About Us: Awards

ASGT Receives a 2011 Ruby Griffith Award!

The British Players held their annual Ruby Griffith Awards Ceremony in Annandale, Virginia on Sunday, July 10, 2011. Ruby Griffith Awards honor all-around production excellence by amateur theatre groups in the greater DC metropolitan area. This year, Annapolis Summer Garden Theatre was honored to receive a 2011 Ruby Griffith Award for our 2010 production of The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee. This is the second Ruby Griffith Award for ASGT; the theatre received the award for All-Around Production Excellence Award in 2007 for it's 2006 production of Urinetown.

The ASGT Board of Directors wishes to thank all of our volunteers for making this award possible. Congratulations, too, to the cast and creative team behind Spelling Bee, including director Darnell Morris, choreographer Nicole Martin, and music director Trent Goldsmith. This winning team is in action at ASGT once again this summer for our production of Hairspray. Don't miss it!

For more information about the Ruby Griffith Awards, please visit http://www.rubygriffith.org/.

Well-earned honors for our own president Carolyn Kirby!

From the Annapolis & Anne Arundel County Conference & Visitors Bureau website, dated November 25, 2009:

After tallying the more than 5,000 votes that were cast for 42 candidates in its November More than a Pretty Face contest, the Annapolis & Anne Arundel County Conference and Visitors Bureau (AAACCVB) is pleased to announce twelve winners…

…AAACCVB President and CEO Connie Del Signore says the More than a Pretty Face winners epitomize the spirit of giving and selflessness that make Annapolis and Anne Arundel County so appealing. “There’s no doubt about it, these caring individuals make our beautiful destination even more attractive. Their efforts and commitment enhance the quality of life for all who live, work, and visit Annapolis and Anne Arundel County. We are grateful that they have chosen to share their gifts with us.”

Carolyn’s nomination read as follows:

“I would like to nominate Mrs. Carolyn Kirby for the Annapolis: More than Just a Pretty Face. I have the privilege of knowing Carolyn though the Annapolis Summer Garden Theater, where she is the current president. Residents and visitors to our fair city either know her from the theater, or recognize her as an historic tour guide for Watermark. I admire her passion for the rich history of Annapolis. Since her retirement, I think she might actually work more. She is the heart and soul of the Summer Garden Theatre, and her volunteer position has her spending almost every day working on making the theater an attraction in downtown Annapolis. Carolyn is one of the kindest and most elegant ladies in the city. She embodies grace and we are all better people for knowing her.”

Find the full story of the Annapolis & Anne Arundel County Conference & Visitors Bureau’s More Than Just a Pretty Face contest at: http://www.visitannapolis.org/media/news-releases/news-detail/index.aspx?nid=87

Annapolis Charter 300 Committee honors Joan Baldwin

One of the activities of the Annapolis Charter 300 Committee was to honor citizens of Annapolis whose vision has enriched our community. Seven bronze plaques like the one hanging in our lobby have been made to remember the “Visionaries of the 1960s.”

Clearly one of those was Joan Baldwin, whose tireless efforts gave us, among other things, the Annapolis Summer Garden Theatre. So it was appropriate that Mayor Ellen Moyer chose our theatre lobby for one of those special honors. On September 10th, she, along with ASGT President Carolyn Kirby and Joan’s children, Jim Baldwin and Meg Baldwin Grasso formally unveiled the plaque honoring Joan that is proudly hung in the lobby of our theatre, on the box office wall for all to see.

The mayor talked about the Legacy Community Project funded by a state grant received for the Annapolis 300 Celebration in 2008. In various parts of the city, kiosks and other markers have been installed to help us remember the rich history of the neighborhoods and the people who have made Annapolis special.

President Kirby took the opportunity to share various items from Joan’s ASGT scrapbook with the assembled group, including a picture of Joan and Mayor Moyer at the city pool in the 1960’s.

The full text of the plaque appears at right.

ASGT garners the coveted Ruby Griffith Award for its 2006 production of Urinetown The Musical…

The British Players held their 38th Annual Ruby Griffith Awards Ceremony at Bretton Woods Country Club in Potomac, Maryland on July 15, 2007.

Upon retirement from her professional career — primarily in the field of theatre education — Ruby Griffith moved from London to Washington DC. In 1964, she became a founding member of the British Embassy Players. As Artistic Director, she produced and/or directed seven of the Players’ first fourteen productions. Sadly, on the opening night of her production of Old Time Music Hall in 1968, she suffered a fatal cerebral hemorrhage.

The British Embassy Players honored her with an annual award competition for All-Round Production Excellence through the Washington Theatre Alliance. There were 10 entrants the first year. Later, the competition was extended beyond the Alliance to organizations throughout the greater D.C. metropolitan area. And in 1991, two additional awards were added, for outstanding achievement in a musical and a non-musical. This year, approximately half of the 70-plus theatres that are eligible to participate will submit entries.

The 2007 ceremony was a swan song of sorts for Lady Catherine Manning, wife of British Ambassador to the United States Sir David Manning (and noted author of psycho-mystery novels). At the end of the festive evening, Lady Manning presented the All-Around Production Excellence Award to the Annapolis Summer Garden Theatre for its 2006 production of Urinetown The Musical.

The Award, made of sterling silver by Garrards of London, depicts the masks of comedy and tragedy below the British Lion. Designed by an early member of the British Embassy Players, it remains in the hands of the Summer Garden Theatre until the new winner is declared this summer. We also received a permanent plaque and certificate for our 2006 win!

ASGT President Carolyn Kirby

Left to right: ASGT President Carolyn Kirby with trophy; ASGT Production Director Nikki Gerbasi; Urinetown Director Ron Giddings with certificate; Emily Karol, ASGT actor and costumer holding the plaque.