BEST DIRECTOR

Holloway’s best known as an actor, but this last season it was his directing at Hat Trick Theatre that proved what a local treasure he’s become. First there was his deeply moving, emotionally intelligent staging of Craig Wright’s Pavilion, about two former lovers who reunite in an effort to discover whether the past can be recaptured. With Holloway’s oversight, Hat Trick artistic director Joe Winskye gave the best performance of his career, and Jan Ray bared regions of the heart so authentic that it was hard to believe she was acting. A few months later, Holloway gave us something completely different: a hilarious staging of Ray Cooney’s Funny Money, a farce that offered mistaken identities, endless layers of deception, drunk scenes, sex mix-ups, police in hot pursuit and much, much more. Thanks to the talented Holloway, the action was quick, crazy and as relentless as the laughter that cascaded from the audience onto the stage. This guy can act and direct. Can he design sets and costumes?