Carolyn Hennessy accepts 2004 Ovation Award for Featured Actress in a Play for Theatre of Note's "The Fan Maroo"
Carolyn Hennesy is replacing French Stewart as host of the LA STAGE Alliance Ovation Awards ceremony for the 2010-11 theater season. Due to unexpected scheduling conflicts, French Stewart has regretfully withdrawn as host of the event, which is scheduled for 7:30 pm on Monday Nov. 14 at the Orpheum Theatre in downtown LA.
Said Hennesy, “I am beyond thrilled to be hosting this year’s Ovations … the preeminent Los Angeles theater awards! Everyone who’s anyone will be there. And thank you, LA STAGE Alliance, for this golden opportunity to lose five pounds.”
LA STAGE Alliance CEO Terence McFarland added, “We’re thrilled Carolyn is available to step into the role of host for this year’s Ovation Awards ceremony as we celebrate excellence in our theatrical community in all its various shapes and sizes.”
Awards will be given in 35 competitive categories, and the recipients of the 2011 Sherwood Award and four 2011 Ovation Honors will be acknowledged. The Ovation Awards are tabulated by Green Hasson Janks.
Hennesy, a Los Angeles native, has been in more than 100 theatrical productions. She won the Natalie Schafer Award for Outstanding Comedic Actress given by the Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle and the Ovation Award for her work in The Fan Maroo (Theatre of NOTE), as well as an NAACP Award nomination for her ensemble work in Uncle Tom’s Cabin (Sacred Fools). Her one-woman Carolyn Hennesy’s Big Leap was produced at HBO Workspace. Some of the other theaters where she has performed include the Mark Taper Forum (Tongue of a Bird and Nothing Sacred), the Zephyr (It’s Just Sex), the Odyssey (Equinox), the Egyptian Arena (View of the Dome) and the Knightsbridge (Dangerous Liaisons, Julius Caesar and The Lion in Winter).
She trained at American Conservatory Theater and the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, London as well as earning a dramatic scholarship to the California State University at Northridge. She also studied with the Groundlings in the early ‘90s and became a member of the Sunday Company. From there she moved to the main company at the ACME Comedy Theatre where she performed for five years. She received a daytime Emmy nomination for General Hospital and appears in the ABC prime-time series Cougar Town. Films include Terminator 3, Legally Blonde 2: Red, White and Blonde, The Cougar Club, Sublime, The Believers and Click. She’s also the author of The Secret Life Of Damian Spinelli (Hyperion), as well as the Pandora series for young adults.
Presenters scheduled to participate include Sally Struthers (Annie), Debbie Allen (Twist), Millicent Martin (Gigi), Patrick Adams (9 Circles), Greg Watanabe (Extraordinary Chambers), Francois Chau (Lost), Jason Alexander (artistic director, Reprise Theatre Company), Laurie Metcalf (Voice Lessons), Michele Lee (representing Actors’ Equity Association), Malissa Shriver (chair, California Arts Council), Craig Watson (director, California Arts Council), Parvesh Cheena (Outsourced), Betsy Brandt (Next Fall), Edi Gathegi (Superior Donuts), Vanessa Stewart (Louis & Keely Live at the Sahara), Alaman Diadhiou (Twist), Erika Sellin (casting director, Center Theatre Group), Larry Dean Harris (Dramatists Guild), Ann E. Wareham (artistic director, Laguna Playhouse), Dale Franzen (director, Broad Stage), Steve Julian (KPCC Radio), Julio Martinez (KPFK Radio), Gail Eichenthal (KUSC Radio), Michael Donovan (independent casting director), Charles Berliner (United Scenic Artists), Laura Zucker (executive director, LA County Arts Commission), Allan Miller (director/founder, Back Alley Theatre), Tom Moore (representing SDC and director of the original Broadway production of Grease), Lindsay Allbaugh (Elephant Theatre co-artistic director and producing associate, Center Theatre Group), and Anthony Byrnes (KCRW Radio).
This year’s Ovation Awards are sponsored by Actors’ Equity Association, Wells Fargo, Goldstar Events, Green Hasson Janks, Go 2 Talent Agency, International Creative Management (ICM), La Mirada Theatre for the Performing Arts, and Pacific Coast Entertainment.
LA STAGE Alliance (LASA), a non-profit organization empowering artists and engaging audiences since 1975, is dedicated to building awareness, appreciation, and support for the performing arts in Greater Los Angeles by strengthening the sector through community building, collaborative marketing, audience engagement, professional development, and advocacy. LASA serves over 900 arts organizations annually, including over 450 dues-paying member professional, educational, and community based producing and presenting performing arts organizations in the counties of Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, Santa Barbara, and Ventura. LASA’s constituents operate in intimate sized venues (99 seats or less), mid-sized venues (100-499 seats), and in large venues (500+ seats), and include independent producers, educational groups, and social service organizations that have a performing arts component. Additionally, LASA directly serves over 50,000 diverse local, regional, national, and international performing arts patrons and, indirectly, three million unique patron households by conducting research on their behavior and buying habits. Providing access to the performing arts for patrons and access to resources for organizations has been our focus for 35 years.
LA STAGE Alliance programs are sponsored, in part, by Actors Equity, The Angell Foundation, Arts Council for Long Beach, California Arts Council, California Community Foundation, City of Los Angeles Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA/LA), City of Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs, City of Pasadena, City of Pasadena Cultural Affairs Division, City of Santa Monica Cultural Affairs Division, City of Santa Monica Cultural Affairs Division, Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, Goldstar, the James Irvine Foundation, Los Angeles County Supervisors through the LA County Arts Commission, Los Angeles Times, MusiCares/Grammy Foundation, National Endowment for the Arts, Ralph M. Parsons Foundation, SDC, The Shubert Foundation, and Sony Pictures Entertainment.
The 2011 Ovation Awards ceremony will take place on Monday, November 14, at the Orpheum Theatre, 842 South Broadway, in downtown Los Angeles. Doors open at 6:30 pm, and the curtain goes up at 7:30 pm. For information, visit www.LASTAGEOvations.com.
