Back Stage West Garland Awards
Encyclopedia
The Back Stage Garland Awards — also referred to simply as the Garland Awards, and known as the Back Stage West Garland Awards from 1998 to 2008 — are bestowed by the entertainment-industry newspaper Back Stage
, honoring excellence in Southern California
theatre
. The awards recognize many different types of contributors to theatre, including actor
s, directors, producers
, prop makers
, set designers, costume design
ers, and choreographers
.
in Los Angeles, California
, and awards in the following two years were presented in a ceremony at the Geffen Playhouse
in Westwood, Los Angeles, California
. Two hundred and seventy stage artists and theatre supporters attended the first annual awards. Awards categories in the first year included production, performance, ensemble cast, sound design, costume, lighting design, set design, musical score, and choreography. Pacific Resident Theatre in Venice, California
was recognized with a special award for "continued excellence." Presenters at the first annual awards included Daniel Henning, artistic director
for the Blank Theatre Company
, and actor Noah Wyle
, who had just joined Blank Theatre Company as artistic producer. David Schwimmer
spoke on behalf of the Chicago, Illinois-based company he co-founded, Lookingglass Theatre Company, and accepted awards for their production of Arabian Nights. Ian McKellen
was also honored at the ceremony for his
one-man show, A Knight Out in Los Angeles. The first annual Garland Awards were dedicated to actor Charles Hallahan
, a member of the Matrix Theatre Company who died in 1997.
Though the first year's awards focused mainly on the production of Ragtime
, the second annual awards, held on January 25, 1999, focused on many different contributors in the industry. Actress Carol Burnett
was the first honoree and presenter at the second annual awards. Prizes in the second year were awarded for production, performance, writing, musical score, choreography, direction, and design. The comedy-drama
Elephant Sighs won the Garland Award for best new play of 1998. The third annual awards ceremony in 2000 ran for two and a half hours, and one hundred and ten individuals were recognized. Well-known songs were played at the awards ceremony in a sing-along
fashion, including "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" and pieces from West Side Story and Hedwig and the Angry Inch
.
Heroes star David Anders
was among an ensemble cast of The Diary of Anne Frank honored with a Garland Award for its 2001 production. The ninth annual awards ceremony was held at the Bootleg Theatre in Los Angeles on March 26, 2007. Over 175 guests attended the event, which honored 2006 productions and theatre contributors including Salome Jens
, who won a performance award for Leipzig, and actor-singer Camille Saviola
for her role in Zorba. Music director Gerald Sternbach, honored for his direction of Zorba, stated his appreciation of the Garland Awards: "What's wonderful about the Garlands is it's unpretentious. At other things there is a lot of tension, but really, this isn't a ceremony, it's a party. It's a supportive environment where everyone gets to hang."
Back Stage
Back Stage is an entertainment-industry brand aimed at people working in film and the performing arts, with a special focus on casting, job opportunities, and career advice.Back Stage publishes a weekly tabloid-sized trade magazine in the U.S...
, honoring excellence in Southern California
Southern California
Southern California is a megaregion, or megapolitan area, in the southern area of the U.S. state of California. Large urban areas include Greater Los Angeles and Greater San Diego. The urban area stretches along the coast from Ventura through the Southland and Inland Empire to San Diego...
theatre
Theater in the United States
Theater of the United States is based in the Western tradition. Regional or resident theatres in the United States are professional theatre companies outside of New York City that produce their own seasons.- Early history:...
. The awards recognize many different types of contributors to theatre, including actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
s, directors, producers
Theatrical producer
A theatrical producer is the person ultimately responsible for overseeing all aspects of mounting a theatre production. The independent producer will usually be the originator and finder of the script and starts the whole process...
, prop makers
Property master
The property master is an artistic and organizational employee in a film, television or theatrical production who is responsible for purchasing, acquiring and/or manufacturing any props needed for a production...
, set designers, costume design
Costume design
Costume design is the fabrication of apparel for the overall appearance of a character or performer. This usually involves researching, designing and building the actual items from conception. Costumes may be for a theater or cinema performance but may not be limited to such...
ers, and choreographers
Choreography
Choreography is the art of designing sequences of movements in which motion, form, or both are specified. Choreography may also refer to the design itself, which is sometimes expressed by means of dance notation. The word choreography literally means "dance-writing" from the Greek words "χορεία" ...
