The 2008 Focus Awards is Women in Film’s annual fundraising event and will be held Tuesday, October 14th, 2008, at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in downtown Chicago. It’s through your generous support of this event that we are able to provide programs and opportunities to our members and the Chicago creative community at large.
We’re proud to announce our very own Robin Robinson as this year’s Focus Awards Emcee.
Robin Robinson
Robin Robinson joined FOX News Chicago as co-anchor in 1987 and was a vital part of the FOX Chicago news launch in August of that year. She is an award-winning journalist who has obtained a high level of respect within her community and among her peers due to a firm commitment to news that goes beyond the breaking stories of the day.
Robin's 1984 arrival in Chicago was actually a return to the city. She was born in Chicago, where her father worked as a writer for
Ebony Magazine and Jet Magazine during the early years of Johnson Publishing Company. Her family later relocated to Southern California where she was raised.
In 1979 Robin began her career at KGTV in San Diego. She came back to the Windy City in 1984 where she joined WBBM-TV. Robin has been the recipient, along with the FOX News Team, of numerous Emmys for their outstanding performances, most notably coverage of the Great Chicago Flood and the funeral of Joseph Cardinal Bernadine.
We’re proud to announce this year’s Focus Awards Honorees:
Nichelle Nichols
Nichelle Nichols began her professional singing and dancing career in her hometown, Chicago, at the tender age of 14. As a teen, she was discovered by the great Duke Ellington who hired her to choreograph and perform a ballet for one of his musical suites. Nichelle was cast by Gene Roddenberry to create Lt. Uhura in the legendary TV series, Star Trek, and went on to co-star in the subsequent six Star Trek motion pictures.
Among her other TV and film credits are “Snow Dogs” (co-starring Cuba Gooding Jr. and James Colburn), “Captain Zoom in Outer Space” (co-starring Ron Perlman and Daniel Riordan), “The Supernaturals” (co-starring Maxwell Caufield and Lavar Burton) and “Porgy & Bess” (with Sammy Davis, Jr.)
Nichelle’s work in theatre has earned her multiple nominations for the coveted Sarah Siddons Award for Best Actress and she has starred in the touring Broadway hits, “Horowitz and Mrs. Washington” and “Nunsense II.” Nichelle’s one-woman show, “REFLECTIONS”, a dramatic musical theatre piece, opened to rave reviews at the Westwood Playhouse in Los Angeles and a CD and video release of this production are planned.
On January 9, 1992, Nichelle was awarded her much deserved star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. She became the first African-American to place her handprints and signature in cement walk at the famous Mann’s Chinese Theatre. Along with the other command crewmembers on the Starship Enterprise, Nichelle was installed in a special exhibit at the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum, an unprecedented accolade for the entertainment industry. Both Whoopi Goldberg and Dr. Mae Jemison (the first African- American female astronaut) publicly give Nichelle credit for inspiring them in their beginning careers.
Jane Alderman
Jane Alderman has been casting theatre, feature films and television for 28 years with over 62 films, 70 television shows and 36 plays to her credit. British-born and New York raised, she has made Chicago her home for 41 years. Prior to a career in casting, Ms. Alderman was an actress – her most notable performance with John Malkovich and Glenne Headly in the Goodman Theatre’s groundbreaking production of Sam Shepard’s “Curse of the Starving Class.”
In her recent return to acting she spent the summer with Steppenwolf Theatre in Tracy Letts’ newest play “Superior Donuts.”Jane also appeared in “Honus and Me"at The Goodman Theatre, numerous improv stints at IO and Annoyance Theatre, as well as in Marriott Lincolnshire’s, “Funny Girl”and the long running hit, “Vagina Monologues.” A few films to her credit – her most recent is “The Break Up” playing Vince Vaughn’s mom - Jane also appears in the films “Dust Clouds”and “The Man in the Silo”,co-starring with Ernie Hudson.
Her casting credits include the National Tour of “Evita”for Hal Prince; the films “Fred Claus”; “Rudy”; “The Straight Story”; “Nothing in Common”and“Backdraft.”For television: “Normal”; “What About Joan”; “EZ Streets”; “Turks”; “Early Edition”and “TheUntouchables.” Her latest project for Broadway was the new Mark Medoff play, “Prymate”. She recently worked with Jane Anderson on her feature film, “The Prize Winner of Defiance, Ohio”; Angelo Pizzo’s, “The Game of Their Lives”, and “The Flags of Our Fathers”,for Clint Eastwood.She has been with the television show, “ER”, for all of its seasons doing the Chicago casting. (15 years!) Along the musical theatre front Jane has just finished casting the production of “Dangerous Beauty”for The American Music Theatre Project.
Jane taught at DePaul’s Theatre School for 20 years and is currently teaching at Roosevelt University’s Chicago Center For The Performing Arts, and at Act One Studios. Recently she was part of the judging and offered a master class for the National Society of Arts and Letters for American Musical Theatre. She produced a television pilot,”Sam Hill” and for theatre she founded and produced the Jeff Award-winning ensemble THE DOGS in “Xenogenesis” and “Dogtown.”
The winner of Casting Society of America’s Artios Award for Excellence in Casting for both Dramatic Pilot (“Ez Streets”) and Movie of The Week (“Normal”) she has also been nominated for UNTOUCHABLES, TURKS
and ER.
A member of SAG, AFTRA, AEA, NATAS, and CSA, she is very proud of her involvement with a new program she co-created for the Chicago branch of SAG/AFTRA – CASTING ACCESS – making casting directors accessible to professional actors. Jane was a founding member of Women In Film Chicago. She shares her talent at workshops throughout the country and is currently working on a short novel.
By supporting this event, you are directly supporting our
organization and the film, television, commercial and new
media community in Chicago.
