9-29-06
Throughlines: A look at awards, appointments, births, deaths and others of lifes themes.
Passages
Patrick Quinn
The New York Theatre world was stunned this past weekend to learn about the death of incoming executive director Patrick Quinn. Quinn, who was 56, died of a massive heart attack in his summer home in the Poconos.
Quinn was hired as Equity’s new executive director on Aug. 22, and was set to take over the position from Alan Eisenberg on Oct. 5.
Quinn was a past president of Equity and led the organization and other unions through the aftermath of September 11. He made his Broadway debut in 1970 in a revival of Fiddler on the Roof with Zero Mostel. He was in 10 Broadway shows and made numerous TV appearances.
Performer Jeff Winkless, aka Jeffrey Brock and Fleegle the Dog, died June 26 after battling a malignant brain tumor for a year and a half. His Los Angeles friends held a memorial for him on Sept. 24. Chicago friends are invited to a memorial on Oct. 28, 11 a.m. at the Unitarian Church of Evanston, 1330 Ridge Avenue. Jeff’s wife, Raye, will be there.
Awards and Honors
Sarah Ruhl
She couldn’t get a production in Chicago till she moved away, but the Chicago-based MacArthur Foundation thinks Sarah Ruhl is a genius. The playwright is one of 25 individuals who was named a MacArthur Fellow. All 25 will receive $500,000, no strings attached. Ruhl, whose A Clean House has stormed the regional theatre circuit and will open off-Broadway this fall, told Chris Jones that she was pushing her baby in a stroller when the call came telling her that she was now half a millionaire. She said she doesn’t know what she will do with the money.
Everyone’s favorite retired professor, Dr. Bella Itkin, has received the 2006 Children’s Theatre Foundation of America medallion, honoring her for over a half-century of contributions to the arts. Dr. Bella is Professor Emeritus of The Theatre School at DePaul University. The medallion was accepted on her behalf on July 27 by Asst. Dean John Bridges at a luncheon in Bethesda, MD.
Greg Vinkler, who’s up for three 2006 Jeff Awards here in Chicago, has picked up a new honor in his capacity as artistic director of the Peninsula Players in Fish Creek, WI. On Aug. 2, onstage before the show at the Peninsula Players, he accepted the inaugural Door County Artist of the Year award from the Peninsula Arts & Humanities Alliance.
At an August 26 celebration, writer and actor Brigid Murphy was honored by Live Bait Theatre with its annual Grigsby Award for Exceptional Achievement in the Art of Solo Performance. Murphy – whose credits are national, varied and many – is best-known locally for her work with Poi Dog Pondering and as the creator/host of Milly’s Orchid Show. (See the profile in PerformInk’s Aug. 18 issue.)
Up in the land of Minnesota hummingbirds (otherwise called mosquitoes), Penumbra Theatre Company (St. Paul) artistic director Lou Bellamy has been named the 2006 McKnight Foundation Distinguished Artist, an annual award with a $40,000 cash prize. The presentation was made at a private reception.
David Mamet has been named recipient of the 2006 Carl Sandburg Literary Award from the Chicago Public Library Foundation and the Chicago Public Library. The Chicago intellectual export will make a rare visit home for the Foundation’s 20th anniversary celebration dinner, Oct. 12 in the Winter Garden of the Harold Washington Library Center. At Noon on Oct. 13, he will present a free public program in the Cindy Pritzker Auditorium of the Harold Washington.
For the third year in a row, the Liberace Foundation has offered scholarship support to theatre students at Columbia College Chicago. Over the summer, the Foundation and Columbia College announced six Liberace Scholars for the 2006-2007 academic year: Leslie Adelina Bradshaw (playwriting), Ebony Campbell (directing), Meghan Murphy (acting), Lindsay Naas (acting), Daisica Smith (acting) and Eric Turner (directing). The Liberace Scholarships are competitive and merit-based.
Appointments and Dis-appointments
Over the winter, New World Repertory Theater in Downers Grove selected Alison Henderson as co-artistic director with founder Jean Gottlieb. Henderson makes her directorial debut with New World Rep with The Glass Menagerie (Oct. 7-Nov. 5).
Over the summer, the Chicago Sinfonietta named Don Maccia as director of marketing. The 25 year music industry vet’s resume includes gigs with Rose Record, Borders, Miles Ahead Jazz Radio and Premonition Records as well as private consulting. The Chicago Sinfonietta opens its 20th anniversary season with Oct. 1-2 concerts.
Catherine Brandt is the new public relations manager at Chicago Shakespeare Theater. She arrived from Pittsburgh in time to oversee the season opener, Hamlet.
Two of Chicago’s most senior and influential arts executives have announced their retirements. Gail Kalver steps down as executive director of Hubbard Street Dance Chicago at the end of the 2006-2007 season, after 23 years with the troupe. Also, Illinois Arts Alliance executive director Alene Valkanas is calling it quits after 20 years at the helm, effective next year.