Baylor alums nominated for New York theatre awards

New York City is a long way from Waco — over 1,600 miles — but that hasn’t kept Baylor theatre alumni and even Baylor professors from excelling in the Big Apple.

Two Bears were nominated this summer for New York Innovative Theatre awards for their performances in leading roles. Elizabeth Davis, BFA ’03, was nominated for outstanding actress in a lead role for her portrayal of Emily Dickinson in the play “Emily, An Amethyst Remembrance.” (See a commercial for “Emily” here.) Among the nominees for outstanding actor in a lead role was Christopher Domig, an RA for Baylor Communication in New York (the internship program of Baylor’s film and media program); Domig performed in “A Mysterious Way,” the story of a youth minister and a drifter who strike up a conversation while waiting for a train. The play was performed on various subway platforms around New York City. (See teaser video here.)

The Baylor connections continue from there. Both plays were presented by New York’s Firebone Theatre, co-founded by Baylor graduates Steven Day, MFA ’05, and his wife, Chris Cragin, MFA ’05. “A Mysterious Way” was written by another Bear, Steven Michael Walters, BFA ’03. Both plays were written and workshopped by their authors during their time as students at Baylor.

And those aren’t the only Bears in NYC theatre. Baylor Magazine ran this feature last fall on the experience of a group of Baylor professors and alumni producing a play off-Broadway in the summer of 2009 and the lessons those professors brought back to their students in Waco. One of those professors, Thomas Ward, wrote another play called “Binge” which opened recently off-off-Broadway, while alumnus Robert Askins, BFA ’04, saw his play “Princes of Waco” produced off-Broadway to rave reviews. Askins was even nominated for the 2010 PONY (Playwrights of New York) prize.

Sic ’em, Bears on Broadway!