With instructions for Guests, Nominees, and Presenters
The 33rd Annual Artie Awards are upon us. Sponsored by Buffalo Toronto Public Media and hosted by Shea’s 710 Main Theatre the event will be held on Monday, June 10, 2024 at Shea's 710 Theatre at 8 p.m. The doors will open at 7 p.m. The hosts will be Charmagne Chi, Amy Jakiel, Curtis Lovell – Artie winners all – along with me, Anthony Chase. The music director is Philip Farugia.
The event is sold out. Some bar seats may be available.
The evening will feature awards in 20 categories, along with a Career Achievement Award going to 29-time Artie nominee, 3-time winner, MusicalFare Marketing/Production Manager, creator of the Artie Awards Online Archive, Artie Awards Associate producer, actor, director, choreographer, Doug Weyand!
This year’s Katharine Cornell Awards, going to artists from out of town whose work enriched the Buffalo theater community during the 2023-2024 season are Marc Summers, for The Life & Slimes of Marc Summers at Alleyway Theatre; and Sean Cullen, for All My Sons at Road Less Traveled Productions.
All proceeds (including a percentage of the 710 Main bar) go to benefit ECMC HIV/AIDS Immunodeficiency Services patients in the “YOU Center for Wellness”:
Your guide to attending the Arties
INSTRUCTIONS FOR GUESTS
First and foremost, remember that with over 500 people arriving simultaneously, it will take a few minutes to clear security, much less to walk the red carpet and to greet friends. Allow extra time! As is custom at the Artie Awards, latecomers will be charged an additional $10 fee that will be given to our charity. Please be on time!
The red carpet on the Plaza of Stars will be hosted by Nicole Cimato, Michael Wachowiak, and Vanna Deux, starting at 7 p.m. and ending at 7:45 p.m. They will, however, be looking at fashions all evening long.
Everyone is welcome to walk the red carpet and to be photographed by our photographer. Fashion photos will be published on the WBFO website beginning the next day, with a fashion round-up by Nicole, Michael, and Vanna, soon thereafter.
We respectfully ask that any pre-Artie Parties be wrapped up early enough for guests to arrive at 710 Main with enough time to take in the Red Carpet, greet friends, clear security, and take their seats. Remember, this year the Artie Awards is a reserved seating event, so the entry process might take a little longer. Wrap up your Artie Party by 7:20 p.m., please.
The Arties will be interpreted into American Sign Language.
There are two types of Artie tickets. A reserved seat ticket gives you access to the auditorium to watch the 33rd Annual Artie Award ceremony. A Bar-Only seat gives you access to the video viewing area in the Shea’s 710 Theatre lobby and bar, but does not give you access to the auditorium – no, not even for a peek; we need to keep the exits clear. In the bar area, there will be three video monitors showing the show, and the special guest will be Broadway and Hollywood star, Stephen McKinley Henderson! (Yes, he was offered reserved seating; he prefers it this way!) If you want to say hello or to do a selfie with Steve, that’s where you’ll find him.
After the ceremony is over, Matinee will remain open and food trucks have been arranged.
INSTRUCTIONS FOR NOMINEES
First of all … CONGRATULATIONS!
With over 70 stage productions eligible for the Artie Awards this year, getting a nomination is both an honor and a bit of a miracle. This is a testament to your talent, your hard work, and your good luck!
When you arrive at the theater, please go to the coat check area in the lobby, where Artie Committee Member Kathie Rizzo Young will present you with a much-coveted “Artie Nominee” button.
Please check the program to see when in the evening your award has been scheduled. Please be in your seat and ready for the announcement when that occurs. It might be amusing when the winner is at the bar or in the washroom during the announcement, but it also delays the show.
These instructions are especially intended to remind you about two things that might not have occurred to you.
1) You might win.
2) If you win, you will need to give a brief speech.
