PITTSFIELD, Mass. – The Berkshire Theatre Critics Association (BTCA) has announced the nominees for the fifth Berkshire Theatre Awards –The Berkies – and two Shakespeare & Company productions have been honored.
hang Director Regge Life is nominated for Outstanding Direction of a Play, while Debra Ann Byrd is nominated for Outstanding Solo Performance for BECOMING OTHELLO: A Black Girl’s Journey. BECOMING OTHELLO made its first staged debut this July 2021 at the Shakespeare & Company’s outdoor Roman Garden Theatre; hang made its regional debut and ran from September through October 2021 in the Tina Packer Playhouse.
This year’s Berkies recognize shows that opened at more than two dozen venues in Massachusetts, Connecticut, Vermont, and New York between October 2019 and September 2021. In addition to individual or ensemble awards, which are voted on by the entire membership, the BTCA Board will also present the Larry Murray Award for Community Engagement, with which Shakespeare & Company has been honored twice: once presented to Founding Director Tina Packer, and again to Shakespeare & Company’s Fall Festival of Shakespeare, which brings more than 500 high school students together each year for a nine-week, collaborative, non-competitive, celebratory exploration and production of multiple Shakespeare plays.
The Berkies will be presented at a ceremony on Monday, November 15 in Pittsfield, Mass. For more information, visit berkshirecritics.org or shakespeare.org.
-30-
About Shakespeare & Company
Founded in 1978, Shakespeare & Company is one of the leading Shakespeare festivals of the world, located in the Berkshires of Massachusetts. The organization welcomes more than 40,000 patrons annually, and is home to an internationally renowned Center for Actor Training and award-winning Education Program. Learn more at shakespeare.org.
