Daily Loaf

Jack Holloway in Hat Trick's 2006 production of "Private Eyes" (Bob Gonzalez photo).

Local arts centers are crowing about two major wins for their people. Jack Holloway, an actor with Ruth Eckerd Hall’s Eckerd Theater Company, took first place (and $10,000) in a drama competition earlier this month sponsored by the National Society of Arts and Letters (NSAL). And Michael Kilgore, vice president of marketing and customer experiences at the Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center, has been cited for outstanding achievement in road marketing by The Broadway League, the national trade association for the Broadway industry. Bonus: Jack and Michael are among the nicest, most personable guys in the Tampa Bay arts community.

Creative Loafing readers are already familiar with Jack. His work with Hat Trick, Stageworks and Jobsite, among other companies, has regularly garnered critical raves; we cited him as a Young Artist to Watch a few years back, and theater critic Mark Leib named him Best of the Bay in 2005. Now he can lay claim to being best in the country.

NSAL is a nonprofit organization dedicated to fostering young talent; each year it gives out its National Career Award in a different field. Jack won the Clearwater/Tampa Bay NSAL chapter’s drama/comedy contest in March, then competed in the nationals in Washington D.C. against 18 actors from across the country. He performed a monologue from Shakespeare’s Two Gentlemen of Verona before a panel of judges that included Tony Award-winning playwright Mark Medoff (Children of  A Lesser God) and the casting director for ABC’s Ugly Betty.

The award puts him in pretty heady company. Past NSAL winners include actress Shirley MacLaine, soprano Jessye Norman and ballerina Julie Kent. The 2004 musical theater winner, Megan Hilty, is currently co-starring with Allison Janney on Broadway in 9 to 5.

TBPAC's Michael Kilgore.

As for Michael Kilgore, well, it’s not exactly surprising that a Broadway trade association would notice the success he’s had at getting butts in seats for touring Broadway shows; if you’ve ever been part of a TBPAC crowd attending say, Phantom, you’ve noticed it, too. TBPAC’s Morsani Hall consistently winds up at or near the top of the lists of similar-sized venues around the world when it come to year-end audience tabulations, which must mean the marketing department is doing something right.

In accepting his award, Kilgore extended credit to his team, which includes the lovely Summer Bohnenkamp, who besides being one of the funniest actors around is also director of marketing for TBPAC, to Angela Lakin, the center’s Broadway marketing manager, and to TBPAC President Judith Lisi. League road members and affiliate press agents nominated and voted on the marketing award.

Congrats to all!

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