Special Discount Offer for Theatre Mask Awards April 26 and Best Performance Awards June 29 Tickets

Special Discount Offer for Theatre Mask Awards April 26 and Best Performance Awards June 29 Tickets

A few days remain to purchase discounted tickets for both the 10th Annual Theatre Mask Awards, which honor drama and comedy, on April 26 and the 25th Annual Best Performance Awards, which honor musical theater and youth productions, on June 29.

A combination ticket for both TMAs and BPAs is available for $50 with a $2 service fee but must be purchased by April 11. It is a savings of $10. After April 11, each event is $30 plus the $2 service fees.

This year’s 10th annual TMAs will take place starting at 11 a.m. on Saturday, April 26, at the Royale Orleans banquet center, 2801 Telegraph Road, St. Louis, Mo. 63125. Doors open at 10:30 a.m.

Awards will be presented in 17 categories as lunch is served. Cocktail attire is suggested. Table seating is available at 10 per table. A full meal will be served, and a cash/card bar will be available.

The menu includes top round of beef with special LaFitte Sauce, Chicken Parmesan, home-style green beans, pasta primavera, potatoes royale, chef salad and fresh bakery bread with butter. For dessert, special cupcakes from the Blue Owl Restaurant and Bakery in Kimmswick, Mo.

Clayton Community Theatre topped all TMA nominations with 23, with a production-leading 11 for “The Play That Goes Wrong,” 9 for “Twelfth Night,” and 4 for “Night of the Iguana.”

Act Two Theatre followed with 17 overall, 10 for “Over the River and Through the Woods” and 7 for “The Play That Goes Wrong,” and so did Hawthorne Players with 17, 10 for “All My Sons” and 7 for “for colored girls who have considered suicide when the rainbow is enuf.”

Other groups receiving TMA nominations included Kirkwood Theatre Guild, Monroe Actors Stage Company and Theatre Guild of Webster Groves.

Mark Lull returns as the master of ceremonies after hosting in 2022 and 2024. An 11-time AFL nominee, he won Best Performance by a Comedic Actor as Uncle Fester in Alfresco Productions’ “The Addams Family” in 2015.

A retired school principal, he has performed at Worlds of Fun in Kansas City, The Muny, and with other theater companies in the St. Louis metropolitan area. He is currently teaching early childhood education at St. Louis Community College and serves as vice president on the AFL board of directors.

Tickets are available online for $30 with a service fee of $2 added: https://arts-for-life-2.square.site/.

Best Performance Awards

Ryan Cooper, local performer, producer, and past Best Performance Awards recipient, will return to host the 25th BPAs for a record sixth time.

The BPAs awards ceremony will take place on Sunday, June 29, at 2 p.m. at the Keating Theater at Kirkwood High School. Formal attire is requested, and the event will be reserved-style seating. Soft drinks and snacks will be available in the lobby. Doors open at 1:30 p.m.

The event will include performances from the top musicals nominated in the three Best Musical Production categories. Tickets to the show are $30+ a $2 service fee per ticket. Seating is reserved seating.

Take Two Productions led with 16 nominations, 8 for “Merrily We Roll Along,” 6 for “Head Over Heels” and 2 for “The Prom.” Kirkwood Theatre Guild’s “Anything Goes” received the most production nominations, with 15, while Hawthorne Players earned 14 for “Bright Star” and Goshen Theatre Project had 11 for “The Hunchback of Notre Dame” with 9 and “The Trail to Oregon” with 2.

Other groups receiving BPA nominations included Act Two Productions, Alpha Players, Curtain’s Up Theater Company, and Monroe Actors Stage Company.

In the Youth Performance Awards categories, Gateway Center for the Performing Arts received a total of 31 nominations, 16 for “Alice by Heart,’ 7 for “Ragtime” and 8 for “Oliver!” Young People’s Theatre followed with 17 – 9 for “Seussical” and 8 for “Anastasia: The Musical.” Stages Performing Arts Academy received 8 nominations for “Anastasia: The Musical.”

