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Jay Russell and Melissa Hurst in Transference at
The Strawberry One-Act Festival 2020.

The Strawberry One-Act Festival 2020

Transference
Writer/Director

BEST DIRECTOR Winner
BEST PLAY Nominated
   

 

 

NY WinterFest 2018

Intruder
Director/Choreographer

BEST DIRECTOR Nominated
BEST ACTOR Nominated
BEST SINGER Nominated


Robert Newman, Shabazz Green and Zoë Johnson
in Intruder at NY Winterfest 2018
(Photo by Russ Rowland)
 


Janice Landry, Alexis Tidwell and Melissa Broder in
Welcome to the Hard Luck Café at the Thespis Theater Festival
(Photo by Steven J. Hill)

Thespis Theater Festival 2015

Welcome to the Hard Luck Café
Director/Choreographer

BEST DIRECTOR Winner
BEST PLAY OR MUSICAL Nominated
   

 

 

Midtown International Theatre Festival Awards, 2011

The Banana Monologues

OUTSTANDING SOUND DESIGN Winner
OUTSTANDING PRODUCTION OF A SOLO SHOW/SPECIAL EVENT Nominated
OUTSTANDING LEAD ACTOR IN A PLAY Nominated

The Banana Monologues
Off-Broadway at the Acorn Theatre
John Brennan
(
Photo by Carol Rosegg)

Patrick Jones and David Sitler in
In the Belly of the Beast
at Florida Studio Theatre.
(Photo by Amy Steinmetz)

Sarasota Magazine Award for Best Play of 2008: Florida Studio Theatre’s hard-hitting

In The Belly of the Beast 

"Florida Studio Theatre’s Stage III production of In the Belly of the Beast’s true-life story of killer-prisoner-writer Jack Abbott took us to some dark places, but there was considerable conviction and skill in the telling.

Nominated for Best Director:  Debra Whitfield for Florida Studio Theatre’s Stage III production of In the Belly of the Beast. Whitfield’s direction of this true tale of the incarcerated Jack Abbott took off with a high degree of tension and ratcheted it up throughout the evening, leaving us almost as drained as the actors must have been by evening’s end."

Sarasota Herald-Tribune - One of the Top 5 Plays for 2008

In The Belly of the Beast 

'08 plays make an impression

By Jay Handelman

"Some of the Top 5 of 2008 are dark looks at life, others more celebratory, but each had some element that helped it stay in the mind long after the curtain came down.

In the Belly of the Beast -- Based on Jack Henry Abbott's indictment of the prison and criminal justice system, this gripping play made the audience feel the pressure and danger prisoners face at almost every moment. Abbott, who was originally sentenced to prison for forgery, became a literary celebrity after Norman Mailer helped to publish his writings, leading to another prison term for murder . A strong three-member cast worked on a mostly bare stage with director Debra Whitfield to make this both a frightening and invigorating production at Florida Studio Theatre's Stage III."

Patrick Jones, David Sitler, and Douglas Coler in
In the Belly of the Beast
at Florida Studio Theatre.
(Photo by Amy Steinmetz)

BEAUX ARTS SOCIETY Leonardo da Vinci Award for Best Revival (Play)

Trifles

By Susan Glaspell

The Looking Glass Theatre, New York City

Directed by Debra Whitfield

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