Company One recognizes "commitment" and "talent"

Banner Staff

At its upcoming gala, Company One plans to award Darren Evans with its annual honor recognizing an outstanding commitment to Boston’s theater. Evans is manager of Performing Arts at the Boston Center for the Arts. (Photo courtesy of Company One)

James Milford, a Boston native and regular actor with Company One, receives the cutting-edge theater company’s award that recognizes emerging talent.  (Photo courtesy of Company One)

Company One has announced the recipients of its 2010 awards that will presented at its annual gala on March 25.

The David Wheeler award — given in recognition of an emerging talent in the Boston theatre scene — will be given to James Milord.  The Lois Roach award, which recognizes an individual’s outstanding commitment to the theatre community, will be given to Darren Evans.

Milord is a Boston native and a regular actor with Company One, where he was recently hailed for his performance as Pelzie in THE GOOD NEGRO. Milord’s prior Company One productions include: “A Clockwork Orange,” “103 Within the Veil,” “Den of Thieves,” “Six Rounds Six Lessons” and “The Gibson Girl.”

Other recent Boston credits include the staged reading of “The Emperor Jones” with Commonwealth Shakespeare Company and various roles in the 2008 and 2009 African American Theatre Festival.

“I’m honored,” Milford said after learning of the award. “I’m overjoyed. I’m humbled. This means so much to me personally and speaks volumes to continuously chasing your dreams no matter what may come or how long it takes.”

Evans is the Manager of Performing Arts at the Boston Center for the Arts, where Company One is in residence. In this position, he oversees five theatre and rehearsal spaces and assists many of Boston’s small and mid-sized companies.

Evans is also the producing artistic director of Theatre on Fire, and has directed shows with companies including Centastage, Zeitgeist Stage, The Theatre Cooperative, Concord Players and Vokes Theatre.  He has also been a general manager and lighting designer for various companies in and around Boston and received his M.A. in Theatre Education from Emerson College.

“I am both gobsmacked and honored to be named the recipient of this award,” Evans said. “I am extremely lucky to get to work with many of Boston’s best theatre companies, from tiny fringe groups to large theatres, and I just want to do whatever I can to help them produce amazing theatre.

“I am especially pleased that this is a Company One award,” Evans went on, “because I’ve been working with them for many years and I have seen them grow from one of those small fringe companies into a major force in the Boston theatre scene. I respect their work, their integrity, and their mission, so to be honored by them means a great deal to me.”

Company One is an award-winning theatre company in residence at the Boston Center for the Arts. Its mission of producing socially-relevant plays that represent Boston’s diversity has been consistently recognized throughout the theater world.

Company One initiated its awards last year, as a way of honoring David Wheeler and Lois Roach, two pioneers of the Boston theatre scene who have inspired and influenced Company One over the last decade.

 For more information on the upcoming gala, including tickets, please visit the Company One website, www.companyone.org.