ASC Artists Shine in the 2025 BroadwayWorld Central Virginia Awards

Your favorite Blackfriars Playhouse artists are now official nominees.

Every year, BroadwayWorld invites audience members across the region to celebrate the artists and productions that made their seasons unforgettable. Voting is open now through December 31, 2025, and this year, the ASC is proudly represented across multiple categories.

Below, you’ll find each of our nominations. Revisit the moments that made you smile, cry, cheer, or lean in under shared light. Click through the voting link when you’re ready to cast your ballot.

Best Costume Design of a Play

Elisabeth Wislar — The Two Gentlemen of Verona

Elisabeth’s design work transformed Two Gents into a world full of texture, elegance, and story-rich detail. Every silhouette and hand-finished flourish helped guide audiences through place, class, and character with clarity and heart.

Want to go behind the seams? Check out her own words in our blog post Behind the Seams with Elisabeth Wislar where she talks about the inspiration, process, and craftsmanship that brought this production to life.

Best Direction of a Play

Constance Swain — Little Women

Constance’s vision for Little Women brought warmth, grit, and radical tenderness to the Blackfriars Playhouse. Her direction leaned into the power of connection — both onstage and in the audience — creating a production that families still talk about.

If you’re interested in hearing Constance share her insights on shaping this story from within, be sure to revisit her engaging conversation in our Lights ON Blackfriars panel. There, she and playwright Erin Riley explore the vulnerability, strength, and collaborative discoveries that bring Little Women to life.

Read & listen here:

Lights ON Blackfriars: Inside ASC’s Little Women & King Lear

K.P. Powell — Romeo & Juliet

K.P. Powell’s Romeo & Juliet was infused with early-2000s style, rhythm, and emotional immediacy.. His Verona felt electric — a place where humor, danger, tenderness, and heartbreak lived side by side, and where Shakespeare’s words moved with the speed and honesty of the present moment.

If you’re interested in learning about K.P.’s inspiration for Romeo & Juliet and how his experience on the Blackfriars stage shaped his approach, take a listen to his conversation with fellow ASC artist Aidan O’Reilly. It beautifully captures what it means to transition from actor to director in this space.

Watch it here:

From Actor to Director: A Conversation with K.P. Powell & Aidan O’Reilly

Best Performer in a Play

Sara J. Griffin — Sense and Sensibility

Sara’s performance captured the wit, restraint, and emotional turbulence at the heart of Austen’s world, grounding the story in humanity and humor. As Elinor Dashwood, her quiet resilience, the held breath, the bitten-back confession, the flicker of feeling she lets slip only when she chooses, resonated deeply with our audiences.

“Keep your eyes on Griffin… it is the resolve to keep her feelings well hid that defines Elinor, with only the slightest gleam in the eye to tell you what’s really going on inside her head.”

— Andrew Walker White, DC Theatre Arts

Read the full review here:

American Shakespeare Center’s ‘Sense and Sensibility,’ Up Close and Relatable

Angela Iannone — King Lear

Angela delivered a performance that anchored Lear’s world with precision, power, and emotional intelligence. Her King Lear moved between ferocity, clarity, humor, and heartbreak with a command that held the entire Playhouse in its grip.

“Tough times call for a tough Lear, and we have one here. Angela Iannone owns the stage.”

— Andrew Walker White, DC Theatre Arts

Read the full review here:

A ‘King Lear’ Both Upbeat and Dark at American Shakespeare Center

Summer England — Little Women

Summer England brought a bright, unshakeable fire to Jo March, shaping a performance that felt both deeply personal and universally recognizable. Her Jo battled, dreamed, wrote, and loved with a force that pulled audiences in from the first moment.

“Led by Summer England’s charismatic turn as Jo March, the precocious author-to-be, Swain’s cast brings the March sisters to vivid life.”

— Andrew Walker White, DC Theatre Arts

Read the full review here:

‘Little Women’ at American Shakespeare Center Is a Heartfelt Story for Us All

Favorite Local Theatre

The American Shakespeare Center

From world premieres to Shakespeare’s greatest hits, from student matinees to Drama Club performances — your presence in the Blackfriars Playhouse makes every story shine brighter. If the ASC has been part of your year, we’d be honored to have your vote in this category.

Want to see what is coming up next?

Explore the Blackfriars Playhouse Calendar.

How to Vote

Voting is hosted on BroadwayWorld’s Central Virginia Awards page.

You’ll be asked to enter your email once (to verify your ballot), and then you can select nominees in each category. No payment. No subscriptions. Just a few clicks.

Cast your vote here: broadwayworld.com/norfolk/awards/

Voting closes at 11:59 PM on December 31, 2025, and winners are announced in January.

Thank you for helping to lift the artists who make this place extraordinary.