San Diego has a prominent place on the national theater map, and every January, our profile gets a little higher, thanks to one energetic, dedicated local theater critic. For the 13th year, Emmy Award-winner Pat Launer will host the Emmy Award-nominated Patté Awards for Theater Excellence, celebrating the best of the best in San Diego theater. The event will be held on Monday, January 18, 2010, at the Westin Gaslamp Quarter.
What began as a small community gathering a dozen years ago has blossomed into an exhilarating, entertaining and enlightening evening. The event is hosted by the ebullient Launer, who has been San Diego’s only regularly broadcast theater critic for the past 25 years. The gala celebration, which features an impressive array of culinary, visual and aural delights, will be televised on Channel 4 San Diego. It all starts with a meet-and-greet, followed by a plated, sit-down dinner, awards presentation and exciting entertainment from musical theater productions of the past year. Preferred tickets are $75; premium tickets, which include favorable seating, are $150. Special $55 tickets are available for theater artists who have participated in local productions during 2009.Tables are $750 and $1250. Tickets can be purchased at www.thepattefoundation.org. The event takes place at the Westin Gaslamp Quarter, located at 910 Broadway Circle, adjacent to Horton Plaza.
What sets the Pattés apart from other award shows is that they’re strictly for San Diegans. In addition to presenting 30 awards to honor local theatermakers, Launer celebrates the next generation of creative theater artists, by means of the 3rd annual Patté Scholarship, The Dea and Osborn Hurston Award for a Promising Young Theatermaker, presented in honor of Dr. Floyd Gaffney, the father of African American theater in San Diego. The scholarships will be presented to three students from the Preuss School, which is dedicated to providing a rigorous college prep education for low-income students who will become the first in their families to graduate from college. The applicants’ written essay responses to a series of questions – about theater and the importance of the arts in their education and their lives — will be read by a panel of theater professionals. One winner and two Honorary Mention awardees will be presented with an award certificate and a check, as well as pairs of tickets to various theaters around the county, to be used throughout the year. The primary winner will blog on The Patté Awards website about his/her theatergoing experiences.
Other special Patté Awards include the recognition of a local Theater Angel and the Shiley Lifetime Achievement Award, sponsored by local philanthropists and long-time Patté supporters Donald and Darlene Shiley.
As one of the most highly-anticipated theater and social events of the year, The Patté Awards feature stellar theatrical entertainment and plenty of passion, drama and comedy. Attendees include a wide array of local theatermakers, theater-lovers, patrons, board members, business leaders and the social elite. This is a unique opportunity to come face-to-face with the established stars and the emerging talents that give our theater community national renown.
This year’s Honorary Committee, Chaired by Lynne and Dr. Steve Wheeler, includes Larry Alldredge & Dawn Moore, Deborah Bodinger & Deborah Brooks Pettry, Dr. Joyce Gattas, Victoria Hamilton & Paul Hobson, Dea & Osborn Hurston, Phil Johnson & Dr. Seth Krosner, Katherine Kaufman, Diane Dunaway Kramer, Elaine Lipinsky, Jeffrey & Sheila Lipinsky, Cinda Lucas, Dr. Marianne McDonald, Ree & Maurice Miller, Judy & Dr. Allen Moffson, Jack Missett & Judi Sheppard Missett, Colette & Ivor Royston, Rana Sampson, Julie & Jay Sarno, Al & Ann Schlegel, Donald & Darlene Shiley, John M. & Sally B. Thornton and Molli & Arthur Wagner.
To date, the major sponsors of this year’s Patté Awards include The Shiley Awards in Health, Education and the Arts, funded by Donald and Darlene Shiley; County of San Diego Community Projects Grant – at the recommendation of County Supervisor Pam Slater-Price; The Viejas Band of Kumeyaay Indians; Audrey S. Geisel/Dr. Seuss Foundation; The John M. & Sally B. Thornton Foundation; The Sheryl & Harvey White Foundation; US Bank; Actors’ Equity Association; Greene Music; Seaside Bloom; CUBIC, Inc.; One Hope Wine and Westfield Malls. The media partners are Channel 4 San Diego, San Diego News Network, KPRI-FM and Jazz 88.3 San Diego.
About Pat Launer
One of San Diego’s most colorful and most recognized theater critics, Pat Launer has written about San Diego theater productions for nearly 25 years. In addition to her weekly online column of theater news and reviews at sdnn.com, she’s also the resident theater critic at KSDS Jazz 88.3 FM and KPRI-FM, and she appears monthly to talk about theater on KUSI-TV.
In 2002, Launer won an Emmy Award for writing, hosting and co-producing Center Stage, an all-theater variety show that aired on KPBS radio and television. In 2005, the Women’s International Center named her a Living Legacy. Launer has written about theater for the Los Angeles Times, The San Diego Union-Tribune, In Theater magazine, Performing Arts magazine, DramaBiz magazine, San Diego Magazine, the Gay and Lesbian Times, sdtheatrescene.com, Décor and Style, the San Diego Jewish Journal and San Diego Home Garden/Lifestyles Magazine. She has won numerous awards for her writing and her theater-related documentaries; the Patté Awards have twice been nominated for an Emmy Award.
