The 2009 nominees for the NYIT Awards are in...

The drinks were flowing and there was plenty of good cheer and support to spread around at the 2009 New York Innovative Theatre Awards Nomination Party last night. Held at Demo Hall at 25 Carmine Street, the 5th anniversary of the NYIT Awards was celebrated with sangria, cool raffle prizes, and miniature pastries if you were lucky enough to nab one.

There were theater critics, artists, enthusiasts, publicists, and supporters milling about as the hall filled quickly. Friends reunited with friends, colleagues toasted to one other, and everyone noshed on candy, crudite, cheese and crackers and cake.

Raffle prizes such as tickets for Fuerzabruta, MOMA and L'Oreal products were at hand, but sadly, I didn't have any cash to throw my hat in the ring. ATM machine, anyone?

We were all waiting with baited breath to hear and see via slides who had made the finals......

And then, the wait was over. After all the productions I saw between last year's Awards show and this year's announcement, I was very surprised that I had only seen three of the nominees: The Judgment of Paris, Ragtime and Beowulf-A Thousand Years of Baggage. This extremely low percentage clearly suggests to me that I need to see more shows.

Yeah, no it doesn't.

If the number of shows that I see were measured the way frequent flyer miles are, I would have racked up enough to take several trips around the world by now. Believe it!

What it does suggest is that more off-off Broadway productions need to register for the Awards. Now, get cracking, independent artists!

2009 Nominees

Outstanding Actor in a Featured Role

William Apps IV
Amerissiah
The Amoralists Theatre Company

Nicoye Banks
The High Priestess of Dark Alley
Billie Holiday Theatre

Roy Clary
McReele
Conflict of Interest Theater Company

Clint Morris
Like You Like It
The Gallery Players

Jeffrey Plunkett
All the Rage
Manhattan Theatre Source / Dark Brew Productions

Chris Thorn
Most Damaging Wound
The Production Company

Outstanding Actress in a Featured Role

Ivanna Cullinan
The Granduncle Quadrilogy: Tales from the Land of Ice
Piper McKenzie

Brynn Curry
Like You Like It
The Gallery Players

Phyllis Johnson
Blue Before Morning
terraNOVA Collective

Maura McNamara
The Real Thing
T. Schreiber Studio

Constance Parng
Lee/gendary
HERE Arts Center

Aura Vence
The High Priestess of Dark Alley
Billie Holiday Theatre

Outstanding Actor in a Lead Role

Julian Elfer
Twelfth Night, or What You Will
T. Schreiber Studio

Jaron Farnham
Still the River Runs
Zootopia Theatre Company

Steve French
Still the River Runs,
Zootopia Theatre Company

Jason Howard
Universal Robots
Manhattan Theatre Source/Dark Brew Productions

David Ian Lee
The Reckoning of Kit & Little Boots
The Gallery Players in association with Engine37

August Schulenburg
8 Little Antichrists
Flux Theatre Ensemble

Outstanding Actress in a Lead Role

Katrina Foy
Stomp and Shout (an' Work it All Out)
Babel Theatre Project

Soomi Kim
Lee/gendary
HERE Arts Center

Jan Maxwell
Scenes from an Execution
Potomac Theatre Project

Nedra McClyde
Miss Evers' Boys
Red Fern Theatre Company

Kate Middleton
Avow
The Cardinal Group

Elyse Mirto
Any Day Now
Writer's Forum at Manhattan Theatre Source

Outstanding Ensemble

Christopher Borg, Jeffrey Cranor, Kevin R. Free & Eevin Hartsough
(Not) Just A Day Like Any Other
New York Neo-Futurists

Kether Donohue, Phyllis Johnson, Jenny Maguire, Chris McKinney, Flaco Navaja & Jennifer Dorr White
Blue Before Morning
terraNOVA Collective

Bard Goodrich, Ken Matthews, Megan McQuillan, Michael Solomon, Michael Szeles & Chris Thorn
Most Damaging Wound
The Production Company

Laura Butler, Drae Campbell, Dawn Eshelman, Connie Hall, Ikuko Ikari, Hana Kalinski, Eunjee Lee, Mark Lindberg, Alanna Medlock, Jy Murphy, Jorge Alberto Rubio, Maureen Sebastian & Magin Shantz
Oph3lia
HERE Arts Center

