(NEW YORK, NY) -- The New York Innovative Theatre Awards will hold its 2021 Honorary Awards Ceremony, hosted by Shalewa Sharpe and Courtney Fearrington, at The Kraine Theater (85 E 4th St, New York, NY 10003) on November 14th, 2021 starting at 7:00pm, as well as live-streamed. Tickets to the event are available at frigid.nyc/events/nyit-awards.
The NYIT Awards celebrates New York City’s independent theatre artists and this year our theme is “Celebrate Resiliency!” NYIT Co-Director Akia Squitieri says, “Along with the entire theatre industry, NYC’s Indie Artists suffered major setbacks over the past months due to Covid while also responding to the social fight against injustice. But you can always count on theatre people to bounce back and do all they can to bring their work to light. They are the most resilient people on Earth, and we plan to celebrate them for it!”
Directed by Dev Bondarin, the hybrid ceremony format (live & streamed) will include awards being presented to the following honorees: The Parsnip Ship (Caffe Cino Award Recipient); Penny Arcade & Steve Zehentner (Artistic Achievement Award Recipient); IndieSpace/The Indie Theater Fund (Ellen Stewart Award Recipient); Rachel April (Outstanding Stage Manager Award Recipient); Chris Weikel (Doric Wilson Independent Playwright Award Recipient). The evening's ceremony will feature videos, in-person speakers, and award acceptance speeches from these recipients and their supporters.
This year’s awards include the presentation of their new award: The Indie Theatre Champion Award. “The Indie Theatre Champion Award...,” says Co-Director Jazmyn Arroyo, “...was created to celebrate those individuals and groups who demonstrated their compassion and resiliency by helping our theatre community during the pandemic, industry and economic crises and the continued fight against white supremacy.” The 2021 Indie Theatre Champions are: Randi Berry, The Episcopal Actors’ Guild of America, Ximena Garnica/LEIMAY, JACK, Latinx Playwrights Circle, and Aimee Todoroff.
Due to Covid restrictions, there will be limited in-person seating at the Kraine Theater, but we will also be live-streamed! A limited number of live event tickets will be available for $20 for those wishing to attend in person, and the streamed version will be a pay what you can ticket model to remove the financial barriers for anyone who wishes to view the event. You can get in-person and streaming tickets at frigid.nyc/events/nyit-awards.
Shalewa Sharpe (Host) - Brooklyn-based comedian Shalewa Sharpe developed her sly yet goofy style in Atlanta, where she was raised. She has appeared on HBO’s “2 Dope Queens” and Comedy Central’s “The New Negroes.” In 2019 she was named one of Vulture’s Comics To Watch. She is currently the writer/performer of “Don’t Reach In The Bag,” her solo show about working in an adult video store. She has two albums: “Stay Eating Cookies” (2016) and “So You Just Out Here?” (2019).
Courtney Fearrington (Host) is a New York based comedian that has shown he has the ability to make any group of people laugh. Courtney will quickly become your favorite with his likable personality and quick wit. He has been featured at comedy clubs and festivals all over the country. Along with touring, he has been heard on Sirius XM, syndicated radio, and has worked with comics from HBO, The Daily Show, Comedy Central, MTV, SNL, and many more.
Dev Bondarin (Director) is the Associate Artistic Director of Prospect Theater Company and a freelance theater director, curator, and producer, where she directs and co-curates an annual musical theater lab. From 2014-2021 she served as the Artistic Director of Astoria Performing Arts Center (APAC) and during her tenure APAC earned 38 New York Innovative Theater Award nominations, 11 AUDELCO Award nominations, 10 NYIT Awards, and two AUDELCO Awards including Outstanding Musical Production for Merrily We Roll Along and Raisin from the NYIT Awards and Outstanding Revival of a Musical for Caroline, or Change from the AUDELCO Awards (all of which Dev directed.) Other directing credits include: the NY premiere of Marguerite featuring Tony Award-winner Cady Huffman (APAC), Follies (APAC, NYIT Award for Outstanding Ensemble), Little Women (Festival 56), King Lear (American Bard), Reefer Madness (Gallery Players), Raised by Lesbians (FringeNYC), and 2019 New York Innovative Theater Awards ceremony.
The New York Innovative Theatre Foundation is a not-for-profit organization recognizing the great work of New York City's Off-Off-Broadway/Independent theatre artists, honoring its artistic heritage, and providing a meeting ground for this extensive and richly varied community. The organization produces the New York Innovative Theatre Awards to advocate for OOB/Indie theatre and recognize the unique and essential role it plays in contributing to NYC, American and global theatrical cultures. They believe that publicly recognizing excellence in this sector will expand audience awareness and foster greater appreciation of the New York theatre experience.
