October 20 – November 20, 2011
Theatre Row, 410 West 42nd Street, New York City, United States
United Solo Theatre Festival concluded last night with a closing ceremony at Theatre ROW on 42nd Street in New York City. A crowd of solo artists, special guests, and contributors packed into the theatre to commemorate seventy-seven productions featured this fall. Bill Bowers, the host of the ceremony and a member of the United Solo Academy, announced the 2011 award winners, who were selected from a diverse pool of artists representing eleven countries.
United Solo also announced the special AWARD for the outstanding solo performer of the recent season. In 2011, the United Solo Academy nominated four artists: Daniel Beaty in Through the Night, John Lithgow in Stories by Heart, Patti LuPone in The Gypsy in My Soul, and Robin Williams in Weapons of Self-Destruction.
The United Solo Special Award: Patti LuPone. In her acceptance remarks, Ms. LuPone expressed: I am surprised and touched to receive this award, and also honored to be in the company of such wonderful performers as John Lithgow, Robin Williams and Daniel Beaty. Thank you to United Solo and its Academy for this recognition, which I share with my director Scott Wittman and musical director Joseph Thalken. It’s always a wonderful thing to win an award, but when it comes so unexpectedly and from such an eclectic and international group of artists as the Academy of United Solo it’s even more so. Thank you so much.
The full list of award winners at the 2011 United Solo Festival includes:
Best Production for Haley McGee in OH MY IRMA
Best One-Man Show for Mark Gindick in Wing-Man
Best One-Woman Show for Marilyn Pittman in It’s All The Rage
Best Solo Actor for Anthony Nikolchev in Look, What I Don’t Understand
Best Solo Actress for Wioleta Komar in DIVA
Best Directing for Austin Pendleton directing Judy Rosenblatt in Woman Before a Glass
Best Comedian for Nancy Redman in CLUTTER: I’m Saving My Life and It’s Killing Me
Best One-Man Comedy for Tim Intravia in From Busk Til Dawn
Best One-Woman Comedy for Annie Worden in Misadventures in the Art of Movie Making
Best Script for Hal Ackerman in Prick
Best Storytelling for Antonio Sacre in The Next Best Thing
Best Foreign Show for Patty Diphusa by Pedro Almodovar starring Ewa Kasprzyk
Best Musical for Trent Armand Kendall in PICTURE INCOMPLETE, a one man musical
Best Concert for Rita Costanzi in A Score to Settle
Best Performer Debut for Helyn Rain Messenger in In a Relationship
Best Adaptation for Glen Williamson in Beat the Devil! (Faust, the Whole Story)
Best Short Solo for Donald Molosi in Blue, Black and White
Best Costume for Mozart’s Sister starring Sylvia Milo
Audience Award for Suzanna Geraghty in Auditions, Zoe’s Auditions