New York Independent Theater Awards | |
---|---|
Awarded for | Excellence in Off-Off-Broadway theatre |
Country | United States |
Presented by | The League of Independent Theater |
First awarded | September 19, 2005 |
Website | Official Website |
The New York Independent Theater Awards (also known as NYIT Awards and IT Awards) are accolades given annually by The League of Independent Theater to honor individuals and organizations who have achieved artistic excellence in Off-Off-Broadway theatre.
The awards - created by The New York Innovative Theatre Foundation in 2004 - were formerly known as “The New York Innovative Theatre Awards”. They were renamed in 2022 upon the Foundation's merger with The League of Independent Theater, who now administer the awards. [1]
The New York Innovative Theatre Foundation was created in 2004 by Jason Bowcutt, Shay Gines and Nick Micozzi to bring recognition to artistic output and heritage of New York City's Off-Off-Broadway community. [2] The organization advocated for Off-Off-Broadway and recognized the unique and essential role it plays in contributing to American and global culture.
In 2022, the foundation merged with The League of Independent Theater, with the awards renamed The New York Independent Theater Awards. [3]
Competitive Awards
Honorary Awards
Season | Awards ceremony | Location | Awards ceremony host(s) |
---|---|---|---|
2004–05 | Sept. 19, 2005 [4] | Lucille Lortel Theatre | Charles Busch |
2005–06 | Sept. 18, 2006 [5] | Cooper Union | Charles Busch |
2006–07 | Sept. 24, 2007 [6] | Fashion Institute of Technology | Julie Halston |
2007–08 | Sept. 22, 2008 [7] | Fashion Institute of Technology | Lisa Kron |
2008–09 | Sept. 21, 2009 [8] | New World Stages | Julie Halston |
2009–10 | Sept 20, 2010 [9] | Cooper Union | Lisa Kron |
2010–11 | Sept. 19, 2011 [10] | Cooper Union | Harrison Greenbaum |
2011–12 | Sept. 24, 2012 [11] | Kaye Playhouse | Harrison Greenbaum |
2012–13 | Sept. 30, 2013 [12] | Baruch Performing Arts Center | Harrison Greenbaum |
2013–14 | Sept. 24, 2014 [13] | Baruch Performing Arts Center | Jason Kravits |
2014–15 | Sept. 21, 2015 [14] | Baruch Performing Arts Center | Jason Kravits |
2015–16 | Sept 26. 2016 [15] | Kaye Playhouse | Jason Kravits |
2016–17 | Sept. 25, 2017 [16] | Gerald Lynch Theater | Jason Kravits |
2017–18 | Sept. 24, 2018 [17] | Centennial Memorial Theatre | Becca Blackwell |
2018–19 | Sept. 16, 2019 [18] | Centennial Memorial Theatre | Bradford Scobie |
2019–20 | Did not occur due to COVID-19 Pandemic | ||
2020–21 | Nov. 14, 2021 [19] | Kraine Theater | Shalewa Sharpe and Courtney Fearrington |
2021–22 | Did not occur [20] | ||
2022–23 | June 26, 2023 [21] | Brooklyn Art Haus | Shalewa Sharpe |
The Drama Desk Award is an annual prize recognizing excellence in New York theatre. First bestowed in 1955 as the Vernon Rice Award, the prize initially honored Off-Broadway productions, as well as Off-off-Broadway, and those in the vicinity. Following the 1964 renaming as the Drama Desk Awards, Broadway productions were included beginning with the 1968–69 award season. The awards are considered a significant American theater distinction.
Off-off-Broadway theaters are smaller New York City theaters than Broadway and off-Broadway theaters, and usually have fewer than 100 seats. The off-off-Broadway movement began in 1958 as part of a response to perceived commercialism of the professional theatre scene and as an experimental or avant-garde movement of drama and theatre. Over time, some off-off-Broadway productions have moved away from the movement's early experimental spirit.
The Obie Awards or Off-Broadway Theater Awards are annual awards given since 1956 by The Village Voice newspaper to theater artists and groups involved in off-Broadway and off-off-Broadway productions in New York City. Starting just after the 2014 ceremony, the American Theatre Wing became the joint presenter and administrative manager of the Obie Awards. The Obie Awards are considered off-Broadway's highest honor, similar to the Tony Awards for Broadway productions.
Jeanine Tesori, known earlier in her career as Jeanine Levenson, is an American composer and musical arranger best known for her work in the theater. She is the most prolific and honored female theatrical composer in history, with five Broadway musicals and six Tony Award nominations. She won the 1999 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Music in a Play for Nicholas Hytner's production of Twelfth Night at Lincoln Center, the 2004 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Music for Caroline, or Change, the 2015 Tony Award for Best Original Score for Fun Home, making them the first female writing team to win that award, and the 2023 Tony Award for Best Original Score for Kimberly Akimbo. She was named a Pulitzer Prize for Drama finalist twice for Fun Home and Soft Power.