Geraldine Bartlett, Brian D. Coats, Katrina Foy, William Jackson Harper, Khris Lewin, Carolyn McCandlish, Joe Mullen, Frank Rodriguez, Christopher Rubin, Jeremy Schwartz, Joe Sullivan & Andrew Zimmerman
Stomp and Shout (an' Work it All Out)
Babel Theatre Project

Joe Basile, Jill Beckman, Christopher Borg, Jeffrey Cranor, Cara Francis, Kevin R. Free, Ryan Good, Alicia Harding, Eevin Hartsough, Sarah Levy, Erica Livingston, Jacquelyn Landgraf, Rob Neill, Lauren Parish, Joey Rizzolo & Justin Tolley
Too Much Light Makes the Baby Go Blind
New York Neo-Futurists

Esther Barlow, Jennifer Gordon Thomas, Jason Howard, David Lamberton, David Ian Lee, Michelle O'Connor, Ridley Parson, Nancy Sirianni, Tarantino Smith & Ben Sulzbach
Universal Robots
Manhattan Theatre Source/Dark Brew Productions

Outstanding Solo Performance

Martin Dockery
The Surprise
soloNOVA Arts Festival

Leigh Evans
Traces
soloNOVA Arts Festival

Jeff Grow
Creating Illusion
soloNOVA Arts Festival

Abena Koomson
Cozi Sa Wala: Magic Words
soloNOVA Arts Festival

Micia Mosely
Where My Girls At?
Nursha in association with soloNOVA Arts Festival

Una Aya Osato
Recess
FRIGID Festival

Outstanding Choreography/Movement

Keith Andrews
Like You Like It
The Gallery Players

Edward Elefterion
Shadow of Himself
Rabbit Hole Ensemble

Leigh Evans
Traces
soloNOVA Arts Festival

Soomi Kim & Airon Armstrong
Lee/gendary
HERE Arts Center

Austin McCormick
The Judgment of Paris
Company XIV

Stefanie Smith
The Selfish Giant
Literally Alive Children's Theatre

Outstanding Costume Design

Michelle Beshaw
The Very Sad Story of Ethel & Julius, Lovers and Spyes and about Their Untymelie End while Sitting in a Small Room at the Correctional Facility in Ossining, N.Y.
GOH Productions

Emily Morgan DeAngelis
Angel Eaters
Flux Theatre Ensemble

Olivera Gajic
The Judgment of Paris
Company XIV

Hunter Kaczorowski
Like You Like It
The Gallery Players

Becky Lasky
Stomp and Shout (an' Work it All Out)
Babel Theatre Project

Karen Ann Ledger
Twelfth Night, or What You Will
T. Schreiber Studio

Outstanding Lighting Design

Lucrecia Briceno
Lee/gendary
HERE Arts Center

Ian W. Hill
The Granduncle Quadrilogy: Tales from the Land of Ice
Piper McKenzie

Andrew Lu
Still the River Runs
Zootopia Theatre Company

Jennifer Rathbone
Angel Eaters
Flux Theatre Ensemble

Federico Restrepo
The Very Sad Story of Ethel & Julius, Lovers and Spyes and about Their Untymelie End while Sitting in a Small Room at the Correctional Facility in Ossining, N.Y.
GOH Productions

Bruce Steinberg
Blue Before Morning
terraNOVA Collective

Outstanding Sound Design

Dan Bianchi
Dracula
Radiotheatre

Katie Down
Blue Before Morning
terraNOVA Collective

Austin McCormick
The Judgment of Paris
Company XIV

Nick Moore
23 Knives
Resonance Ensemble

Chris Rummel
Twelfth Night, or What You Will,
T. Schreiber Studio

Asa Wember
Angel Eaters
Flux Theatre Ensemble

Outstanding Set Design

George Allison
Twelfth Night, or What You Will,
T. Schreiber Studio

Jim Boutin
Coming, Aphrodite!
LaMaMa ETC in association with Watson Arts

Tristan Jeffers
Stomp and Shout (an' Work it All Out)
Babel Theatre Project

Michael P. Kramer
Ragtime
Astoria Performing Arts Center

Caleb Levengood
Angel Eaters
Flux Theatre Ensemble

Blair Mielnik
To Barcelona!
Ignited States Production Company

Outstanding Director

Geordie Broadwater
Stomp and Shout (an' Work it All Out)
Babel Theatre Project

Nat Cassidy
Any Day Now
Writer's Forum at Manhattan Theatre Source

Gia Forakis
Blue Before Morning
terraNOVA Collective

Vit Horejs
The Very Sad Story of Ethel & Julius, Lovers and Spyes and about Their Untymelie End while Sitting in a Small Room at the Correctional Facility in Ossining, N.Y.
GOH Productions

