Romance and Awards: February Breakdown

We have two things that will keep our attention this month, the awards shows and our romance with them. You can’t turn a TV channel without seeing a promo for some awards show, all of which will culminate on the day when we’ll see who takes home the shiny golden guy named Oscar during the 88th Academy Awards ceremony on the 28th.

Here in San Diego, it’s awards month as well. This month we have the 3rd Annual Cabaret Awards at the Horton Grand and The San Diego Theatre Critics Circle will present the 14th Annual Craig Noel Awards just a week later. I’m proud to say the diversity of the nominations for these awards are spread around the county from our large, nationally–known companies to our smaller, more obscure companies.

Size didn’t matter when it came to the vast range of productions from these companies this year. We may be used to the upcoming Beer Week and Restaurant Week, but now an intrepid group of theaters have bound together to launch the first ever San Diego Theatre Week from the 22nd to the 28th. "The performing arts are one of San Diego’s greatest treasures," says D. Candis Paule, President of the San Diego Performing Arts League. "Just as Restaurant Week is a week for foodies to explore new culinary options while saving money, our vision for Theatre Week is audience members will take advantage of the opportunity to discover new theatre companies and unforgettable arts experiences. It’s the perfect chance to try out something new."

With over 30 theaters participating, there’s no reason not to see a show, maybe even at a theatre you haven’t been to yet. Most theatres will be performing during the special week, but even organizations without events that week will have special offers, whether for present or future performances.

With all the talk about awards over the past couple of weeks, I was recently asked how the Academy Award became known as Oscar. There are several stories that are told, but I feel the best and most credible are these two. One is the tale surrounding Bette Davis. Winning the Best Actress category in 1935, she was handed the statue and looked at it from the backside and said, "This looks like my husband Oscar" (Named for band leader Harmon Oscar Nelson). The other story is that the Academy’s Executive Secretary, Margaret Herrick, saw the award in 1931 and said it reminded her of her "Uncle Oscar" (a nickname for her cousin Oscar Pierce). Sidney Skolsky, a newspaper columnist, overheard the comment and used the name "Oscar" in his byline, "Employees have affectionately dubbed their famous statuette ‘Oscar’." In 1939, The Academy officially adopted "Oscar" as the name for this very prestigious award.

Enjoy awards month this year! Thank you to all of the companies for all your hard work over the last year that we enjoyed so much. To the nominees, congratulations and good luck!