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Honorees

 

The Symposium's awards recognize otherwise unheralded contributions to equity in the entertainment industry. While those honored possess impressive lists of other, more publicly appreciated accomplishments, the lesser known courageous and critical actions for which they are awarded serve as inspiration, modeling for us all what we might also contribute. Past award recipients have been honored for refusing to write alternative character demographics for producers' commercial interests, refusing to audition as a stereotype, appealing to government agencies to investigate industry discrimination, and investing their attentions and dollars only in those productions that support a more equitable world view. This year's honorees continue the tradition.

VELINA BROWN

Velina Brown is an award-winning actress, singer/songwriter, and director whose artistic home for several years has been the Tony and OBIE award-winning (and never silent) San Francisco Mime Troupe. Velina has been a principal actor and guiding force for the world-famous company for over twenty years, touring nationally and internationally, helping create dozens of world premiere political musical dramas and comedies, each examining issues of peace, equality, or economic and social justice. She also performs regularly at several Bay Area Theatre companies including: American Conservatory Theatre, Berkeley Repertory Theatre, The Magic, TheatreWorks, Shotgun Players, and SF Playhouse among many others. Velina is a two-time winner of the San Francisco Bay Area Theatre Critic's Circle award: Outstanding Supporting Actress for her work in S.F. Playhouse's ABRAHAM LINCOLN'S BIG GAY DANCE PARTY, and Oustanding Principal Actress in the S.F. Mime Troupe's POSIBILIDAD. In 2012 Velina was honored as part of Theatre Bay Area Magazine 35th Anniversary as one of the "35 Faces" that had made significant contributions to the Bay Area theater community. Film and TV appearances include Chance, Party of Five, Nash Bridges, Trauma, Final Witness, Bee Season, Maladaptive, One Way to Valhalla, and Milk. Velina is also a coach and writes a monthly column for Theatre Bay Area Magazine called “The Business of Show Biz.” Velina graduated Magna Cum Laude from San Francisco State University, and has a Master's Degree in Counseling.

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LILY TUNG CRYSTAL

Lily Tung Crystal is an actor/singer and the founding artistic director of Ferocious Lotus Theatre Company, which is committed to working with professional Asian American theatre artists. More than diversity, Ferocious Lotus promotes “reality”—the reality that our neighborhoods comprise people of all races, cultures and backgrounds, and that theatre should represent that reality. Last year, Yerba Buena Center for the Arts named Lily to the YBCA 100, a group of "creative minds, makers, and pioneers...who are making the provocations that will shape the future of American culture.” Favorite acting roles include: Prosecutor Li in Chinglish (Portland Center Stage, Syracuse Stage); Bloody Mary in South Pacific (Mountain Play); Korean #2 in Songs of the Dragons Flying to Heaven (Crowded Fire/AATC, Bay Area Theatre Critics Circle nomination); Amanda in Private Lives (Whirligig Theatre, Shanghai); Mrs. Park in Worlds Apart (Magic Theatre, New World Stages); and Mother/Doctor in Crane (Ferocious Lotus). Lily also appears in the film Steve Jobs directed by Danny Boyle. She recently made her directorial debut helming Chinglish at Palo Alto Players (Theatre Bay Area Award nomination).

 

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ADAM LEIPZIG

Adam Leipzig has been a producer, distributor or supervising executive on more than 30 films that have disrupted expectations, including A Plastic Ocean (2016), March of the Penguins (2005), Honey, I Shrunk the Kids (1989), Dead Poets Society (1989) and Titus (1999). His movies have won or been nominated for 10 Academy Awards, 11 BAFTA Awards, 2 Golden Globes, 2 Emmys, 2 Directors Guild Awards, 4 Sundance Awards and 4 Independent Spirit Awards. Collectively, his projects have generated over $2 billion in revenue on $300 million production spending, and twice he has been responsible for the ‘most profitable picture of the year.’

 

Mr Leipzig is founder and CEO of Entertainment Media Partners; Senior Advisor to CreativeFuture, a non-profit organization that advocates for the rights of creative communities; Publisher and Managing Editor of Cultural Weekly; and a faculty member at the prestigious UC Berkeley Haas School of Business. He is also the former President of National Geographic Films, where he raised $125 million in production financing, and was a Senior VP at Walt Disney Studios.

 

Mr. Leipzig is author of two books for emerging filmmakers published by Macmillan: Inside Track for Independent Filmmakers and Filmmaking in Action: Your Guide to the Skills and Craft, which has become the standard learning text at universities and colleges. Mr. Leipzig has written for the New York Times, CEO.com, Smart CEO Magazine, and many others.

MYRTON RUNNING WOLF

Dr. Running Wolf holds masters degrees from Tisch School of the Arts at NYU and the University of Southern California School of Cinematic Arts. He completed his Ph.D. in Theater and Performance Studies at Stanford University. Behind-the-scenes, Myrton worked in Production Management for Walt Disney Studio’s ABC Television Group on primetime network series LOST, Grey’s Anatomy, Private Practice, Brothers & Sisters, and Criminal Minds. He was also a Creative Producer for The CW and NBC network television affiliates. His professional performance experience includes roles in feature films The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, The New World, Into the West, several network television shows, and theater productions in New York City, Chicago, Los Angeles, and the San Francisco Bay Area. As an award-winning writer/director/producer, his film and stage work has played across the nation. As an academic, he has taught at Stanford and Occidental College, lectured at Vassar College and Santa Clara University, and led workshops on theater making, identity politics, and the politics of ethnic minority inclusion/participation in mainstream media at numerous tribal and junior colleges.

TORANGE YEGHIAZARIAN

Founding Artistic Director of Golden Thread Productions, Torange Yeghiazarian writes, directs, and acts for the theatre. She has devoted her professional life to exploring Middle Eastern culture and identity through theatre arts. A native of Iran and of Armenian heritage, Torange holds a Master’s degree in Theatre Arts from San Francisco State University. Her plays (Call Me Mehdi, Waves, Dawn at Midnight, Behind Glass Windows, Abaga) reflect the perspective of the culturally displaced in tackling today’s world of contradictory realities and values. As a teaching artist, Torange has taught playwriting to at-risk youth as part of the Each One Reach One program, incorporated theatre into social studies in Richmond’s Washington Elementary School as part of East Bay Center for Performing Arts’ Learning Without Borders program, and led acting and play development workshops for Golden Thread Productions.

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