLD: JIM JACKSON The co-founder and artistic director of the Millibo Art Theatre, Jackson made his bones as a clown traveling an international circuit. His shows are surprisingly sophisticated — entertaining to children and adults alike (if sometimes for different reasons). Jackson is the “funniest clown you’ll ever see,” wrote one voter.
actor, actress: Jim Jackson, Birgitta de Pree JeFF kearneY
SILVER: (TIE) CHRISTIAN O’SHAUGHNESSY, DANTE MARTINEZ BRONZE: SAMMIE JOE KINNETT
ACTRESS
GOLD: BIRGITTA DE PREE De Pree, who also won in 2012, is co-founder and frequent director at the Millibo Art Theatre. Voters call her long-running character Babette Matdiva “outrageous.” (And they’re right.) But like husband Jim Jackson, she’s also a tremendous clown, especially in her roles in MAT children’s programs. She’s the “second funniest clown you’ll ever see, and an amazing dramatic arts example for the kids she visits in local schools.” SILVER: AMY BROOKS BRONZE: CRYSTAL CARTER
PLAY
GOLD: “A CHRISTMAS STORY,” FINE ARTS CENTER Based on the 1983 film of the same name, this delightful retelling expanded on the lives of beloved characters and captured the wonder and glee of Christmas for a little boy in the ‘40s. SILVER: “THE ELABORATE ENTRANCE OF CHAD DEITY,” THEATREWORKS BRONZE: “YOU CAN’T TAKE IT WITH YOU,” THEATREWORKS, AND “RESERVOIR DOGS,” THEATRE ‘D ART
THEATER COMPANY GOLD: THEATREWORKS
Dusty Loo Bon Vivant Theater, 3955 Regent Circle, 255-3232, theatreworkscs.org
This company, founded in 1975, proves that you can get better with age. A risk taker, it made a big leap in 2011 when it increased the number of Equity performers and other personnel used every year. That’s been a boon for audiences, which may see, as they did with this year’s brilliant production of “Red,” that union actors can raise the bar for everybody. SILVER: MILLIBO ART THEATRE BRONZE: FINE ARTS CENTER
46 I BEST OF THE SPRINGS I 2013 I THE GazETTE