In case you should win, we ask that you have a few thoughts in your head about what you might say in advance. Prepared speeches are always a good idea, and if you haven’t thought about this, now would be a good time to do that. We recommend that you think of your short list of things to say, maybe including a quick mention of those who worked on the show with you, a thought that inspired you, anyone who advanced your theatrical career, your fellow nominees, or even a word of appreciation to the Artie committee who loved you. You might jot this down on a card or piece of paper.
If your speech takes more than two minutes, music director Philip Farugia will begin to play that classic Dale Evans and Roy Rogers cowboy tune, “Happy Trails,” and the audience will drown you out as they join in song.
After 32 years of doing the Arties, we can tell you that the best speeches are thought out and BRIEF. The worst speeches are the ones where the person rambles on at the microphone, painfully trying not to forget anyone, or narcissistically basking in the glory at length, forgetting that anybody else is also being honored tonight. YES, you are wonderful. YES, you deserve this. YES, we want you to bask in the glow of the admiration we think you richly deserve. But, please, let’s get on with the show!
INSTRUCTIONS FOR PRESENTERS:
If you are an Artie Presenter, thank you for agreeing to present at the 33rd Annual Artie Awards. We are very grateful. We ask that you check in at the Shea’s 710 Lobby no later than 7:45.
Kathie Rizzo-Young will be in the coat check area with your presenter card and information about your co-presenter. This is the same place where nominees pick up their “Artie Nominee” buttons.
In the past, Doug Weyand has served as a “presenter wrangler,” but this year, Doug is the Career Achievement Award honoree, so he will be with his family. (Please take a moment to congratulate Doug).
Presenter wrangling is very stressful. Please understand that when a presenter is late or is a no-show, it creates crisis and mayhem, exactly when it is most unhelpful. It's like having to re-cast a show that is already in progress. We cannot hunt down the presenters this year. We need you to please make your presence known. If you do not present yourself at the coat check by 7:45, we will conclude that you are not coming, we will replace you as a presenter, and we will add you to the In Memoriam slide show. I know that sounds severe, and I am sincerely appreciative of your support, but we need to start as close to 8 p.m. as possible.
If you are a presenter, we ask that you come backstage from the right-hand side of the auditorium (that’s stage left) one award before the award that you have been assigned. Please tell the stage managers (Lily and Chase) who you are and what award you will be presenting. The order of the awards is printed in the program and will be posted on the wall backstage.
Backstage, there might be performers waiting to do a musical number, presenters coming offstage, and so forth. We remind everyone that there is a live performance in progress and while the mood in the house is festive, backstage, we are all business. We can’t have a social atmosphere back there. Please come backstage, wait to hear yourself announced, breeze onstage, be charismatic, cheerful, and gracious – maybe a little funny, sentimental, reverent or agreeably irreverent – swiftly present the award; wait joyfully as the winner gives a heartfelt but extremely brief acceptance speech, walk off stage from where you came on, and return to your seat.
If I am in the wings, I will THANK YOU very sincerely for helping make this a joyful and memorable evening. If you have questions or concerns, please feel welcome to contact me by email, by phone, or to speak to me in person, but do it before 7 p.m. on Monday....
INSTRUCTIONS FOR PERFORMERS
As with the presenters, thank you. Sharing your talent adds enormously to the evening, and everyone enjoys being reminded of terrific shows now gone Moreover, performers are often unable to see each other's shows, and your performance will let the community know just why you were nominated in the first place. Please come backstage one award ahead of when you are expected to perform, not before. It is always exciting to revisit a beloved show, but as with presenters, we cannot have the boisterous spirit of a cast reunion backstage. There is a show in progress.
TO EVERYONE
I sincerely thank everyone for making the Arties a joyous celebration of our theater community and EVERYONE in it, and for helping us make a difference for the patients of the ECMC HIV/AIDS Immunodeficiency Services “YOU Center for Wellness.” Let's have a good time!
Moments from the 32nd Annual Artie Awards
