Icky theatre nominations announced

Several local theatres were honored for 2009 events last night when the Iowa Cultural Corridor Alliance announced the nominations for the the 4th Annual Excellence in Innovation Awards (aka as "The Ickys"). This year Icky Awards will be Sunday, Jan. 24,2010, from 7 to 9 p.m., at Sinclair Auditorium, on the Coe College campus, 1220 First Ave. NE, Cedar Rapids.

The event serves as the signature event and annual meeting for the cultural nonprofit that serves arts organizations throughout the Corridor. Hosted by Scott Schulte and Ric Swann from the Schulte and Swann radio show on KZIA 102.9, the event will be preceded by a Red Carpet reception that will include a complementary hors d'oeuvres buffet, art and history exhibit and cash bar. As guests enter, they will be greeted by faux paparazzi, Hollywood-style lights, and television cameras supplied by Public Access Television - Iowa City.

The nominations for the theatre programming category are:

The Drag by Mae West
Dreamwell Theatre

From the Homefront by Thomas P. Johnson
Iowa Theatre Artists Company

Theatre from the Passage
Legion Arts

The Writer's Room Series by Various Authors
SPT Theatre Company

Altar Boyz
Theatre Cedar Rapids

Local theatres also popped up in other categories. Old Creamery Theatre received two nomations: Problem Solved was nominated for Educational Programming and Young Abe was nominated in the History Programming category. City Circle, Dreamwell Theatre and the Englert Theatre were nominated for the All in a Day Play Festival in the ICCA Collaborative Award, which is awarded to ICCA organizations who work together on a cultural event. In the Locally-Produced Festival category, Eulenspiegel Puppet Theatre was nominated for the West Liberty Children's Festival. Finally, a special shout out to the Cedar Rapids Children's Theatre, who were nominated for their production of Aladdin at Jefferson High School in the Children's Programming category.

A self nomination process debuted this year. Each organization nominated their events in particular categories. The nomination committee then read short essays written by representatives of the nominating organizations. The essays made the case for why a particular program was innovative. The nomination committee then narrowed down each category to no more than five entries. Some categories had over twenty nominations, making the process of selecting five a real challenge.

Tickets for the event are $20 and are available through the Orchestra Iowa box office at (319) 369-TUNE. The ballot, released today, will be circulated to all 150 member-organizations of ICCA in early January, and will result in the sealed-ballot awards show live at Sinclair Auditorium on Sunday, Jan. 24, in a formal but fun ceremony.