The Columbia College Chicago Theatre Department proudly congratulates the Columbia College Chicago alumni and faculty who have been nominated for 2022 Black Theatre Alliance/Ira Aldridge Awards honoring the work of Chicago-area theatre artists during the 2021-2022 theatre season. The nominations were announced Wednesday, August 3. The winners will be announced at the 28th Annual Black Theater Alliance/Ira Aldridge Awards ceremony on Tuesday, October 4, at Columbia College Chicago’s Conaway Center, located at 1104 S. Wabash Avenue in Chicago’s South Loop.
The nominees include these alumni and faculty of Columbia College:
Columbia College alum A.C. Smith ’86, a graduate of the Theatre Department’s BA Program in Theatre, nominated for the Sidney Poitier Award for Leading Actor in a Play for his performance in Court Theatre’s production of August Wilson‘s drama Two Trains Running;
Shantel Cribbs
MJ Rawls
Terrell Armstrong
Bethany Thomas
former Columbia College Theatre Department student Bethany Thomas, nominated for the Bert Williams Award for Solo Performance in a Play for Northlight Theatre’s Songs for Nobodies;
Andrea J. Dymond
Columbia College Theatre Department faculty member Andrea J. Dymond, nominated for the Lloyd Richards Award for Direction of a Play for Paramount Theatre‘s Copley Theatre production of Sweat;
Kenny Ingram
Kenny Ingram, former teacher of Musical Theatre Dance in the Columbia College Theatre Department’s Musical Theatre Program, nominated for the Oscar Brown Jr. Award for Direction of a Musical and the Katherine Dunham Award for Choreography in a Play, both for his work on Porchlight Music Theatre’s Blues in the Night;
David Fiorello
Robert Reddrick
former Columbia College Chicago Music Department student Robert Reddrick, nominated for the Duke Ellington Award for Musical Direction for Porchlight Music Theatre’s Porchlight Music Theatre’s Pump Boys and Dinettes;
D.J. Douglass
Columbia College alum D.J. Douglass ’12, a graduate of the Theatre Department’s BA Program in Musical Theatre, nominated for the Mike Sargent Award for Sound Design for Black Ensemble Theatre’s Grandma’s Jukebox;
Columbia College alum Christopher M. LaPorte ’06, a graduate of the Arts Management program in what is now the Columbia College Chicago Business and Entrepreneurship Department, nominated for the Mike Sargent Award for Sound Design for Lookingglass Theatre’s Her Honor Jane Byrne;
Tyla Abercrumbie
Columbia College alum Tyla Abercrumbie ’98, nominated for the Lorraine Hansberry Award for Writing of a Play, for TimeLine Theatre’s world premiere of her drama Relentless – which was also nominated for the Target Community Relations Award for Best Ensemble.
In addition to these nominated individuals, many nominated productions included the participation of Columbia alumni and faculty. Congratulations to all!
Vincent Williams
The Black Theatre Alliance/Ira Aldridge Awards were established in 1995 by Columbia College Chicago alumnus Vincent Williams ’03, a graduate of the BA Program in Performing Arts Management from what is now the Columbia College Chicago Business and Entrepreneurship Department. The awards were founded to honor African Americans who achieve excellence in theatre, dance, and all areas of the performing arts in the Chicagoland area. The awards also pay homage to Ira Aldridge (1807-1867), an African American actor famed for his performances in Shakespearean roles in Europe. The 2022 awards recognize Chicago-area stage productions produced and presented between August 1, 2021, and July 31, 2022.