Nominations are listed on the website, www.artsforlife.org.

In recent years, Cooper has been seen wearing a variety of hats (literally) with Stages St. Louis in roles such as the Mad Hatter in “Alice in Wonderland,” Seussical’s Cat in the Hat, and The Barber in “Man of La Mancha.”

Out of town, he spent several seasons at the Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Florida, performing in the long-running Hoop-Dee-Doo Musical Revue and short-lived Storybook Circus Giggle Gang shows.

A proud member of Actor’s Equity Association, by day Ryan is the Signature Event Producer for the Main Street Historic District in Saint Charles, Mo., where for 20 years he has been involved with their annual Saint Charles Christmas Traditions festival, in addition to creating new programming for Halloween and Valentine’s Day with the Legends & Lanterns and Once Upon a Valentine festival.

Nancy Crouse, a legend in local community theater, and Karen Mason, a musical theatre actress and cabaret singer who grew up in St. Louis, will both be honored with Lifetime Achievements Awards at the BPAs on June 29.

Arts For Life is a local not-for-profit arts organization dedicated to the healing power of the arts through its work with youth, the underserved, and the community, with its goal of “Making a Dramatic Difference.”

AFL is dedicated to promoting public awareness of local community theatre, encouraging excellence in the arts, and acknowledging the incredible people who are a part of it.

For more information, email afltrg@artsforlife.org or visit the website, www.artsforlife.org

Ryan Cooper to Return As Host of AFL’s 25th Best Performance Awards

Ryan Cooper to Return As Host of AFL’s 25th Best Performance Awards

Tickets on sale for Theatre Mask Awards April 26 and BPAs June 29

Lifetime Achievement Awards to Nancy Crouse and Karen Mason

Ryan Cooper, local performer, producer, and past Best Performance Awards recipient, will return to host the 25th BPAs for a record sixth time.

“I’m a big Arts for Life fan. I’m excited. As a lifelong St. Louisan, I grew up working with many of the wonderful companies that make up the vibrant St. Louis community theatre scene,” he said.

In recent years, he has been seen wearing a variety of hats (literally) with Stages St. Louis in roles such as the Mad Hatter in “Alice in Wonderland,” Seussical’s Cat in the Hat, and The Barber in “Man of La Mancha.”

Out of town, he spent several seasons at the Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Florida, performing in the long-running Hoop-Dee-Doo Musical Revue and short-lived Storybook Circus Giggle Gang shows.

A proud member of Actor’s Equity Association, by day Ryan is the Signature Event Producer for the Main Street Historic District in Saint Charles, Mo., where for 20 years he has been involved with their annual Saint Charles Christmas Traditions festival, in addition to creating new programming for Halloween and Valentine’s Day with the Legends & Lanterns and Once Upon a Valentine festivals.

Tickets are now available for the Arts For Life annual awards ceremonies for community theater recognition – the Theatre Mask Awards on April 26 and the Best Performance Awards June 29.

Nancy Crouse

Lifetime Achievement Awards

Nancy Crouse,a legend in local community theater,and Karen Mason, a musical theatre actress and cabaret singer who grew up in St. Louis, will both be honored with Lifetime Achievements Awards at the BPAs on June 29.

After an impressive career in both theater education and theater administration, Crouse moved to St. Louis in 1999 and has kept busier than ever working for several theater companies as a performer, director, set designer and costume designer. Hawthorne Players is her home base, and she won Best Director for her “The Color Purple” production last year, which also won best large ensemble musical.

Growing up in Indiana, she received a master’s degree in theatre from Ball State University. She taught English and Theatre for 33 years, and spent many years as the Managing Artistic Director for Muncie Civic Theatre

Karen Mason

Mason originated the role of Tanya in the Broadway production of “Mamma Mia!” in 2001, performed as Madame Giry in the North American tour of “Love Never Dies” and was Glenn Close’s standby as Norma Desmond in the Los Angeles production of “Sunset Boulevard.”