.
Selection process
Award winners are selected through a process voted on by theatre critics in the industry. Each Garland winner has appeared on at least three critics' "Best of" lists for the previous year. Critics are each allowed to name "up to five nominees for each category except performance, up to 10 nominees for performance in a musical production and up to 10 in straight productions." Each winner is presented with a "Garland statuette" in the year following their recognized production.History
The first awards were presented on January 12, 1998, with eighty individuals recognized, and the next year's ceremony recognized one hundred and fifty people. The first ceremony was held at the Coronet TheatreCoronet Theatre
The Coronet Theatre is a longstanding Los Angeles theatre. Many Hollywood stars have played there, and it has been home to several important premiere productions. More than 300 plays have been produced at the Coronet. As of June 2008, the theatre is now Largo at the Coronet Theatre, an expansion...
in Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
, and awards in the following two years were presented in a ceremony at the Geffen Playhouse
Geffen Playhouse
The Geffen Playhouse is a not for profit performing arts theater in the Westwood neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. Originally named the Westwood Playhouse, UCLA purchased the property in 1993. UCLA's then chancellor, Charles E. Young, appointed Gil Cates Producing Director...
in Westwood, Los Angeles, California
Westwood, Los Angeles, California
Westwood is a neighborhood on the Westside of Los Angeles, California, United States. It is the home of the University of California, Los Angeles .-History:...
. Two hundred and seventy stage artists and theatre supporters attended the first annual awards. Awards categories in the first year included production, performance, ensemble cast, sound design, costume, lighting design, set design, musical score, and choreography. Pacific Resident Theatre in Venice, California
Venice, Los Angeles, California
Venice is a beachfront district on the Westside of Los Angeles, California, United States. It is known for its canals, beaches and circus-like Ocean Front Walk, a two-and-a-half mile pedestrian-only promenade that features performers, fortune-tellers, artists, and vendors...
was recognized with a special award for "continued excellence." Presenters at the first annual awards included Daniel Henning, artistic director
Artistic director
An artistic director is the executive of an arts organization, particularly in a theatre company, that handles the organization's artistic direction. He or she is generally a producer and director, but not in the sense of a mogul, since the organization is generally a non-profit organization...
for the Blank Theatre Company
Blank Theatre Company
The Blank Theatre Company is a non-profit theatre company located in Los Angeles, California. It was founded in 1990 by Daniel Henning, who is today the company's Artistic Director/Producer. The Blank’s mission is to produce either premieres or "reinventions" of previously-produced material...
, and actor Noah Wyle
Noah Wyle
Noah Strausser Speer Wyle is an American film, television and theatre actor. He is best known for his role as Dr. John Truman Carter III in the Medical drama ER. He has also played Steve Jobs in the 1999 docudrama Pirates of Silicon Valley and Flynn Carsen in The Librarian franchise...
, who had just joined Blank Theatre Company as artistic producer. David Schwimmer
David Schwimmer
David Lawrence Schwimmer is an American actor and director of television and film. He was born in New York City, and his family moved to Los Angeles when he was two. He began his acting career performing in school plays at Beverly Hills High School. In 1988, he graduated from Northwestern...
spoke on behalf of the Chicago, Illinois-based company he co-founded, Lookingglass Theatre Company, and accepted awards for their production of Arabian Nights. Ian McKellen
Ian McKellen
Sir Ian Murray McKellen, CH, CBE is an English actor. He has received a Tony Award, two Academy Award nominations, and five Emmy Award nominations. His work has spanned genres from Shakespearean and modern theatre to popular fantasy and science fiction...
was also honored at the ceremony for his
one-man show, A Knight Out in Los Angeles. The first annual Garland Awards were dedicated to actor Charles Hallahan
Charles Hallahan
Charles John Hallahan was an American film, television and stage actor best known for his performances in Going in Style, The Thing, and Dante's Peak.-Life and career:...
, a member of the Matrix Theatre Company who died in 1997.
