A night of love and laughter.
For everyone who was around Wrigleyville last Wednesday, you might have noticed the hundred or so people who flooded the Del Close Theatre at iO to not only honor the late Del Close, but also to host the Del Awards. The Del Awards are iO’s annual awards which are voted on by performers, staff and interns and are then awarded in a night of laughter, drinking and so many hugs.
Last week, a number of things happened, so I thought I’d gather people’s thoughts and post a recap of the evening. I spoke with John Sabine, from The Late 90s, who helped organize the show and he said that it was a really cool process. Everyone in The Late 90s was in charge of something whether it was finding presenters, organizing voting, writing, you name it. Of course it wasn’t only The Late 90s putting in late nights to get this show off and running, rest assured a number of staff and performers from iO pitched in as well.The night was hosted by Scott Nelson. Irene Marquette appeared as “The Del Girl,” keeping with the theme of “The Future.” The show opened with Birthday Girl doing a “typical” Harold opening about iO. After them, Charna [Halpern] gave everyone a shot and did a toast sadly reminding everyone that it was probably the last Del Awards in this location.There were a number of memorable moments throughout the evening. One would have to be Mike Brunlieb walking across the stage as if to go to bar at the beginning of the show and then freezing on stage with his arms in the air almost like a coat rack. He held this stance for about 35 minutes until he finally moved and approached the podium and said “And the nominees for Excellence in Portraying Inanimate Objects are…” Commitment.
The show ended with Colleen Doyle winning Improvisor of the Year and it couldn’t have been more deserved. What a talented lady. Jason Shotts gave a really great speech and Dan MacAvoy put together a video interviewing friends of Colleen’s. She was very touched and honored to receive such an award and it was the perfect ending to the show.If you didn’t get a chance to witness the madness for yourself, ask around for good stories. There’s no doubt that iO is a loving and supportive community and it couldn’t have been more apparent last Wednesday night.Long live the Legend. Del Close.Until next year, here is a complete listing of the 2013 Del Award Winners and congratulations to everyone!
- Most Memorable Off Stage Moment: Mike Johnson’s Facebook status about 38 Harold slots getting cut
- The Jamie Swise Award for Excellence in Bartending or Serving: Molly Lartz
- The Jorin Garguilo Award for Excellence in Hosting: Clayton Margeson
- The Bob Dassie Award for Incompetence in Hosting: Mike Kelly
- Team Award for Excellence in Portraying Inanimate Objects: Big Spoon
- Team Award for Excellence in Show Postering: Dummy
- The Liz Allen Award for Excellence in Teaching: Jason Shotts
- The Craig Uhlir Award for Excellence in Coaching: Rob White
- Team Award for Excellence in Being New: Villain
- Most Memorable Line: “Parents; can’t live without ’em…but eventually you have to.” – Scott Nelson
- Player Most Likely to go Blue: Devin Bockrath
- Award for Excellence in Portraying the Opposite Sex: Brendan Jennings
- Award for Excellence in Being a Scripted Show: The Other Other Show
- The Sarah Fineout Award for Most Supportive Female Improviser: Colleen Doyle
- Most Supportive Male Improviser: TJ Jagodowski
- The Timmy Mayse Award for Hottest, Sexiest, Most Adorable and Greatest Improviser of All Time: Joey Romaine
- The 3033 Award for Excellence in Non-Haroldness (Formerly Best Non-Harold Show): Dummy
- The Reckoning Award for Excellence in Harolding (Formerly Best Harold Team): The Late 90’s
- Improviser of the Year: Colleen Doyle
*A big thank you to Irene Marquette, Blythe Haaga and John Sabine for helping pull this together!
March 13, 2013
posted in Chatter, News/Updates