She was in “White Christmas” at the Muny Opera and has appeared on stages across the country.

She won an Outer Critics Circle Award for her performance in the off-Broadway Kander and Ebb review “And the World Goes Round.”

A renowned cabaret singer, she is the most lauded vocalist in MAC Awards history, with 13, which honors the best of Manhattan cabaret. She has performed locally with the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra and at the Sheldon Concert Hall.


Awards Ceremonies

The Theatre Mask Awards have honored drama and comedy plays since 2015.

This year’s 10th annual TMAs will take place starting at 11 a.m. on Saturday, April 26, at the Royale Orleans banquet center, 2801 Telegraph Road, St. Louis, Mo. 63125. Doors open at 10:30 a.m.

Awards will be presented in 17 categories as lunch is served. Cocktail attire is suggested. Tickets to the event are $30 + $2 service fee. Table seating is available at 10 per table. A full meal will be served, and a cash/card bar will be available.

Clayton Community Theatre topped all TMA nominations with 22, with a production-leading 11 for “The Play That Goes Wrong,” 8 for “Twelfth Night,” and 4 for “Night of the Iguana.”

Act Two Theatre followed with 17 overall, 10 for “Over the River and Through the Woods” and 7 for “The Play That Goes Wrong,” and so did Hawthorne Players with 17, 10 for “All My Sons” and 7 for “for colored girls who have considered suicide when the rainbow is enuf.”

Other groups receiving TMA nominations included Kirkwood Theatre Guild, Monroe Actors Stage Company and Theatre Guild of Webster Groves.

Mark Lull

Mark Lull returns as the master of ceremonies after hosting in 2022 and 2024. An 11-time AFL nominee, he won Best Performance by a Comedic Actor as Uncle Fester in Alfresco Productions’ “The Addams Family” in 2015.

A retired school principal, he has performed at Worlds of Fun in Kansas City, The Muny, and with other theater companies in the St. Louis metropolitan area. He is currently teaching early childhood education at St. Louis Community College and serves as vice president on the AFL board of directors.

Tickets are available online with a service fee of $2 added: https://arts-for-life-2.square.site/.

A combination ticket for both TMAs and Best Performance Awards, at a discounted price of $50 with a $2 service fee, is available, but must be purchased by April 11.

The BPAs have honored musical theater in community and youth productions for 25 years. The awards ceremony will take place on Sunday, June 29, at 2 p.m. at the Keating Theater at Kirkwood High School. Formal attire is requested, and the event will be reserved-style seating. Soft drinks and snacks will be available in the lobby. Doors open at 1:30 p.m.

The event will include performances from the top musicals nominated in the three Best Musical Production categories. Tickets to the show are $30+ a $2service fee per ticket. Seating is reserved seating.

Special Youth Awards will be presented to Bella Crank, for Best Youth Musical Performance Award, as Nancy in “Oliver!” at Gateway Center for the Performing Arts, and Alyssa Sayuk for Best Youth Featured Dancer Award, as Odette in “Anastasia” at the Stages Performing Arts Academy.

Take Two Productions led with 16 nominations, 8 for “Merrily We Roll Along,” 6 for “Head Over Heels” and 2 for “The Prom.” Kirkwood Theatre Guild’s “Anything Goes” received the most production nominations, with 15, while Hawthorne Players earned 14 for “Bright Star” and Goshen Theatre Project had 11 for “The Hunchback of Notre Dame” with 9 and “The Trail to Oregon” with 2.

Other groups receiving BPA nominations included Act Two Productions, Alpha Players, Curtain’s Up Theater Company, and Monroe Actors Stage Company.

In the Youth Performance Awards categories, Gateway Center for the Performing Arts received a total of 31 nominations, 16 for “Alice By Heart,’ 7 for “Ragtime” and 8 for “Oliver!” Young People’s Theatre followed with 17 – 9 for “Seussical” and 8 for “Anastasia: The Musical.” Stages Performing Arts Academy received 8 nominations for “Anastasia: The Musical.”

