The Anderson-Hopkins Award for Excellence in the Theater Arts was presented Monday night, November 9, at Signature Theatre in Arlington, Virginia, to Kimberly Gilbert (performer), DeJeanette Horne (performer), Misha Kachman (set designer), and Andrea “Dre” Moore (properties and puppet designer).
The $5,000 cash award is given to honor performers, designers, or other theatermakers whose careers demonstrate great accomplishments to date and promise for the future. The Anderson-Hopkins Award is not intended to reward life achievement nor outstanding success in a single performance, although both may be considered in selection. Instead, it recognizes theatermakers who are still creating and have made a long-term commitment to theater in the Washington, DC, region.
Artists who receive this honor have been performing in the Washington, DC, region for a minimum of ten years with at least two performances in the last two years. Throughout their careers, they have demonstrated excellence through tangible recognition, such as critical acclaim in reviews or Helen Hayes Award nominations. To date, the organization has given out $160,000 to 32 recipients.
The Anderson-Hopkins Award was established in 2017 and is funded for 20 years from the Estates of Richard B. Anderson and his long-time life partner, William L. Hopkins, who were avid theatergoers and supporters and felt that their personal growth was fostered by Washington, DC’s theaters and theater community. The Award is intended to give back to that same community.
This year, Amy Austin, President & CEO, announced that Theatre Washington has taken on a new role as steward of the Anderson-Hopkins Awards, and will be supporting the program’s long-term future with the current leadership of trustees Carl W. Smith and Michael L. Burke. At the ceremony, Austin said, “The Anderson-Hopkins Awards remind us how important it is to recognize and celebrate the remarkable theater artists we have in this region. Theatre Washington is honored to play a role moving forward.”
Recipient Biographies
Kimberly Gilbert – Performer
Kimberly Gilbert has been a part of the DC Theaterverse for over 25 years. She is a three-time Helen Hayes Award recipient and seven-time nominee who began her Washington, DC, theater career in 2001 after earning her MFA in Classical Acting through the Shakespeare Theatre Company and The George Washington University. A company member of both Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company and Taffety Punk Theatre Company, she has performed extensively throughout the Washington metropolitan area. The Washington Post praised her gift for “bringing what feels like all of life with her onto the stage.” She considers it both a privilege and a responsibility to represent the extraordinary artistry of Washington, DC’s theater community, wherever her work takes her.
DeJeanette Horne – Performer
Two-time Helen Hayes Award recipient DeJeanette Horne is a Washington, DC, native who has spent more than a decade bringing stories to life on stages across the region. Credits include Fences, Macbeth, Metamorphoses, Sweat, Chicken & Biscuits, and My Children! My Africa!, with companies such as Folger Theatre, Washington Stage Guild, Keegan Theatre, Olney Theatre Center, and Chesapeake Shakespeare Company. On screen, he has appeared in Bust, Made in America, and Harlot’s Webb, and his voice can be heard in audiobook productions from GraphicAudio, such as Box of Bones: Volume 1, Koontown Killing Kaper, and the Leveling Up series. In addition to his professional work, DeJeanette enjoys developing short stories, nurturing young talent, and co-directing plays with his talented wife, Lolita Marie. DeJeanette believes storytelling — especially live theater — is an experience that must be shared, embraced, and protected because it helps us see ourselves and our community more clearly and builds stronger bonds through empathy and understanding.
Misha Kachman – Set Design
Misha Kachman is a painter and a scenographer who has worked at Arena Stage, Arizona Theatre Company, Asolo Repertory Theatre, Baltimore Center Stage, Berkeley Repertory Theatre, Children’s Theatre Company of Minneapolis, Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, Cleveland Playhouse, Court Theatre, Ford’s Theatre, The Kennedy Center, Olney Theatre Center, Opera Royal Versailles, Pasadena Playhouse, Portland Center Stage, Rattlestick Playwrights Theatre, Round House Theatre, Seattle Opera, Seattle Repertory Theatre, Shanghai Dramatic Arts Center, Signature Theatre, Syracuse Stage, Theater J, Theatre for a New Audience, The Wilma Theater, Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company, 59E59 Theaters, and many other companies in the United States and abroad. Misha is a Helen Hayes Award recipient for My Mama and the Full-Scale Invasion and The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity at Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company, and he is a Woolly Mammoth Company member. He is a graduate of the Academy of Theatre Arts in St. Petersburg, Russia, and he serves as Professor of Scene and Costume Design at the University of Maryland.
Andrea “Dre” Moore – Properties and Puppet Designer
Dre is a freelance designer and fabricator with a theatrical career spanning over 30 years in the DC theater scene, and even longer as a patron of the arts. Theaters she has created for include Olney Theatre Center, CenterStage, Round House Theatre, Signature Theatre, Ford’s Theatre, Constellation Theatre Company, Pennsylvania Shakespeare Company, Maryland Ensemble Theatre, The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Flying V Theatre, Discovery Theatre, Theater J, Rep Stage, and Georgetown University. Over a decade was spent at the University of Maryland in College Park as an assistant in the properties shop and collaborator in the costume shop, helping students develop fabrication skills. Her many talents include large- and small-scale properties and puppet fabrication, costumes and costume crafts, carpentry, painting, and welding. With a passion for theater for young audiences, she is currently the Resident Properties Designer for Imagination Stage and Adventure Theatre – MTC and a fabricator for the Puppet Co. She graduated from Virginia Commonwealth University with a BFA in Crafts, which focused on metalsmithing, woodworking, glassworking, and fiberwork/textiles.
About Theatre Washington
Through collaborative partnerships and programs, Theatre Washington supports the Washington, DC-area’s professional theater community to celebrate artistic achievement, strengthen the theatrical workforce, support institutional growth and advancement, and cultivate collective action. Theatre Washington’s core programs include the Helen Hayes Awards, Theatre Week, Theatre Work, and the Taking Care Fund.