Though the first year's awards focused mainly on the production of Ragtime
Ragtime (musical)
Ragtime is a musical with a book by Terrence McNally, lyrics by Lynn Ahrens, and music by Stephen Flaherty.Based on the 1975 novel by E. L. Doctorow, Ragtime tells the story of three groups in America, represented by Coalhouse Walker Jr., a Harlem musician; Mother, the matriarch of a WASP family in...
, the second annual awards, held on January 25, 1999, focused on many different contributors in the industry. Actress Carol Burnett
Carol Burnett
Carol Creighton Burnett is an American actress, comedian, singer, dancer and writer. Burnett started her career in New York. After becoming a hit on Broadway, she made her television debut...
was the first honoree and presenter at the second annual awards. Prizes in the second year were awarded for production, performance, writing, musical score, choreography, direction, and design. The comedy-drama
Comedy-drama
Comedy-drama is a genre of theatre, film and television programs which combines humorous and serious content.-Theatre:Traditional western theatre, beginning with the ancient Greeks, was divided into comedy and tragedy...
Elephant Sighs won the Garland Award for best new play of 1998. The third annual awards ceremony in 2000 ran for two and a half hours, and one hundred and ten individuals were recognized. Well-known songs were played at the awards ceremony in a sing-along
Sing-along
Sing-along, community singing, group singing, is an event of singing together at gatherings or parties, less formally than choir singing. One can use a songbook. Common genres are folk songs, patriotic songs, hymns and drinking songs...
fashion, including "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" and pieces from West Side Story and Hedwig and the Angry Inch
Hedwig and the Angry Inch (musical)
Hedwig and the Angry Inch is a rock musical about a fictional rock and roll band fronted by an East German transgender singer. The text is by John Cameron Mitchell, and the music and lyrics are by Stephen Trask. The musical premiered in 1998 and has been performed throughout the world in hundreds...
.
Heroes star David Anders
David Anders
David Anders is an American television and stage actor. He is best known for his roles as Julian Sark on Alias, and as Adam Monroe on Heroes. Although Anders is American, both of these noted roles required him to use an English accent.-Early life:Anders was born in Grants Pass, Oregon, to parents...
was among an ensemble cast of The Diary of Anne Frank honored with a Garland Award for its 2001 production. The ninth annual awards ceremony was held at the Bootleg Theatre in Los Angeles on March 26, 2007. Over 175 guests attended the event, which honored 2006 productions and theatre contributors including Salome Jens
Salome Jens
Salome Jens is an American stage, film and television actress. She is perhaps best-known for portraying the Female Changeling on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.-Life and career:...
, who won a performance award for Leipzig, and actor-singer Camille Saviola
Camille Saviola
-Early life:Saviola was born in The Bronx, New York City, New York, the daughter of Mary and Michael Saviola. She grew up near Yankee Stadium and graduated from Music and Arts High School then attended college for one year before dropping out to get into acting...
for her role in Zorba. Music director Gerald Sternbach, honored for his direction of Zorba, stated his appreciation of the Garland Awards: "What's wonderful about the Garlands is it's unpretentious. At other things there is a lot of tension, but really, this isn't a ceremony, it's a party. It's a supportive environment where everyone gets to hang."
See also
- Drama Desk Awards
- Drama-Logue AwardDrama-Logue AwardThe Drama-Logue Award was a theater award established in 1977, given by the publishers of Drama-Logue newspaper, a weekly west-coast theater trade publication. Winners were selected by the publication's theater critics, and would receive a certificate at an annual awards ceremony...
s - LA Weekly Theater AwardLA Weekly Theater AwardLA Weekly Theater Award is an annual critics' award established in 1979, given by the LA Weekly for outstanding achievements in small theatre productions in Southern California...
s - Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle AwardLos Angeles Drama Critics Circle AwardThe Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Awards is an annual awards program presented by the Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle . Established in 1969, the awards recognize excellence in theatre in the Greater Los Angeles Area....
- Obie AwardObie AwardThe Obie Awards or Off-Broadway Theater Awards are annual awards given by The Village Voice newspaper to theatre artists and groups in New York City...
- Ovation AwardsOvation AwardsThe Ovation Awards are a Southern California award for excellence in theatre, established in 1989. They are given out by the Los Angeles Stage Alliance and are the only peer-judged theatre awards in Los Angeles. They have been called the "...highest-profile contest for local theatre..." by the Los...
- Tony Awards