Alumni and faculty of the Columbia College Chicago Theatre Department and the Columbia College Chicago Music Department have been nominated for 2017 Joseph Jefferson Awards, Chicago’s top theatre award. The list of this year’s “Jeff Award” nominees, announced August 23, includes:
Caroline Neff
Grant Sabin
Alumnus Grant Sabin ’05, a graduate of the Theatre Department’s Theatre Design Program and now a faculty member in that program, for his Scenic Design of Remy Bumppo Theatre’s Born Yesterday;
Alumnus Jesse Klug ’05, also a graduate of the Theatre Department’s Theatre Design Program, for his lighting designs for two productions at the Paramount Theatre in Aurora: Sweeney Todd and The Little Mermaid;
Michael Stanfill
Theatre Department faculty member Michael Stanfill, for his lighting design for The Hypocrites’ production of Wit;
Tammy Mader
Theatre Department faculty member Tammy Mader, for her Choreography of Singin’ in the Rain at Marriott Theatre in Lincolnshire;
Paul Deziel
Alumnus Paul Deziel ’14, graduate of Columbia’s BA program in technical theatre, for his Projection Design for Beauty’s Daughter at American Blues Theatre.
Jerome Riley
Jared Grant
Izaiah Harris
In addition, the cast of Porchlight Music Theatre’s production of The Scottsboro Boys was nominated for Ensemble. The cast included Columbia alumni Jerome Riley Jr. ’16, a graduate of the Theatre Department’s BFA Program in Musical Theatre Performance, and Jared Grant ’12, a graduate of the Theatre Department’s BA Program in Musical Theatre, as well as current Musical Theatre BA program student Izaiah Harris.
Jeffrey Levin
Also, alumnus Jeffrey Levin ’10, a graduate of the Columbia College Chicago Music Department‘s BA Program in Music with a Composition Concentration, was nominated for his Sound Design for Halcyon Theatre’s The River Bride.
Other nominees with Columbia College Chicago connections include:
John Kelly
former Theatre Department student John Kelly for Lighting Design (I Am My Own Wife, About Face Theatre);
Bethany Thomas
former Columbia College Theatre Department student Bethany Thomas for Actress in a Revue (Marry Me a Little, Porchlight Music Theatre);
Chuck Smith
former Theatre Department faculty member Chuck Smith for Direction of a Play (Objects in the Mirror, Goodman Theatre);
Jim Corti
former Dance Center of Columbia College Chicago faculty member Jim Corti for Direction of a Musical (Sweeney Todd, Paramount Theatre);
Mike Tutaj
former Theatre Department faculty member Mike Tutaj for Projection Design for two productions (Julius Caesar, Writers Theatre; Objects in the Mirror, Goodman Theatre);
Richard Woodbury
former Dance Center of Columbia College Chicago associate chair and faculty member Richard Woodbury for Sound Design (Uncle Vanya, Goodman Theatre);
Orbert Davis
former Music Department faculty member Orbert Davis for Original Music (Paradise Blue, TimeLine Theatre);
Roberta Duchak
former Music Department faculty member Roberta Duchak for Music Direction (Smokey Joe’s Cafe, Drury Lane Theatre).
Congratulations to all our Columbia College Chicago alumni, faculty, and current and former students on being nominated for Chicago’s top theatrical awards!
The 49th Annual Jeff Awards ceremony honoring excellence in professional theatre produced within the immediate Chicago area will be held on Monday, November 6, at Drury Lane Theatre in suburban Oakbrook Terrace. Performances featuring cast members from nominated musicals and revues will highlight the ceremony. For more information, click here.