Nominations are listed on the website, www.artsforlife.org.

Ryan Cooper returns for sixth time as host.

Arts For Life is a local not-for-profit arts organization dedicated to the healing power of the arts through its work with youth, the underserved, and the community, with its goal of “Making a Dramatic Difference.”

AFL is dedicated to promoting public awareness of local community theatre, encouraging excellence in the arts, and acknowledging the incredible people who are a part of it.

For more information, email afltrg@artsforlife.org or visit the website, www.artsforlife.org

Nada Vaughn to Receive Lifetime Achievement Award at AFL’s Annual Theatre Mask Awards April 20

Nada Vaughn to Receive Lifetime Achievement Award at AFL’s Annual Theatre Mask Awards April 20

Nada Vaughn, whose dedication to music and theatre in St Louis began as a schoolgirl and flourished in later years as an integral part of Clayton Community Theatre, is this year’s Lifetime Achievement Award recipient at the 9th Annual Theater Mask Awards on April 20.

She was part of school plays as a youth, majored in voice and minored in theater and education in college, and retired from teaching music at Bishop DuBourg High School in 2010.

Nada Vaughn

After that, she devoted more time to music, theater, and art. At Clayton Community Theatre, she has been board president, producer, director, music director, assistant director, stage manager, house manager, concession manager, sound designer, and on crews for sets and lights.

She received a TMA award for directing “A Soldier’s Play” in 2021, and has directed “Black Coffee,” “Unexpected Guest,” “The Piano Lesson,” “Night Must Fall,” “Two Trains Running,” “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom” and “Murder on the Nile.”

Tickets are now available for the Arts For Life annual awards ceremonies for community theater recognition.

Through the nonprofit organization AFL, the TMAs have honored drama and comedy plays since 2015.

This year’s 9th annual Theatre Mask Awards will take place starting at 11 a.m. on Saturday, April 20, at the Royale Orleans banquet center, 2801 Telegraph Road, St. Louis, Mo. 63125. Doors open at 10:30 a.m.

Awards will be presented in 17 categories as lunch is served. Cocktail attire is suggested. Tickets to the event are $30 + $2 service fee. Table seating is available at 10 per table. A full meal will be served, and a cash/card bar will be available.

O’Fallon Theatre Works topped all TMA nominations with 23, with a production-leading 12 for “Radium Girls” and 11 for “Emma: Portrait of a Lady.”

The Kirkwood Theatre Guild followed with 16 overall, six for both “The Last Night of Ballyhoo” and “Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike” with Agatha Christie’s “The Mousetrap” garnering four.

Monroe Actors Stage Company in Waterloo had a total of 14, including 10 for “Unnecessary Farce,” three for “Father of the Bride” and one for “Fuddy Meers.”

Act Two Theatre in St. Peters earned 12 TMA nominations, including 11 for “Peter and the Starcatcher” and one for “Sandy Toes and Salty Kisses.”

Other groups receiving TMA nominations included Clayton Community Theatre, Looking Glass Playhouse and Theatre Guild of Webster Groves.

“This has been one of our best years yet for community theatre plays, and it shows in just how many of the productions received nominations,” said TMA Chairman Melissa Boyer. “I am so proud of all of our groups that put all their heart into these productions, and of all of our judges that take the time to go to so many shows.”

Mark Lull

Mark Lull returns as the master of ceremonies after hosting in 2022. A 10-time AFL nominee, he won Best Performance by a Comedic Actor as Uncle Fester in Alfresco Productions’ “The Addams Family” in 2015.

A retired school principal, he has performed at Worlds of Fun in Kansas City, The Muny, and with other theater companies in the St. Louis metropolitan area. He is currently teaching early childhood education at St. Louis Community College and serves as vice president on the AFL board of directors.

Tickets are available online with a service fee of $2 added: https://arts-for-life-2.square.site/.