Stephanie Janette Block is an American actress and singer, best known for her work on the Broadway stage.
Well is a play by Lisa Kron. It concerns relationships between mothers and daughters and "wellness", among other themes. It ran Off-Broadway in 2004 and then on Broadway in 2006.
Brian d'Arcy James is an American actor and musician. He is known primarily for his Broadway roles, including Shrek in Shrek The Musical, Nick Bottom in Something Rotten!, King George III in Hamilton, and the Baker in Into the Woods, and has received four Tony Award nominations for his work. On-screen, he is known for his recurring role as Andy Baker on the Netflix series 13 Reasons Why, Officer Krupke in West Side Story, and reporter Matt Carroll in Spotlight.
Marshall W. Mason is an American theater director, educator, and writer. Mason founded the Circle Repertory Company in New York City and was artistic director of the company for 18 years (1969–1987). He received an Obie Award for Sustained Achievement in 1983. In 2016, he received the Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Theater.
The Soho Repertory Theatre, known as Soho Rep, is an American Off-Broadway theater company based in New York City which is notable for producing avant-garde plays by contemporary writers. The company, described as a "cultural pillar", is currently located in a 65-seat theatre in the TriBeCa section of lower Manhattan. The company, and the projects it has produced, have won multiple prizes and earned critical acclaim, including numerous Obie Awards, Drama Desk Awards, Drama Critics' Circle Awards, and a Pulitzer Prize. A recent highlight was winning the Drama Desk Award for Sustained Achievement for "nearly four decades of artistic distinction, innovative production, and provocative play selection."
Stephen Adly Guirgis is an American playwright, screenwriter, director, and actor. He is a member and a former co-artistic director of New York City's LAByrinth Theater Company. His plays have been produced both Off-Broadway and on Broadway as well as in the UK. His play Between Riverside and Crazy won the 2015 Pulitzer Prize for Drama.
The Lucille Lortel Awards recognize excellence in New York Off-Broadway theatre. The Awards are named for Lucille Lortel, an actress and theater producer, and have been awarded since 1986. They are produced by the League of Off-Broadway Theatres and Producers by special arrangement with the Lucille Lortel Foundation, with additional support from the Theatre Development Fund.
Jayne Houdyshell is an American actress known for her performances on stage and screen. She earned her first Tony Award nomination for her Broadway debut as Ann in the play Well in 2006. Since then, she has received four more Tony Award nominations for her performances in the revival of Stephen Sondheim's musical Follies in 2012, the new play by Lucas Hnath A Doll's House, Part 2 in 2017, and the revival of Meredith Willson's The Music Man in 2022. She won the Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Play for the 2016 play The Humans.
Annie Baker is an American playwright and teacher who won the 2014 Pulitzer Prize for her play The Flick. Among her works are the Shirley, Vermont plays, which take place in the fictional town of Shirley: Circle Mirror Transformation, Nocturama, Body Awareness, and The Aliens. She was named a MacArthur Fellow in 2017.
Mark Brokaw is an American theatre director. He won the Drama Desk Award, Obie Award and Lucille Lortel Award as Outstanding Director of a Play for How I Learned to Drive.
The Brick Theater is a venue in Williamsburg, Brooklyn that presents dance, performance art, drag, comedy, film, music, experimental theatre, and more. Gothamist has hailed the space as “one of the city’s most reliable sources for smart, funny, and surprising performance.”
Fun Home is a musical theatre adaptation of Alison Bechdel's 2006 graphic memoir of the same name, with music by Jeanine Tesori, and book and lyrics by Lisa Kron. The story concerns Bechdel's discovery of her own lesbian sexuality, her relationship with her closeted gay father, and her attempts to unlock the mysteries surrounding his life. It is told in a series of non-linear vignettes connected by narration provided by the adult Alison character.
Nat Cassidy is an American actor, writer, and musician based out of New York City, New York, United States. He grew up in Phoenix, Arizona and attended Horizon High School, after which he received his BFA at the University of Arizona.
Branden Jacobs-Jenkins is an American playwright. He won the 2014 Obie Award for Best New American Play for his plays Appropriate and An Octoroon. His plays Gloria and Everybody were finalists for the 2016 and 2018 Pulitzer Prize for Drama, respectively. He was named a MacArthur Fellow for 2016.
Leigh Silverman is an American director for the stage, both off-Broadway and on Broadway. She was nominated for the 2014 Tony Award, Best Direction of a Musical for the musical Violet and the 2008 Drama Desk Award, Outstanding Director of a Play for the play From Up Here.