North Bay artists and productions recognized by the SFBATCC

North Bay theatre artists and companies received significant recognition at the 49th San Francisco Bay Area Theatre Critics Circle Excellence in Theatre Awards Gala. Hundreds of theatre artists from throughout the Bay Area attended the event which was held on Monday, March 30, 2026 at the Victoria Theatre in San Francisco.

The SFBATCC presented over 60 awards across 24 categories for productions mounted in 2025 plus four Special Awards. The Circle doesn’t recognize gender distinction in its performance categories and classifies several awards by genre including dramas, comedies, and musicals. 

The SFBATCC also utilizes a three-part separation by house size in certain award categories so that companies of similar sizes were under consideration for their outstanding work.

Mill Valley’s Marin Theatre took home nine awards in the 100-300 seat division including eight for their co-production with Berkeley’s Aurora Theatre of Eureka Day. The remounting of Jonathan Spector’s award-winning comedy was recognized with awards for Lighting Design (Jeff Rowlings), Sound Design (Ray Archie), Stage Direction (Josh Costello), Featured Performance – Comedy (Charisse Loriaux), Principal Performance – Comedy (Lisa Anne Porter) and Ensemble – Comedy as well as Entire Production (North Bay) and Entire Production (Bay Area) awards. 

Emily Newsome was also recognized for Principal Performance – Drama for her work as Luce in Marin Theatre’s Sally and Tom. 

Tina Traboulsi was recognized with the Principal Performance – Drama in a house with fewer than 100 seats Award for her work as the visually impaired Susan Hendrix in the Ross Valley Players production in the Frederick Knott thriller Wait Until Dark. 

Daniela Innocenti Beem’s performance as Fräulein Schneider in the Marin Musical Theatre Company production of Kander & Ebb’s Cabaret was recognized with the Featured Performance – Musical in a house with fewer than 100 seats Award. 

Marin’s Marilyn Izdebski was honored with the Circle’s Gene Price Award. The award is named for the former arts editor and long-time theatre critic of the San Francisco Bay Times and honors a person who embodies superlative professionalism and passion for Bay Area theatre. Izdebski was recognized for her decades of service to local theatre, from running her own dance and musical theatre studio to directing and choreographing hundreds of youth and community theatre productions. Izdebski is the current President of the Board of Directors of Novato Theater Company.

Sonoma County productions recognized were the Spreckels Theatre Company production of David Templeton’s Featherbaby with the Entire Production (North Bay) in a house with fewer than 100 seats Award and Transcendence Theatre Company’s Beautiful: The Carole King Musical for Entire Production (North Bay) in a house with greater than 300 seats Award.

Active since 1976, the SFBATCC consists of reviewers covering theatre in all nine Bay Area counties across various media. The Circle hosts an annual awards ceremony each Spring to celebrate superior work in the previous year.

Photos by Colin Hussey

This article was originally published in an edited version in the Pacific Sun.