Sherwood Award Recipients
2010 – Ann Closs-Farley (Costume Designer)
|
In addition to being a wildly creative and hugely talented designer, Ann Closs-Farley passionately espouses ideas of using recyclable and thrift store materials in her work. She has a keen interest in current technologies and finds ways to incorporate the innovations used in filmmaking into the world of theatre. Her recent credits include The Pee-wee Herman Show on Broadway, Disney’s Toy Story: The Musical and The Projectionist at the Kirk Douglas Theatre. In addition to the Sherwood Award, Ann has received an Ovation Award, L.A. Weekly and Garland Awards and L.A. Drama Critics Circle Awards. Visit www.annclossfarley.com for updates.
|
2009 – Sage Lewis (Composer & Sound Designer)
|
Sage Lewis just released POR AMOR: the album, a record of nine cross-genre songs made collaboratively with Havana and Los Angeles' contemporary music scenes. Buy the album online at www.sagelewis.bandcamp.com or hear it on KPFK. The Cuba Premiere of his Sherwood Award project "Far Away" took place at Havana's historic Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes in February 2011. New projects include SCENIC SONIC MUSIC, a series of three concert installation works that spatialize landscapes of 3D music over physical and virtual spaces.
|
2008 – Lars Jan (Director, with a focus on media/technology integration in performance)
2007 – Ian Garrett (Producer)
2007 – Ameenah Kaplan (Director)
|
Since winning the Sherwood Award in 2007, Ameenah Kaplan has gone on to choreograph award winning shows for the Troubadour Theater Company, Celebration Theater and the Fountain Theater. Most recently, these shows I picked up Ovation awards for Best Musicals large and small theater; and Best Ensemble. Last year, Ameenah was the recipient of an LA Weekly Award for Best Choreography for Altar Boyz at Celebration Theater. Winning the Sherwood Award also taught her how much she still had to learn about storytelling in order to realize her dream of being a director. To that end, Ameenah entered film school shortly after my Sherwood Award workshop at CTG. She is beginning her 3rd year in 2011! Ameenah's focus has been to expand her hybrid style of mixing dance and storytelling on film. She is slated to direct a hip-hop musical called Bash'd at Celebration Theater in March 2011!
|
2003 – Keith Josef Adkins (Playwright)
2002 – Susan Simpson (Puppet Theatre Artist)
2001 – Jay Scheib (Director, Designer, Playwright)
2000 – Robert Castro (Director)
2000 – Alice Tuan (Playwright)
1999 – John Belluso (Playwright)
1997 – Ian Belton (Director)
1996 – Robert O’ Hara (Playwright & Director)
Sherwood Intern Recipients
2011 – Alexander Lydon
|
Alexander Lydon is a native of Napa, California. He discovered his love for theater in high school and went on to get his BA in Theater Arts from Pomona College. He has worked as an actor, director, producer and lighting designer in the San Francisco Bay Area. He is the co-founder of a non-profit experimental arts development organization in Napa called Wandering Rose. Besides being the Sherwood Intern at CTG, Alex teaches chess and improv comedy to elementary school children, studies Corporeal Mime at Pomona College and works as a clown at birthday parties.
|
2010 – Ashley Opstad
 |
Shortly after serving as the 2010 Sherwood Intern, Ashley Opstad was brought on full-time as the Educational Services Coordinator at CTG. In this role, she is responsible for coordinating services and events within the Target Young Audiences Program and Children & Family Programs. Ashley spends most of her free time teaching and performing improv/sketch comedy with various organizations and festivals including Story Pirates, The Improv Space, Improv Olympic, the Los Angeles Improv Comedy Festival (2007- 2009) and the Out Of Bounds Comedy Festival (2009 and 2010). Ashley is currently the Artistic and Managing Director of The Improv Space in Westwood, California where she performs and teaches regularly. She lives happily in the valley with her husband Danny and dog Benny. |
2009 – Ashley Singh
2008 – Allison Feder
2007 (Fall) – Elissa Weinzimmer
|
Since her time as the Sherwood Award intern in Fall 2007, Elissa Weinzimmer has continued her relationship with CTG as the assistant director for Of Equal Measure and The Wake and as the SDCF Mike Ockrent Fellow on Minsky's. She lives in Los Angeles where she is a freelance director and holistic voice and yoga coach.
|
2007 (Spring) – Caitie Hannon
 |
After serving as the first Sherwood Intern in Spring 2007, Caitie Hannon was hired full-time by CTG as the Grants Associate. After two years, she was promoted to the Grants Writer and continued to help raise funds to support CTG's programs and services through May 2010. Caitie also served as the part-time Managing Director for a small non-profit dedicated to youth musical theatre - Ensemble Theatre Company (ETC) - where she had been working since 2005. Caitie is currently in the first year of graduate school at the Yale School of Drama, pursuing an MFA in Theater Management. |
Photo Credit
Above Photo: (L to R) Michael Ritchie, Ameenah Kaplan, and Dorothy Sherwood. Photo by Center Theatre Group