A combination ticket for both TMAs and Best Performance Awards, at a discounted price of $50 with a $2 service fee, is available, but must be purchased by April 12.

The BPAs have honored musical theater in community and youth productions for 24 years. The awards ceremony will take place on Sunday, June 30, at 2 p.m. at the Keating Theater at Kirkwood High School. Formal attire is requested, and the event will be reserved-style seating. Soft drinks and snacks will be available in the lobby. Doors open at 1:30 p.m.

The event will include performances from the top musicals nominated in the three Best Musical Production categories. Tickets to the show are $30.00 + a $2.00 service fee per ticket. Seating is reserved seating.

Cast members of “Calendar Girls,” and director Deanna Jent, which Kirkwood Theatre Guild presented in 2022, winner of best comedy at the TMAs April 2023, with trophy presenter Natalie Klick. Photo by Chuck Hill.
Cast members of “The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime” at Hawthorne Players, and director Ken Clark, which won Best Drama Production at the 2023 TMAs. Chuck Hill Photo.

AFL Community Theatre Awards

Nominations are listed on the website, www.artsforlife.org.

Arts For Life is a local not-for-profit arts organization dedicated to the healing power of the arts through its work with youth, the underserved, and the community, with its goal of “Making a Dramatic Difference.”

AFL is dedicated to promoting public awareness of local community theatre, encouraging excellence in the arts, and acknowledging the incredible people who are a part of it.

“Arts For Life provides a community recognition program. These events recognize the incredible talent we have in St. Louis community theater and honor the passion and dedication of those who build this amazing and unique theatrical community,” said Mary McCreight, AFL president.

Nomination and selection of the community theatre awards are done by a special committee, i.e., the Theatre Recognition Guild, made up of theatre critics, drama teachers, professional performers or artists, members of community theatre groups, and people who just have an avid interest in theatre.

This committee reviews each of the theatrical productions as an audience member and scores each participant in each category.  

Theatre groups within a 35-mile radius of Clayton, Mo., who hold open auditions for non-paid actors are invited to participate.

For more information, email afltrg@artsforlife.org or visit the website, www.artsforlife.org

Arts For Life Announces Nominations For Theatre Awards Programs

Arts For Life Announces Nominations For Theatre Awards Programs

Gateway Center of the Performing Arts and Monroe Actors Stage Company lead with 31 nominations each

Tickets are now available for the Arts For Life annual awards ceremonies for community theater recognition. The Theater Mask Awards will be on April 20 and the Best Performance Awards will be on June 30.

Nominations were recently announced, with Act Two Theatre’s “The Drowsy Chaperone” and Monroe Actors Stage Company’s “How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying” leading all musical productions with 17 nominations apiece and O’Fallon Theatre Works’ “Radium Girls” topping plays with 12.  See the link below.

Through the nonprofit organization AFL, the TMAs have honored drama and comedy plays since 2015 while the BPAs have honored musical theater in community and youth productions since AFL began the awards recognition program in 1999.

This year’s 10th annual Theatre Mask Awards will take place starting at 11 a.m. on Saturday, April 20, at the Royale Orleans banquet center, 2801 Telegraph Road, St. Louis, Mo. 63125. Doors open at 10:30 a.m.

Awards will be presented in 17 categories as lunch is served. Cocktail attire is suggested. Tickets to the event are $30 + $2 service fee. Table seating is available at 8 per table.

Please let us know what theatre group or person(s) you would like to sit with in the checkout process by clicking “Add an order note” while viewing your cart.

A full meal is included with the ticket purchase (menu coming soon). Please let us know if you have any special dietary concerns or needs.  A cash bar is available.

Mark Lull

Mark Lull returns as the master of ceremonies after hosting in 2022. A 10-time AFL nominee, he won Best Performance by a Comedic Actor as Uncle Fester in Alfresco Productions’ “The Addams Family” in 2015.