Matthew J. Nichols
Still the River Runs
Zootopia Theatre Company

Suzi Takahashi
Lee/gendary
HERE Arts Center

Outstanding Original Music

Drew Cutler
Still the River Runs
Zootopia Theatre Company

Mark Ettinger & Paul Foglino
Coming, Aphrodite!
LaMaMa ETC in association with Watson Arts

Kimmy Gatewood, Andy Hertz, Rebekka Johnson, Sarah Lowe & Jeff Solomon
The Apple Sisters
The Apple Sisters

Gerard Keenan
Angel Eaters
Flux Theatre Ensemble

Dave Malloy
Beowulf - A Thousand Years Of Baggage
Banana Bag & Bodice

Nick Moore
23 Knives
Resonance Ensemble

Outstanding Full-Length Script

Johnna Adams
Angel Eaters
Flux Theatre Ensemble

Derek Ahonen
Amerissiah
The Amoralists Theatre Company

James Carmichael
Stomp and Shout (an' Work it All Out)
Babel Theatre Project

Nat Cassidy
The Reckoning of Kit & Little Boots
The Gallery Players in association with Engine37

Kate McGovern
Blue Before Morning
terraNOVA Collective

Mac Rogers
Universal Robots
Manhattan Theatre Source/Dark Brew Productions

Outstanding Original Short Script

Martin Dockery
The Surprise
soloNOVA Arts Festival

Ira Gamerman
Dated: A Cautionary Tale for Facebook UsersElephants on Parade 2009,
EBE Ensemble

Jeff Grow
Creating Illusion
soloNOVA Arts Festival

Kristen Kosmas
The Scandal!
The Management

Kitt Lavoie
[Pwnd]Perceptions, An Evening of One Acts
The Rising Sun Performance Company

Nico Vreeland
The Interview, Elephants on Parade 2009
EBE Ensemble

Outstanding Performance Art Production

Cirque du Quoi?!?
Human Flight Productions, Inc. & Gramily Entertainment

Creating Illusion
soloNOVA Arts Festival

Miss America
LaMaMa ETC in association with Split Britches

Dracula
Radiotheatre

Too Much Light Makes the Baby Go Blind
New York Neo-Futurists

Traces
soloNOVA Arts Festival

Outstanding Production of a Musical

Coming, Aphrodite!
LaMaMa ETC in association with Watson Arts

Like You Like It
The Gallery Players

Ragtime
Astoria Performing Arts Center

The 103rd Annual Performance of Ruddigore, or The Witch's Curse, Presented by Murgatroyd's Hospital for Mental Rehabilitation,Ruddy Gore Maine
Theater 1010

The Apple Sisters
The Apple Sisters

The Who's Tommy
The Gallery Players

Outstanding Production of a Play

Blue Before Morning
terraNOVA Collective

Lee/gendary
HERE Arts Center

Still the River Runs
Zootopia Theatre Company

Stomp and Shout (an' Work it All Out)
Babel Theatre Project

Suspicious Package: an interactive noir
The Fifth Wall

The Reckoning of Kit & Little Boots
The Gallery Players in association with Engine37

Universal Robots
Manhattan Theatre Source/Dark Brew Productions

The New York Innovative Theatre Foundation is celebrating its Fifth Anniversary as a not-for-profit organization, which recognizes the great work of New York's Off-Off-Broadway—honoring its artistic heritage and providing an alliance for this extensive and richly varied community. As advocates for Off-Off-Broadway, they recognize its unique and essential role contributing to global culture. Each season, The New York Innovative Theatre Foundation publicly recognizes excellence in Off-Off-Broadway, with a high-profile awards ceremony. The New York Innovative Theatre Awards celebrate the community and honor some of the previous year’s greatest achievements. The IT Awards heighten audience awareness and foster greater appreciation of the New York theatre experience.