Chicago's Jeff Awards for 2014

The Equity half of Chicago's annual Joseph Jefferson Awards -- AKA the Jeffs -- were handed out Monday night Drury Lane Oakbrook. Big winners included American Blues Theatre, the Goodman and Writers Theatre, but the awards were spread out over a dozen different shows by the end of the evening. A tribute to the members of the Chicago theatre community who passed away this year -- a huge loss to a tight-knit community -- was an emotional highlight of the night.

So who walked away with the hardware? Here are your winners:

PRODUCTION (Play/Large)
The Dance of Death, Writers Theatre

PRODUCTION (Play/Midsize)
The Normal Heart, TimeLine Theatre Company

PRODUCTION (Musical/Large)
Brigadoon, Goodman Theatre

PRODUCTION (Musical/Midsize)
Hank Williams: Lost Highway, American Blues Theater

PRODUCTION (Revue)
Ain't Misbehavin', Porchlight Music Theatre

DIRECTOR (Play)
Nick Bowling, The Normal Heart, TimeLine Theatre Company

DIRECTOR (Musical)
William Osetek, Next to Normal, Drury Lane Productions

DIRECTOR (Revue)
Brenda Didier, Ain't Misbehavin', Porchlight Music Theatre

ENSEMBLE
The Seafarer, Seanachaí Theatre Company

ACTOR IN A PRINCIPAL ROLE (Play)
Larry Yando, The Dance of Death, Writers Theatre

ACTRESS IN A PRINCIPAL ROLE (Play)
Shannon Cochran, The Dance of Death, Writers Theatre

ACTOR IN A PRINCIPAL ROLE (Musical)
Matthew Brumlow, Hank Williams: Lost Highway, American Blues Theater

ACTRESS IN A PRINCIPAL ROLE (Musical)
Susie McMonagle, Next to Normal, Drury Lane Productions

ACTOR (Revue)
John Hartman, Depraved New World, The Second City

ACTRESS (Revue)
Renee Matthews, Old Jews Telling Jokes, Daniel Okrent & Peter Gethers, Richard Frankel, Tom Viertel, Steven Baruch, and Marc Routh

SOLO PERFORMANCE
Gwendolyn Whiteside, Grounded, American Blues Theater

ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE (Play)
Mike Nussbaum, Smokefall, Goodman Theatre and South Coast Repertory

ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE (Play)
Sandra Marquez, A View From the Bridge, Teatro Vista

ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE (Musical)
Mark David Kaplan, Les Misérables, Drury Lane

ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE (Musical)
Jessica Rush, Gypsy, Chicago Shakespeare Theater

NEW WORK
Rebecca Gilman, Luna Gale, Goodman Theatre

NEW ADAPTATION
John Mossman, The Goddess, The Artistic Home

CHOREOGRAPHY
Rachel Rockwell, Brigadoon, Goodman Theatre

ORIGINAL MUSIC IN A PLAY
PigPen Theatre Co., The Old Man and the Old Moon, Writers Theatre

MUSIC DIRECTION
Malcolm Ruhl, Hank Williams: Lost Highway, American Blues Theater

COSTUME DESIGN (Large)
Mara Blumenfeld, Brigadoon, Goodman Theatre

COSTUME DESIGN (Midsize)
Bill Morey, How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, Porchlight Music Theatre

LIGHTING DESIGN (Large)
William Kirkham, The Little Prince, Lookingglass Theatre Company in association with The Actors Gymnasium

LIGHTING DESIGN (Midsize)
Rebecca A. Barrett and Lee Keenan, Dorian, The House Theatre of Chicago

SCENIC DESIGN (Large)
Collette Pollard, In the Garden: A Darwinian Love Story, Lookingglass Theatre Company

SCENIC DESIGN (Midsize)
Katie-Bell Springman, Cock, Profiles Theatre

SOUND DESIGN (Large)
Mikhail Fiksel, The Old Man and the Old Moon, Writers Theatre

SOUND DESIGN (Midsize)
Lindsay Jones, Grounded, American Blues Theater

PROJECTIONS/VIDEO DESIGN
Sage Marie Carter, Les Misérables, Drury Lane

ARTISTIC SPECIALIZATION
Austin Cook, Piano/Conductor: Ain't Misbehavin', Porchlight Music Theatre
Jeff Klapperich, Portrait Artist: Dorian, The House Theatre of Chicago

American Blues Theater's Blue Ink Playwriting Contest Is Now Open

American Blues Theater, the second-oldest Equity ensemble theater in Chicago, has opened its annual Blue Ink playwriting competition as of July 1. From now till September 1, you can enter your full-length play with the hopes of nabbing a $1000 prize and a staged reading at American Blues Theater. The theater leaves open the possibility of a full production, as well, with a "Right of First Refusal" option built into the rules.

Although no theme is listed for this competition, note that American Blues Theater's mission is to illuminate "the American ideas of freedom, equality, and opportunity in the plays we produce and communities we serve." Founded in 1986 as a blue-collar theater, American Blues wandered away from that goal a bit over the years, but reformed under its original name and recommitted itself to its working-class roots in 2009. Producing Artistic Director Gwendolyn Whiteside kept the ensemble’s mission statement and 25-year commitment to new work and community outreach front and center when she implemented the Blue Ink Playwriting Award and new community service initiatives. Since the theater reformed, they have put into practice the mandate that each production partner with social and service organizations to raise awareness and support.

Click here to see the complete guidelines for submissions for the Blue Ink prize. They include requirements that any play submitted be written in English, original, unpublished, and never before professionally produced.You may submit a word document or a pdf and you must include a $5 administrative fee.

American Blues Theater's current season -- its 29th -- is operating under the theme "Lost & Sound" and it includes the return of Hank Williams: Lost Highway from July 25 to August 31; a world premiere of Nambi E. Kelly's Native Son, adapted from the novel by Richard Wright, from September 11 to October 12; an American Blues original brought back to celebrate the holidays with It's a Wonderful Life (as a radio show performed live and in person) from November 21 to December 28;  the Chicago premiere of Steven Dietz's Yankee Tavern from February 20 to March 22, 2015; and Warren Leight's Side Man, about a jazz trumpeter and his son, from April 24 to May 24, 2015.

For more information on American Blues Theater or the Blue Ink Playwrighting Award, click on the links under their names.