Helen Hayes Awards Nominations Announced

The 2015 Helen Hayes Awards nominations, for theatre in the Washington, D.C. area, were announced January 26.

This year's nominations are slightly different. To address the challenges of an expanding theatre community, productions eligible for a Helen Hayes Award will now be adjudicated as either a Helen production or a Hayes production. Productions in which less than 51% of the cast appears on an Actors Equity Association (Equity) Contract and has less than three Equity contracted actors in the cast will be assessed by the "Helen" judges. Productions presented under a theatre company's Equity agreement or a production in which at least 51% of the cast is working on an Equity Contract will be assessed by the "Hayes" judges. The emphasis on theatre productions, rather than theatre companies, means that a single institution might well produce individual pieces of work evaluated by each of group of judges. The groupings are solely for administrative purposes; all awards are still Helen Hayes Awards.

In the Design categories, Kendra Rai and Collin Ranney are the soles nominees for Outstanding Costume Design -- Helen Production. Rai's productions are Beauty and the Beast, Twelfth Night, and The Island of Dr. Moreau. Ranney's productions are Black Nativity, Tiny Tim's Christmas Carol, and The Wonderful World of Dissocia. He has also been nominated for Outstanding Set Design -- Helen Production, again for Dissocia.

The Wonderful World of Dissocia also has nominations for Outstanding Sound Design (Matthew M. Nielson and Christopher Baine), and Outstanding Lighting Design -- Helen Production (John Burkland).

The Island of Dr. Moreau takes home three additional nominations: Thomas Sowers (sound designer) and Konstantine Lortkipanidze (original music) for Outstanding Sound Design; Brittany Diliberto (lighting designer) and Riki K. (multimedia designer) for Outstanding Lighting Design; and Phil Charlwood for Outstanding Set Design.

Finally, Colin K. Bills has three nominations: Outstanding Lighting Design -- Helen Production for Twelfth Night, and Outstanding Lighting Design -- Hayes Production for both Colossal and The Totalitarians (the latter of which he shares with video designer Jared Mezzocchi).

Additional Design nominees include:

Outstanding Sound Design -- Helen Production
Matthew M. Nielson, Abominable
Thomas Sowers (sound designer) and Konstantine Lortkipanidze (original music), Twelfth Night
Tom Teasley, The Love of the Nightingale

Outstanding Sound Design -- Hayes Production
Christopher Baine, The BFG
Christopher Baine, Colossal
Lindsay Jones, The Tallest Tree in the Forest
Roc Lee (sound design) and James Sugg (composer), Mother Courage and Her Children
Ryan Rumery, Tribes
Eric Shimelonis, Marie Antoinette

Outstanding Lighting Design -- Helen Production
Brian S. Allard, The Jungle Book
Heidi Eckwall, Healing Wars
Cory Ryan Frank, La Senorita de Tacna/The Young Lady from Tacna

Outstanding Lighting Design -- Hayes Production
Jason Arnold (lighting designer) and Eric J. Van Wyk (projection designer), "The BFG
Andrew Cissna, Sex With Strangers
Philip S. Rosenberg, Private Lives

Outstanding Costume Design -- Hayes Production
Helen Huang, Marie Antoinette
Frank Labovitz, The Threepenny Opera
Frank Labovitz, The Totalitarians
Jeffrey Stolz, The BFG
Paul Tazewell, Side Show

Outstanding Set Design -- Helen Production
Dan Conway, Tiny Tim's Christmas Carol
Adam Koch, Bat Boy: The Musical
David Israel Reynoso (set designer) and Kate Freer (media designer), Healing Wars
Klyph Stanford, Stuart Little
Greg Stevens, The Amish Project

Outstanding Set Design -- Hayes Production
Tony Cisek, Two Trains Running
Simon Higlett, The Importance of Being Earnest
Misha Kachman, Marie Antoinette
JD Madsen, Sex With Strangers
Eric J. Van Wyk, The BFG