1. The 2011 Non-Equity Joseph Jefferson Awards (Jeff Awards) have been announced, with repeat wins by Cabaret by The Hypocrites, The Three Faces of Dr. Crippen by The Strange Tree Group, and Cats at Theo Ubique Cabaret Theatre. Also notable: Redtwist’s Man from Nebraska won best production. There were more than a few awkward moments at the award ceremony; Director Brenda Diddier was announced as winner for Best Director of a Musical, when it was actually to be awarded to Matt Hawkins. Diddier even gave an acceptance speech, before Hawkins said “Brenda, look at your plaque. This is not really awkward at all.” Jonathan Abarbanel has more on the Jeff Award wins (and robots)!

2. The world premiere of A Girl with Sun in Her Eyes starts at Pine Box Theater on June 25. The play, by Joshua Rollins, looks into a police officer who has been reported missing on the South Side. They’re billing it as “The Shield meets Memento,” so if you have watched those, you’ll know what it’s about.

3. Yesterday, Florida Stage announced they were filing for bankruptcy. Notably, it was the largest theatre company in the nation producing new work. “The South Florida Theatre Community is grieving right now,” wrote Andie Arthur, a theater administrator in South Florida. “All day I’ve been having phone calls where with clipped conversations and long periods of silence, reminding me of the awkward conversations at a funeral. After any major arts organization fails, you need to have difficult conversations  – but right now we need to grieve.”

4. Speaking of Bug‘s director Kimberly Senior, TimeOut’s John Beer says that “she might just be our theatrical version of Kathryn Bigelow.” You’ll recall that Kathryn Bigelow won an Oscar for Best Director in 2010 for The Hurt Locker, and was the first woman to do so.

5. New Leaf Theatre’s Lighthousekeeping opens in previews tomorrow at the DCA Storefront Theater. The video above elaborates, but its about  an “epic journey of love, longing, and light explores the gambles and gifts of choosing to change from one life to the next.” I just like the title.

Questions? Tips? Email kdries@wbez.org.