Distinguished Merit Award
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2024 Honorees Steve Lyons
Tracy Williams Sutton
Cody Colvin
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Previous Recipients |
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2023 Michael Cochran (Paducah, KY) |
2006 John Rich (Pullman, WA)
* Deceased |
As a working playwright, in 2010 Steve wrote to then-AACT president Rod McCullough, expressing frustration with the difficulty of encouraging the production of new plays in community theatres This led Rod to create a Playwrights Task Force to tackle the issue, and appointed Steve and Murray Chase (Venice Theatre) as co-chairs. The result was the AACT NewPlayFest, which continues the work they began Steve was instrumental in designing the festival’s selection process, with plays selected by AACT-member theatres from a pool of finalists, as opposed to a single person or committee. Steve also wanted the plays to have a life beyond the NewPlayFest, and convinced Dramatic Publishing to publish an anthology of the winning plays. Steve is modest about these achievements: “The true heroes of AACT NewPlayFest,” she says, “are the theatres that volunteer to include one of the winning plays in their season. Now, that is faith in the arts!”
Currently Artistic Director of California’s Ojai Art Center, Tracy has been a driving force in both community theatre and theatre education for most of her life. She has a master’s degree in theater and direction, and has performed in many touring Broadway productions. She has won numerous awards in Ventura and Los Angeles as an actress, director, costumer, and music director. At Ojai, she has directed at least one play a season since 2007 and has appeared on stage, as well. She coordinates costumes for each production, as well as designing sets. Instrumental in the direction of the theatre as it celebrates its 85th year, Tracy says she remains inspired by the words of its founder Dr. Charles Butler: “We must keep [theatre] alive, vital, and a force for good. . . It is not what we can get out of this place, but what we can put into it.”
Cody founded Colvin Theatrical in 2020, with the goal of helping performing arts companies weather the pandemic through the use of film and broadcast. His most defining and rewarding work came in 2021, when he and his company created a digital solution for AACT’s pandemic-impacted National Festival. Rather than the traditional in-person event, Cody worked with AACT to film all of AACTFest’s outstanding production winners in their own theatres. The result was a once-in-a-lifetime, 27-day journey from coast to coast, recording 11 U.S. productions for streaming release on Broadway on Demand. Cody is proud that Virtual AACTFest 2021 helped prove the unshakeable resilience of theatre and its makers—and that new forms of media could help grow artists’ reach. He has since produced a number of impactful film, television, and commercial projects, but says his relationship with AACT has remained the highlight of his professional career.
Distinguished Merit
Presented to individuals and organizations in recognition of contributions made to promote and develop the highest standards for community theatre
