On Monday night, Edmonds Driftwood Players President Carissa Meisner Smit and Treasurer Kathleen Huston attended the Gregory Awards at the Moore Theater in Seattle.

“We were there to support our TIPs technical director (TD) Roger Huston, and his partner in crime Doug Staley,” Kathleen Huston says.
“See, Roger wears two hats….he is the TIPS TD and also the manages a small 50-seat theater in Seattle called Theater Schmeater.
Theater Schmeater after 22 years lost their lease last year on Capitol Hill and had to find a new theater location, then build-out a brand new theater space. It was a daunting project and required many long hours of manual labor, massive fundraising, and leading the troupes onward.”

Both Huston and Staley were recognized by the arts community and were presented with the prestigious Melissa Hines Award.

“The Melissa Hines Impact Award honors dedicated individuals who make theatre possible, enabling artists to create their art but who often are not recognized by curtain calls, reviews or awards,” Kathleen Huston said. “The award is based on an individual’s work over the previous Gregory Awards season (August 1, 2013 through July 31, 2014.)”

“We all know hard working stage managers, diligent development directors and volunteers of every stripe who keep our community vibrant and functioning,” she added. “We were happy to help negotiate keeping the secret of the award nomination, getting the two recipients to the theater, and watching their faces when they were called to the stage.”

Kathleen Huston notes that Staley will be directing “Lark Eden” at the Driftwood Players’ Wade James Theatre in January 2015.