By Joe Straw
Art breaks your heart. – narrator
The Last Straw Awards 2018, for now, is a virtual award; there are no plaques, or statuettes that you can pawn off to pay for medical bills. In short, it is an award based on merit and something you can carry with you forever without the clutter.
First, the writers, for without them there would be no play.
Writers:
Julio Vera– Alik
Quiara Alegría Hudes– The Happiest Song Plays Last
Bernardo Cubría– The Giant Void in My Soul
Christian Levatino– …meantime at HoJo’s
Luis Valdez– Valley of the Heart
Also, it is with great pleasure that I announce the actors who are recipients of this award. Their performance stays with me long after I have left the theatre. Making the most of a moment is what counts. And sometimes those moments can be profound or subtle. One loves a treacherously delivered line. In most cases, it is the fruition of hard work, reflecting a supreme simplicity, and coming to a demonstrative peak on a given night.
(I make it a point to cover actors and you can read about their performances in this blog. Type the name of the production in the blog window top left to find.)
Actors:
Small Mouth Sounds by Bess Wohl – at The Broad
Brenna Palughi– Alicia
Orville Mendoza– Teacher
A Soldier’s Fugue by Quiara Alegría Hudes – at Kirk Douglas
Rubén Garfias– Grandpop
Alik by Julio Vera – at AmVet Post 2 House
Lauren Fordinal– Marina
Justin Powell– Alik
Sam Flemming– Pavel
Monica Ross– Rimma
Colleen Greenhalgh– Larissa
The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee –Music and Lyrics by William Finn, Book by Rachel Sheinkin, Conceived by Rachel Sheinkin, Additional Material by Jay Reiss at Culver City High School
Jaylen Rosado– Leaf Coneybear
Aidan Van den Broeck– Vice Principal Doug Panch
Kacey Oschack– Marcy Park
Joey O’Neal– William Barfée
Sophia Martin-Straw– Various Roles
Nice Fish by Mark Rylance & Louis Jenkins – at Shakespeare Center of Los Angeles
Tamika Simpkins– DNR Officer
Kristen Egermeier– Flo
The Happiest Song Plays Last by Quiara Alegría Hudes – at Latino Theatre Company
Elisa Bocanegra– Yaz
Al Rodrigo– Agustín
John Seda-Pitre– Lefty
Kamal Marayati– Ali
Evangeline, The Queen of Make-Believe by Theresa Chavez and Rose Portillo, Story by Theresa Chavez, Louis Pérez and Rose Portillo – The Plaza de la Raza
Blanca Araceli– Alicia Ibarra
Mr. Pim Passes By by A. A Milne – at Theatre 40
John Wallace Combs– George Marden
Roslyn Cohn– Olivia Marden
The Giant Void in My Soul by Bernardo Cubría – Pico Playhouse
Karla Mosley– Fool 1
Kim Hamilton– Fool 2
Claudia Doumit– Various Roles
Liza Fernandez– Various roles
SOLO MUST DIE: A Musical Parody Book by Jordan and Ari Stidham Music and Lyrics by Hughie Stone Fish and Ari Stidham – at Hudson Backstage Theatre
Selorm Kploanyi– Galaxia
Michelle Wicklas– Various Roles
The Intimacy Effect by Jeff Tabnick – at the Lounge Theatre
Toni Christopher– Amy Appel
Jordana Oberman– Merrily Appel.
Water by the Spoonful by Quiara Alegría Hudes – at The Mark Taper
Sean Carvajal– Elliot
Yellow Face by David Henry Hwang – at The Beverly Hills Playhouse
Jennifer Vo Le– Leah Anne Cho
Dennis Nollette– Various Roles
Jon Pendergast– NWOAOC (Name Withheld On Advice of Counsel)
Lisagaye Tomlinson– Various roles
…meantime at HoJo’s by Christian Levatino – at The Flight Theatre
Patrick Flanagan– Macho Barker
Leo Olivia– Rolando Martinez
Hector Hugo– Villo Gonzalez
LQ Victor– G. Gordon Liddy
Fairy Tale Theatre 18 & Over: The Musical by Michael J. Feldman Music by Jason Currie – at Pico Playhouse
Sheila Carrasco– Various roles
Valley of the Heart by Luis Valdez – at The Mark Taper
Rose Portillo– Paula Montaño
Scott Keiji Takeda– Calvin Sakamoto
Daniel Valdez– Cayetano Montaño
Bus Stop by William Inge – at Theatre 40
Kaitlin Huwe– Cherie
Mani Yarosh– Elma
These are the directors that made the list – because the work was remarkable - and all for different reasons.
Directors:
Cassandra Ambe– Alik
Felix Solis– The Giant Void in My Soul
Robert Zimmerman– Yellow Face
Edward Torres– The Happiest Song Plays Last
Christian Levatino– …meantime at HoJo’s
Luis Valdez– Valley of the Heart
The Ortiz Award 2018is given to the play that showcases an outstanding presentation of diversity and art in a theatrical presentation. This award is named in honor of Vilma Ortiz, Ph.D., Professor of Sociology at UCLA and a champion of diversity in the arts and in her academic field of study. This year the recipient is:
Valley of the Heart – Written and directed by Luis Valdez