2017 Santa Barbara Independent Theater and Dance Awards
Recognizing Santa Barbara’s Best on the Stage
They started out in neat rows on a table onstage, but by the end of each evening, the bright green statuettes representing the 2017 Independent Theater and Dance Awards dotted the room like fresh shoots of spring plants growing in fertile soil. Thus distributed, the shiny lower case i’s made an apt metaphor for the fertility of our beloved creative community, and served as a reminder that art, like nature, is perpetually renewed by life.
Theater
On Monday, May 22, the hands that grasped the 2017 Theater awards belonged to a remarkably diverse group of people engaged in a wide variety of theatrical endeavors. They ranged from eager high school musical performers such as Michael-Anthony Claytor and Nicole Trujillo, two of the stars of the Dos Pueblos High School production of The Addams Family Musical, to hearty veterans such as Kitty Balay of PCPA, who won for her role as Amanda Wingfield in The Glass Menagerie, and James O’Neil of the Rubicon, who was honored for his portrayal of the title character in Clarence Darrow.
The Indy Awards exist to acknowledge all aspects of theatrical creation, not just acting and directing, and this year, two artists associated with Ensemble Theatre Company received recognition for their contributions to the look and feel of that organization’s polished, professional shows. They were Dianne K. Graebner, who designed the costumes for Fallen Angels, and Sara Ryung Clement, who created the fantastic plantation house set that housed Baby Doll.