A retired school principal, he has performed at Worlds of Fun in Kansas City, The Muny, and with other theater companies in the St. Louis metropolitan area. He is currently teaching early childhood education at St. Louis Community College and serves as vice president on the AFL board of directors.

For the Best Performance Awards on Sunday, June 30, at 2 p.m. at the Keating Theater at Kirkwood High School, formal attire is requested, and the event will be reserved-style seating. A cash bar will be available. Doors open at 1:30 p.m.

The event will include performances from the top musicals nominated in the three Best Musical Production categories. Tickets to the show are $30.00 + a $2.00 service fee per ticket. Seating is reserved seating. Please let us know which theatre group or individual you would like to sit with in the “notes to seller” section at checkout.

Both TMA and BPA tickets are available online with a service fee of $2 added: https://arts-for-life-2.square.site/.

A combination ticket for both, at a discounted price of $50 with a $2 service fee, is available, but must be purchased by April 12.

Reservations can be arranged through the mail and tickets can be picked up at the venues on event day. Please make check payable to ARTS FOR LIFE and mail to PO Box 16426, St. Louis, MO 63125.

All BPA ticket orders will be held at the box office unless a self-addressed stamped envelope is included with the ticket order. If ordering for a group, please attach a list of individual names for box office pick-up.

Please contact us at afltrg@artsforlife.org if you have any special seating needs or COVID-19 related concerns. Handicapped seating is available.

“Radium Girls’ at O’Fallon Theatre Works is nominated for 12 TMAs. KWR Photography.

Award Nominations

Nominations are listed on the website, www.artsforlife.org.

“Arts For Life provides a community recognition program. These events recognize the incredible talent we have in St. Louis community theater and honor the passion and dedication of those who build this amazing and unique theatrical community,” said Mary McCreight, AFL president.

Gateway Center for the Performing Arts earned 31 BPA nominations – for “Bare: A Pop Opera” (7) and youth productions “9 to 5: The Musical” (14) and “School of Rock” (10), with Monroe Actors Stage Company in Waterloo receiving 17 BPA and 14 TMA nominations (including “Father of the Bride” – 3, “Fuddy Meers” – 1, “Unnecessary Farce” – 10, and “How to Succeed” – 17) for a total of 31.

Act Two Theatre in St. Peters followed with 17 BPA and 12 TMA nominations for a total of 29 (including “Peter and the Starcatcher” – 11, “Sandy Toes and Salty Kisses” – 1, and “The Drowsy Chaperone” – 17).

O’Fallon Theatre Works had 29 total, for 23 TMA and 6 BPA nominations (“Emma: Portrait of a Lady” – 11, “Radium Girls” – 12, and “Be More Chill” – 6).

The Kirkwood Theatre Guild had 20 overall, with TMA nominations for “The Last Night of Ballyhoo” – 6, “Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike” – 6, and “The Mousetrap” – 4, with 4 BPA nominations for “The Sound of Music.”

‘The Drowsy Chaperone’ at Act Two earned 17 nominations. Lori Biehl Photography.

Other participating groups included Alpha Players of Florissant, Christ Memorial Productions, Clayton Community Theatre, Crusader Players, Curtain’s Up Theatre, Dayspring Arts and Education, Goshen Theatre Project, Hawthorne Players, KTK Productions, Looking Glass Playhouse, Over Due Theatre, Theatre Guild of Webster Groves, Spotlight Productions and Take Two Productions.

Arts For Life is a local not-for-profit arts organization dedicated to the healing power of the arts through its work with youth, the underserved, and the community, with its goal of “Making a Dramatic Difference.”

AFL is dedicated to promoting public awareness of local community theatre, encouraging excellence in the arts, and acknowledging the incredible people who are a part of it.

TMA Event Sponsorships are available at either $100 or $50 if you also purchase an ad. Sponsorship includes group/company name and logo displayed at the event, website and on our social media platforms.

For advertising rates, BPA event sponsorship or more information, email afltrg@artsforlife.org or visit the website, www.artsforlife.orgd