AALM_Spotlight

ARTS à la Mode

4th Annual

2011 THEATRE RECOGNITION AWARDS

ARTS à la Mode will be finishing up it's fifth full year soon. We want to thank you, our readers, for giving us the chance to share our thoughts and opinions with you. We do our best to bring you fair, honest, and independent commentary.

As we've mentioned before we prefer to give non-traditional awards to bring attention to those who might not otherwise get as much recognition as they deserve. This year we are going to honor theatre for the young. Children's movies make a ton of money, and children's theatre seems to be increasing in stature and ticket sales every year, too. Why? When economic times are tough as they are now, parents don't want to deprive their children any good or fun experiences, even if they have to make sacrifices themselves.

We are fortunate in Charlotte to have one of the top children's theatres in the country, Children's Theatre of Charlotte. Even if you don't have children to take there, you might want to go just for the quality of the performances. But we are also seeing more shows in Charlotte devoted to our younger theatre goers. It is difficult to get to everything and see everybody, but these are the highlights of the past year in our estimation. So, in no particular order here are those we honor:

ARTS à la Mode -- Theatre Recognition Awards 2011
AWARD				RECIPIENT
I'M YOUR PUPPET				Grey Seal Puppets Or rather, you can be mine. This national award-winning ensemble headed by Drew Allison is a Charlotte treasure.
THE GREATER GOOD				Playing for Others Director Jen Band puts together a fine production with the teens who help younger challenged children. This year they partnered with the Metro School.
BETTER THAN GLEE				Northwest School of the Arts We've got talent, right here in River City, um, I mean Charlotte. Very impressive.
ORIGINAL CONCEPT				PlayPlay! For very young children up to three years old. Now that takes some patience!
HATS OFF				Tarradiddle Players Can you imagine traveling so much to bring entertainment to kids at schools all over the area and even out of the area?
MIME OVER MATTER				Omimeo Hardin Minor--another Charlotte treasure--always give us something to tickle the imagination.
ADAPTATION				How I Became a Pirate From the book by South Carolina author Melinda Long, play by Alyn Cardarelli and Steve Goers. A wonderful imagining.
HE'S GOT GAME				Jim Yost So to speak, meaning he leads and helps develop the talents of a group of teens at Providence High School.
IT'S THE HIGH END				Blumenthal Performing Arts Brings the Broadway shows like Shrek, Mary Poppins we wouldn't otherwise have the opportunity to see.
EXCELLENCE				Children's Theatre of Charlotte They offer everything from Dejembe Fire to Salsa Cinderella to shows about Anne Frank .
DIRECTORS				Alan Poindexter, James Yost, Jen Band, Mark Sutton, Corey Mitchell, Steven Ivey, Craig Kolkebeck, Nicia Carla, Sidney Horton, Ron Chisholm Working with children/teens is a special art. They have to like you!
YOUNG ACTORS TO WATCH				Rachel Tate, Ashton Guthrie, Tanner Agle, Sam Faulkner, Ian Fermy, Aubrey McGrath, Isaac Josephal, Savannah Devore, Brooke Feinglass, and many more coming up. All are terrific, some are leaving us to go to college. It's been a pleasure watching them grow into fine actors.
FAVORITES				OnStage and Ensemble Company These are the kids shows where the children and teens perform. It makes you feel hopeful about the future of theatre.
IN THE MOMENT				To Those Who Have & Will Cast & Work with Young Actors Thank you for awakening the magic in them and giving them the chance to bring it to all of us.

Congratulations to ALL!
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ARTS à la Mode 4th Annual 2011 THEATRE RECOGNITION AWARDS

ARTS à la Mode

4th Annual

2011 THEATRE RECOGNITION AWARDS