Comedian Harrison Greenbaum Hosts 2012 Innovative Theatre Awards Tonight, 9/24

Comedian and Andy Kauffman Award winner Harrison Greenbaum to host the Eighth Annual New York Innovative Theatre Awards (the IT Awards), in a ceremony dedicated to celebrating Off-Off-Broadway. The ceremony will be directed by Tim Butterfield, Artistic Director of the Straphanger Collective and written by playwright Christopher Weikle.

The Eighth Annual IT Awards ceremony will be held tonight, September 24, 2012 at 7 pm at The Kaye Playhouse at Hunter College located at 68th Street between Park and Lexington Avenues. Tickets are on sale now for $25 at www.nyitawards.com. You can also join OOB theatre community’s biggest night of the year virtually at www.nyitawards.com/live.

Presenters for the evening include: Jill Du Boff (sound designer for theatre, radio, television, film and special events), Joe Calarco (Shakespeare’s R&J), Elena Holy (FringeNYC), Peter Michael Marino (cabaret-spoof hit Lance Jonathan: All About Me!), Timothy Mason (Dr. Seuss’ How The Grinch Stole Christmas!), Julie Menin (Chairperson of Community Board 1 in Lower Manhattan), Roma Torre (NY1 “On-Stage”), and Camelita Tropicana (a.k.a. Alina Troyano).

HARRISON GREENBAUM (Host), Harrison Greenbaum is one of the most in-demand comics working today. A summa cum laude graduate of Harvard, Harrison was recently recognized by Comedy Central as one of this year's "Comics to Watch" and is the winner of the 2010 Andy Kaufman Award for creativity and originality in comedy, the 2011 Magners Comic Stand-Off, and the 2012 Shorty Award for "Best Emerging Stand-Up," given in collaboration with Comedy Central and the New York Comedy Festival. Dubbed the "hardest-working man in comedy" by the New York Daily News (which might have to do with the fact that Harrison performs in an average of 600-700 shows a year), Harrison has been featured on SPIKE TV, the Discovery Channel, the Science Channel, and SIRIUS Satellite Radio. Harrison currently headlines comedy venues around the world, including sold-out shows at TBS Just for Laughs Chicago, the Glasgow International Comedy Festival, and Carolines on Broadway. For more information about Harrison, visit his website, http://www.harrisongreenbaum.com, and follow him on Twitter, @harrisoncomedy.

TIM BUTTERFIELD (Director) is the Director of the Straphanger Collective, an organization dedicated to helping writers discover their voice and process through intensive training and workshop experiences. He received his MFA in Directing from The New School for Drama and his BA from Brooklyn College. Tim’s work as a director has been seen Off and Off-off Broadway, as well as regionally. He is currently directing a site specific production of Sam Shepard’s “Fool for Love” with Rising Sun Performance Co. Tim is also an independent producer currently developing a few plays for Off-Broadway production. Straphanger Collective workshops begin in the Fall. Contact tim@straphangercollective.com to join.

Chris Weikel (Writer) Penny Penniworth, was produced Off-Broadway by Emerging Artists Theatre Company (EAT). Weikel is a founding member of TOSOS which presented his Pig Tale: An Urban Farie Story in New York as well as at the Absolut Dublin International Gay Theatre Festival. TOSOS also produced the original production of Penny Penniworth (FringeNYC). Weikel was commissioned by American Stage Company to write an adaptation of Dylan Thomas's A Child’s Christmas in Wales for The company's 2000 season. Chris is a judge-at-large for the New York Innovative Theatre Awards and a regular contributor to Drunken! Careening! Writers! at KGB. Weikel received an MFA in playwriting from Hunter College in New York City. Chris was a 2008-09 Dramatist Guild Fellow, the 2007 recipient of the Robert Chesley Award for emerging gay playwrights, the 2008 recipient of the Irv Zarkower Award, and he is a 2011 Recipient of the Rita and Burton Goldberg Award.

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