The Gary Maker Audience Award is intended for the mostly unrecognized supporter – the sort of person every theater wants in its audience — one who laughs freely, applauds enthusiastically, speaks well of theatre and its practitioners, gives a supportive word or a sympathetic ear to theater artists, encourages others to attend and, in general, […]
Archives for June 2011
Creating the Gary Maker Audience Award
When we commissioned Washington, DC glass artist Teddie Hathaway to create the Gary Maker Award, we asked that the piece express the energy and creativity of live performance and the idea that the award recipients are stars among audience members.
Gary Lee Maker
Gary Lee Maker, a gentle, sensitive man, full of warmth and good humor, was a passionate supporter of Washington area theatre. He could often be seen in the audience with his long time partner Paul Desmarais, and, after, in the lobby, giving words of encouragement to artists and producers. He died February 17, 2011 at […]
David Tannous, recipient of the 2011 Gary Maker Audience Award
David Tannous can usually be found front row center at just about every production produced in the Washington area. In theatre circles, he is known as the man who attends every show. And he sees each production not just once but two or three times. “I like to catch a show early in the run, […]
Public hearing next week on Arlington County Arts proposal
The Arlington Commission on the Arts, headed by John Seal, has just released a proposal with recommendations for Arlington County support of the arts over the next 20 years. Titled ‘Arlington Arts 2030’, it includes an interesting look back on its 25 year history, and deals with support issues, increased funding and revenue generation moving […]
Venus in Fur
“I always think a playwright’s job is to let actors do their stuff,” playwright David Ives asserts. “I think what we’re supposed to do is write wonderful things for actors, who are much more important and interesting than we are.” Wow. Did Ives ever get it right with his marvelous Venus in Fur, now receiving […]
The B Team
In his play The B Team, David Holstein, who, it should be noted also writes scripts for the Showtime series “Weeds”, asks and partially answers a question kind of fundamental to our times: can terrorists—and terrorism and suicide bombers—be funny? The answer will likely come out as something like this: well, yeah, kinda, maybe, sometimes, […]
Why Torture is Wrong, and the People Who Love Them
The United States is at a crossroads. Terrorists lurk around every corner, a shadow government pulls the country’s strings in secret, and the Church has been invaded by sleazy smut peddlers. That is, according to Christopher Durang.
Edward Gero and Sasha Olinick on playing Salieri and Mozart in Amadeus
All I could ask myself after watching the glorious performances of Edward Gero and Sasha Olinick as the tortured Salieri and the fart-filled Amadeus was, “What took so long for someone to cast them in a production of Amadeus? Well, I seized the opportunity to ask them myself, and also asked them to talk about […]