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TheaterWorks earned a whopping 34 nominations for next month’s ariZoni Theatre Awards of Excellence.
The theater, located in the Peoria Center for Performing Arts, 10580 N. 83rd Drive, earned 21 nods for TheaterWorks and 13 additional nominations for YouthWorks, its youth theater.
TheaterWorks, which opens its 35th season in 2020-21, will be among the Valley theater companies honored when the “Zoni” awards recognize the 2019-20 season of live theater performances.
More than 35 theaters Valley-wide participate in the Zonis, with over 150 productions adjudicated every year.
The ariZoni Theatre Awards of Excellence’s celebration takes place at 8p.m. Monday, Oct. 5, preceded by the youth celebration at 5:30 p.m. While the actual ceremony will take place at the Virginia G. Piper Theater in Scottsdale, the celebration will be a ticket-only live stream event. Individual tickets are $12.50, and household tickets are $20.
Ticket sales from the annual Zonis not only underwrite the costs of the performance, but also help support the costs of managing the adjudication process of the ariZoni Theatre Awards of Excellence and other programs, such as the COVID-19 pandemic relief fund which has been providing support to individual artists and theaters in need.
TheaterWorks’ nominations are: Best Overall Production (“A Christmas Carol”); Best Overall Production, Musical (“Spamalot”); Best Overall Production, Youth Play (YouthWorks “Charlotte’s Web”); Best Overall Production, Youth Musical (YouthWorks’ “James and the Giant Peach”); Actress In A Major Role, Play (Shandi Ilyse, “A Christmas Carol”); Actress In A Major Role, Youth Play (Tatum Gray, YouthWorks “Charlotte’s Web”); Actor In A Major Role, Musical (David Dickinson, “Anything Goes”); Actor In A Major Role, Musical (Leonidas Karandreas, YouthWorks “Charlotte’s Web”); Actress In A Supporting Role, Play (Christine Cavazos, “A Christmas Carol”); Actress In A Supporting Role, Musical (Deserae McCall, “Anything Goes” and Brianna Funk “The Wizard of Oz”); Actor In A Supporting Role, Musical (Jonathan Debs, “Spamalot”); Director, Play (Chris Hamby, “A Christmas Carol”); Director, Musical (Chris Hamby, “The Wizard of Oz”); Director, Youth Play (Tim McCandless, YouthWorks “Charlotte’s Web”); Director, Youth Musical (Paul Pedersen, YouthWorks “James and the Giant Peach”); Musical Direction (Steve Hilderbrand, “Anything Goes”); Choreography (Cydney Trent, “Anything Goes” and Sarah Weichman, “Spamalot”); Scenic Design (Dori Brown, YouthWorks “James and the Giant Peach”); Costume Design (Elizabeth Peterson, “The Wizard of Oz”); Costume Design, Youth Theatre (Whitney Tres, YouthWorks “James and the Giant Peach”); Lighting Design (Daniel Davisson, “Anything Goes”); Lighting Design, Youth Theatre (Ryan Terry, YouthWorks “James and the Giant Peach”); Sound Design (Daniel Nishimura, “A Christmas Carol”); Sound Design, Youth Theatre (Daniel Nishimura, YouthWorks “James and the Giant Peach”); Property Design (Jenny Abeyta, “A Christmas Carol”); Artistic Specialization (Jenny Abeyta, “The Wizard of Oz” Tree Puppet Design and Mathieu Rene, “The Wizard of Oz” Toto Puppet Design); Artistic Specialization, Youth Theatre (Jenny Abeyta and Lisette Borja, YouthWorks “James and the Giant Peach” Puppet Design); Media Design (Bobby Sample, “A Christmas Carol” and Todd Carrie “Spamalot”); Media Design, Youth Theatre (Ryan Terry, YouthWorks “James and the Giant Peach”) and Rising Star (Madison Fulmer, YouthWorks “James and the Giant Peach”).
Steve Stockmar has been with the Independent Newsmedia team since 2017. An NAU alum and Peoria resident, Steve’s community journalism pursuits focus mostly on arts & culture, education, and profiles of neighbors making a difference. In his spare time Steve plays in a vintage baseball league using uniforms and rules from the 1860s, and also acts (badly) in community theater. In addition, he has an unhealthy obsession with baseball and the Chicago Cubs.
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