7 Stages founders Del Hamilton and Faye Allen will receive a Lifetime Achievement Award at tonight’s Suzi Bass Awards ceremony, saluting the best of professional theater in metro Atlanta.
In praise of the duo, actor-director-producer Kenny Leon wrote, “Del Hamilton and Faye Allen have helped launch the careers of many artists from Atlanta, including my own. A mainstay in Little Five Points for 35 years, they have brought the world to Atlanta. Their productions have reminded us that the world is a better place when everyone’s story is told. They represent the soul of the Atlanta arts scene, and I salute their commitment to and love for the artist that has something to say to the world.”
Leon’s was one of several testimonials Suzi organizers received in praise of Hamilton and Allen, who founded 7 Stages in 1979.
Suzi trophies will be handed out in 26 categories tonight, the awards’ ninth year. In addition, 13 plays and playwrights are nominated for the Gene-Gabriel Moore Playwrighting Award, named after one of the founders of the Suzis. They are:
- Angry Fags by Topher Payne at 7 Stages
- The Ghastly Dreadfuls by Jon Ludwig and Jason Hinezmeyer at the Center for Puppetry Arts
- The Great McAnigan by Dave Lauby at The Collective Project
- Mighty Myths and Legends, adapted by Allen O’Reilly, Richard Garner and Seth Langer at Georgia Shakespeare
- Moby-Dick, adapted by John Gentile at SAIAH International
- Mysterious Connections by Peter Hardy at Essential Theatre
- The Strange Attractor by Jesse Cramer at Act3 Productions
- Stray Dogs by Matthew Myers at Essential Theatre
- Swell Party by Topher Payne at Georgia Ensemble Theatre
- Tales of Edgar Allan Poe, adapted by Bobby Box and Jon Ludwig at the Center for Puppetry Arts
- Two Drink Minimum by Bill Balzer at Theatrical Outfit
- Unnecessary Monsters by Megan Hayes at Aurora Theatre
- What I Learned in Paris by Pearl Cleage at the Alliance Theatre
The awards are named for the late Suzi Bass, a force of nature who appeared on stages all over town from the late 1970s until her death in 2002.
