Victor Shargai Leadership Award

2025 VSLA Award Celebration

with the Helen Hayes Awards Nominations

The Victor Shargai Leadership Award Celebration will be held on February 10, 2025 at 7pm in tandem with the Helen Hayes Awards nominations. The nominations will be announced by DC-area theatre makers and the evening will feature a celebration of awardee Gregg Henry of The Kennedy Center.

More Information & Tickets

About the Award

The Victor Shargai Leadership Award (VSLA) recognizes individuals, groups, or institutions whose outstanding service and creative leadership have strengthened the Washington, DC-area theatre community. Theatre Washington established the award in 2021 in collaboration with Craig Pascal to honor Pascal’s late husband and beloved DC-area theatre champion, Victor Shargai. For decades Victor was an avid supporter of the Washington, DC region’s theatre community, its artists, and its institutions – generously donating his time and resources to theatres of all sizes. Additionally, Victor served as a long-time chair and member of the Theatre Washington Board of Directors and played a vital role in the annual Helen Hayes Awards. In honor of Victor’s legacy and leadership, the VSLA recognizes individuals or groups who have demonstrated exceptional initiative, collaboration, advocacy, and personal generosity in support of the Washington, DC-area theatre community. A full description of the nomination process can be found here. For more information about the Awards or how to nominate someone for it, please email info@theatrewashington.org.

We are fortunate to have dedicated artists, audiences and donors who have enabled our theaters to outlast the pandemic and to flourish again. We've learned to appreciate more fully what we have so badly missed, and now celebrate the return of live theatre to enrich our community. The vitality of regional theatre depends on our commitment, inspired by creative and passionate leadership.

Jane Lang,

Founder and Chair Emerita, Atlas Performing Arts Center

Victor Shargai

Victor Shargai was born in New York City in 1936 where he had an acting career from a young age in stage, television, and radio productions. He later studied interior design and practiced as a designer in New York and Washington, DC for over 40 years. He established his own design firm with his late partner, John Aniello, Jr., in 1973 and worked throughout the continental United States. He devoted much effort and many years to numerous arts-associated endeavors. He served on the boards of The Washington Ballet and Studio Theatre, was a founding member of the Kennedy Center Friends Board, and was the long-time chair of Theatre Washington. Victor was immensely proud of the artistic excellence of the Washington Theatre community which was demonstrated in his unwavering support for the value of recognition and celebration through his support of the prestigious Helen Hayes Awards. Mr. Shargai was also a devoted reader of Jane Austen and other 19th Century literature. He resided at the Watergate with his husband, M. Craig Pascal.

2024 Recipient

Rebecca Medrano is co-founder of GALA Hispanic Theatre with her husband Hugo Medrano and has been its Executive Director since 1976, shepherding over 48 years of continuous production. Deeply rooted in the community, Ms. Medrano has cultivated partnerships with other arts and social service organizations throughout the city. She has worked tirelessly to amplify Latinx, and other historically marginalized, voices in our region. GALA’s education and outreach programs have impacted the lives of thousands of young people in DC and the body of work – from essential translations of classic work to world premieres from emerging Latinx artists – have brought awareness, empathy, and joy to DC theatre-goers for decades.

2022 Recipients

Edgar Dobie serves as the Executive Producer at the Tony Award-winning non-profit Arena Stage, which he has led for over a decade. Edgar’s leadership has extended Arena’s reach beyond its stages and into the community, demonstrating collaborative leadership and consensus-building as a champion of theatre throughout the area. His effective advocacy, personal generosity, and commitment to theatre in the life of our community exemplify the spirit of this award.

Paige Hernandez is a critically acclaimed multidisciplinary artist who works throughout the Washington, DC area as a performer, director, choreographer, educator, and playwright. She is the Associate Artistic Director at Everyman Theatre in Baltimore, MD, and the originator of B-FLY ENTERTAINMENT. Paige is a visionary in the arts, bringing together artists of wide-ranging talents across generations and genres. Her artistic integrity – reflected in a commitment to safe, equitable, and inclusive spaces for artists – is intrinsic to this award.

2022 Victor Shargai Leadership Award Celebration

October 22, 2022 - Martin Luther King, Jr. Library

Advancement Committee

John Hauge (Committee Chair)
Chief Financial Officer
The Global LPG Partnership

Craig Pascal
Washingtonian
Retired Community Development Banker

Abel Lopez
Associate Producing Director
GALA Hispanic Theatre

Jane Lang
Chair
The Eugene Lang Foundation
Founder and Chair Emerita, Atlas Performing Arts Center

Committee

Emika Abe
Senior Director of Programming
Leadership Greater Washington

Nate Ainspan
Psychologist and Researcher
Veterans Disability

Sheila Alexander-Reid
DEIA Strategist
Philadelphia Convention and Visitors Bureau

Andrew Ammerman
Fund for the Future of Our Children
CEO, Ammerman Investments

Dr. LaMar Bagley
Director of Experiential Learning and External Opportunities
SEED Public Charter School

Jeff Banks
Vice President of Commercial Services
United Bank

Stacie Banks
Owner
Lee’s Flower and Card Shop

Michael Burke
Co-Director
Anderson Hopkins Award for Excellence in the Theater Arts

Shonali Burke
Arts Administrator & Leader

Susan Butler
Chair Emerita and Member Board of Trustees
Studio Theatre

Claire Carlin
Vice President of Partnership and Alliance
Destination DC

Eric Colchamiro
Strategic Consultant
Colchamiro Public Strategies

Jill Collins
Owner
Jill Collins Public Relations

Doris Dixon

Jan Du Plain
President
Du Plain Global Enterprises

Shanara Gabrielle
Theatre Maker
Artistic Director of Theatre Alliance

Adrián González Sierra
Global Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Strategist

David Grosso
Partner
Arent Fox

Nicole Hertvik

Shayla Hines-Graham
Director of Institutional Relations
Arena Stage

Rebecca Klemm
Owner
Numbers Alive

Catherine Leggett
Senior Vice President of Human Resources
Mission Square

Mary Beth Liedman

Jason Loewith
Artistic Director
Olney Theatre Center

H.B. MacArthur
LPGA Master Life Teaching Professional

Victoria Murray Baatin
Director of Social Impact
The Kennedy Center

Bonnie Nelson Schwartz
Theatre and Film Producer
Founder, Helen Hayes Awards

Michelle Pendoley
Founder
Pen Communications

Robin Phillips
Producer and Actor

Michael Ramirez

Jamie Rothschild

Angela Rowles
CEO
Crossroads Live

Carol Schwartz
Community Leader

Serra Sippel
President and Founder
Serra Sippel Strategies, LLC

David Sirignano
Retired
Morgan, Lewis & Bockius, LLP

Carl Smith
Co-Director
Anderson Hopkins Award for Excellence in the Theater Arts

Dana M. Smith
Principal/Founder
Dana M. Smith Consulting, LLC

Nicole Streeter
General Counsel, Council of the Distric of Columbia
Commissioner, National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws

Mara Walker
Chief Operating Officer/Chief of Staff
National Breast Cancer Coalition