Joseph Drummond To Receive 2016 Corona Award

Eclipse Theatre Company announces its Eighth Annual Corona Award, to be presented to Joseph Drummond, Goodman Theatre Production Stage Manager. The Corona Award honors an individual who has played an important role in supporting and nurturing the growth of the Chicago theater community as well as small- to medium-sized ensembles such as Eclipse Theatre. The Corona Award derives its name from the Latin word, meaning crown, as well as outer atmosphere of the sun most easily seen during a total eclipse.

The 2016 Corona Award event will begin with a cocktail hour at 6:30 p.m. (appetizers and cash bar), followed by a silent auction and the award ceremony at 7:30 p.m., on Monday, November 14, 2016 at the Athenaeum Theatre, located, 2936 N. Southport Ave. in Chicago. Tickets are $25 in advance and $30 at the door. Tickets can be purchased at the door or online at www.eclipsetheatre.com Information available at 312-869-4870.

Past Corona Award Recipients have included Chicago casting director Jane Alderman, Timeline Theatre Managing Director Elizabeth K. Auman, Former Steppenwolf Associate Artistic Director Erica Daniels, Goodman Theatre Associate Producer Steve Scott, Goodman Theatre Resident Director Chuck Smith, League of Chicago Theatres Executive Director Deb Clapp, and Mary-Arrchie Artistic Director Richard Cotovsky.

Joseph Drummond recently retired as a Production Stage Manager with The Goodman Theatre after 42 seasons. His credits include 133 Goodman Productions, among them The Iceman Cometh, Race and Red. He stage-managed House and Garden during the new Goodman’s inaugural season, and previously stage-managed Robert Falls’ Tony Award-winning production of Arthur Miller’s classic Death of a Salesman at the Goodman, on Broadway and at the Ahmanson Theatre in Los Angeles. Other Goodman productions include Candide, Turn of the Century, Desire Under the Elms, Rock ’n’ Roll, Animal Crackers, Passion Play, King Lear, The Clean House, Finishing the Picture, The Rose Tattoo, The Beard of Avon, Drowning Crow, The Visit, The Odyssey, All the Rage, Arcadia, Another Midsummer Night, The Night of the Iguana, On the Open Road, Book of the Night, Landscape of the Body, The Gospel at Colonus and twelve productions of A Christmas Carol. In December 2011, Drummond received the Del Hughes Award for Lifetime Achievement from the Stage Managers’ Association in New York City. He is included in the 2012 edition of Marquis’ Who’s Who in America. He has taught stage management at Roosevelt University and is the recipient of the Joseph Jefferson Award for Lifetime Achievement after 25 years of stage management at the Goodman. He is an over 40-year member of Actors’ Equity Association.

Richard Cotovsky to Receive 2015 Corona Award

Eclipse Theatre Company will present its Seventh Annual Corona Award to Mary-Arrchie Theatre Co. Artistic Director Richard Cotovsky on December 15, 2015. The Corona Award honors an individual who has played an important role in supporting and nurturing the growth of the Chicago theatre community as well as small- to medium-sized Chicago theatre such as Eclipse.

Actor and playwright Jon Steinhagen will host the evening. Guest speakers slated to appear include Mary-Arrchie Theatre Co. Producing Director Carlo Garcia, Mary-Arrchie ensemble member Rudy Galvan, Stage Left Theatre’s Artistic Director Vance Smith, A Red Orchid Theatre founder Guy Van Swearingen, A Red Orchid’s award-winning playwright and ensemble member Brett Neveu, and award-winning actor and director David Cromer, among others to be announced.

The Seventh Annual Corona Awards will be held on Tuesday, December 15, at the Athenaeum Mainstage Theatre, 2936 N. Southport Ave. in Chicago. Cocktails begin at 6:30 p.m., and the awards ceremony begins at 7:30 p.m. An assortment of light appetizers and cash bar will be offered during the evening as well as a silent auction. Tickets are $25 in advance, $30 at the door, and are available at 312-869-4870 and www.eclipsetheatre.com.

The Corona Award derives its name from the outer atmosphere of the sun most easily seen during a total eclipse, and the Latin root of the word means crown. Past Corona Award recipients include Chicago casting director Jane Alderman, TimeLine Theatre Managing Director Elizabeth K. Auman, former Steppenwolf Associate Artistic Director Erica Daniels, Goodman Theatre Associate Producer Steve Scott, Goodman Artistic Associate Chuck Smith, and League of Chicago Theatres Executive Director Deb Clapp.