The annual ariZoni Theatre Awards of Excellence event celebrates the vibrant, diverse and creative Arizona theater scene.

More than 35 theaters participate every year. This year the event was virtually broadcast Oct. 5.

Surprise-based Stage Left Productions won two awards, including Best Director in a Play to Cody Dull, (“Comedy of Tenors”) and Best Actress in a Supporting Role, Youth Play to Scout Kurvink [“The Adventures of Rose Red (Snow White’s Less-Famous Sister)”].

Stage Left performs in the Bellmar Plaza, 11340 W. Bell Road, Suite 10.

Following this success, Cody Dull, managing director, and Rodney Rickard, president of the company, plan to open the 2020-21 season in October.

In order to comply with Department of Health Service requirements, the following measures will have been taken:

• Seating has been reduced from 82 to 30, placed to assure social distancing. All other seats have been removed.
• Outside lobby doors will open at the same time as the house doors, allowing patrons to find their seats quickly and safely without mingling in the lobby.
• All patrons and staff will be required to wear a mask inside the facility, and for the duration of the performance. If arriving without a mask, one will be provided.
• Hand sanitizer will be readily available in the lobby and restrooms.
• All high touch surfaces will be cleaned before, during and after every performance.
• There will be no concessions with the exception of bottled water.
• All tickets must be purchased on-line or over the phone. Tickets will not be available at the door. In-person box office ticket sales will be suspended until at least January 2021.
• For the protection of actors and crew, the first few shows this season will be drawn from one-person plays without intermission.
• At the end of the performance, patrons will exit row-by-row, maintaining proper social distancing.
• The theater is asking each patron to remove his or her own trash.

The season will open Oct. 21 to Nov. 8 with “Bad Dates” by Theresa Rebeck. Since opening off-Broadway in 2003, this poignant comedy has become a staple of regional theater.

A ditsy Texas waitress moves to Manhattan (with her 600 pair of shoes); endures a number of bad romantic encounters; and falls in with Romanian gangsters — managing their restaurant while they spend time in jail.

Performances are at 7 p.m. Wednesdays through Saturdays, and 2 p.m. Sundays, 2. The Halloween performance on Saturday, Oct. 31 will be at 2 p.m. rather than 7.

Tickets are $25 with reserved seating.

Next up, Nov. 12-22, will be a youth theater production of “Bad Auditions by Bad Actors” by Ian McWethy.

A new director has one day to find the leads for a community theater production of Romeo and Juliet. In a series of monologues, what seems to be a simple task proves impossible when the pool of actors includes extreme method actors, performers who don’t know what to do with their hands and a girl who may or may not think she’s a cat.

Tickets are $10 with reserved seating.

The twist of the year will be “Who’s Holiday!” by Matthew Lombardo, running Dec. 2-20. It’s a raunchy riff on Dr. Seuss’s famous yuletide tale. The little tyke, Cindy Lou Who, has become a bottle-blond adult who spends her days in a trailer.

She recalls the Christmas Eve she met the Grinch, and the turn of events her life has taken. It’s a hilarious twist on Christmas that ultimately ends in its true spirit.

Performances are at 7 p.m. Wednesdays through Saturdays, and 2 p.m. Sundays. Tickets are $25 and seating is reserved.

Tickets are available for sale now.

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