Chris Carrier, shown here in the play "Take Me Out," wins both the best actor and best supporting actor awards for his convincing performances. Photos by John Locher. Best supporting actress Annette Houlihan Verdolino, above, as Jack-in-the-Beanstalk's mother, and best actress Susan Dickerson, below, as the baker's wife try to figure out what to do about a murderous giant in Signature Productions' "Into the Woods." Best supporting actress Annette Houlihan Verdolino as Jack-in-the-Beanstalk's mother tries to cope with a giant's thundering footsteps in Signature Productions' "Into the Woods." Also pictured is Jason Andino as Jack.

It's our tradition to annually put aside all negative thoughts and pay tribute to the artists who somehow keep the world of local theater going. It isn't easy for them. Many work long hours -- in addition to "real" jobs -- for long stretches of time and frequently for no money, to create outstanding products that few appreciate.

This season, which traditionally runs from September through August, found the Review-Journal critiquing 93 productions. Of those, 18 received a rating in the "A" (outstanding) range; 24, a "B" (above average); 26, a "C" (average); 21, a "D" (below average); and 4, an "F" (what we might call a "failure"). This translates to nearly 45 percent of local productions earning a rating above the average ranking. It suggests that the performing arts scene here, while still slight in quantity, is gaining in quality.

Anyone going to local theater regularly during the past two decades probably has noticed an increase in audience expectation and a demand for more professional standards. The days of embarrassingly amateur fare featuring untalented friends of directors showing off in lead roles may not be gone entirely, but they are considerably diminished.

In this awards selection -- determined for the ninth consecutive season by this critic's "Tony committee" of one -- the focus is limited to community theater, which doesn't have the financial or recruiting advantages of educational institutions. (We'll honor the schools' riches in Friday's paper.) The names that follow are among those who -- in spite of a community that often dismisses the arts -- are helping the arts gain importance.

The envelope please:

Best Theater Group

The folks at the 4-year- old small-scaled Cockroach Theatre -- "cockroach" as in, creatures who manage to survive the most adverse conditions -- are not content to merely present interesting dramatic plays. They also work hard at presenting them well. This season they challenged audiences with offbeat experiences such as September's mounting of Richard Foreman's "Permanent Brain Damage," an examination of the contradictory impulses of a man's brain, and, in January, Naomi Iizuka's "Tattoo Girl," about an unhappily married woman who goes on an epic journey, both presented at the Aruba Hotel. You can feel the long hours of rehearsal that go into these productions. They often are as polished as they are daring. Not bad for five recent University of Nevada, Las Vegas graduates -- William Adamson, Levi Fackrell, John Lorenz, Shawn Overton and John Petrini -- who got together simply because they wanted to put on the sort of plays they rarely got to see.

Best Production

Cockroach Theatre's small-budget production of the serio-comedy "Tattoo Girl" achieved a reality one rarely sees in local drama. Director John Lorenz and a large, first-rate cast brought a lot of heart to a tale about a woman (played by Amber Ward) trying to find herself. The show was a celebration of quietly effective acting; the sort that calls attention not to the performers, but to the characters we're supposed to care about.

First runner-up: Las Vegas Little Theatre's charming and emotionally powerful May production of Caryl Churchill's "Cloud 9," directed by Rob Kastil in the Fischer Black Box. Second runner-up: Signature Productions' sensitive mounting of Stephen Sondheim's "Into the Woods," directed by Philip Shelburne at the Summerlin Performing Arts Center. Third runner-up: the New American Theatre Project's expertly rhythmed April presentation of Kenneth Longeran's "This Is Our Youth," directed by Gregg Curtis at the Fischer Black Box.

Best Actor

Chris Carrier in Test Market's December offering of Edward Albee's "The Play About the Baby," directed by JayC Stoddard at the former Temple Beth Sholom, gave us a surprisingly thorough dramatic journey in his role as a newlywed who goes from happily naive to a frightened realist within a short period of time. Carrier is one of those unassuming actors whose face registers everything. Communicating with an audience seems as natural to him as breathing.

First runner-up: Jared Dalley for his mastery of a multitude of roles in Tony Cobb's world-premiere two-person musical "Parables," directed at the Desert Spring United Methodist Church by Cobb for Desert Spring Arts. Second runner-up: Gary Lunn's comically crusty but always believable Norm in Las Vegas Little Theatre's take on Ernest Thompson's "On Golden Pond," directed by Erin Breen in February on LVLT's mainstage. Third runner-up: C.J. Maldonado's chillingly three-dimensional portrait of killer Richard Loeb in Las Vegas Little Theatre's "Never the Sinner," written by Josh Logan and directed by Courtney Sheets in November in the Fischer Black Box.

Best Actress

In Signature Productions' mounting of the dark musical fable "Into the Woods," Susan Dickerson projected such conflicting longing as the baker's wife that you had no trouble believing her devotion to and straying from her husband. It was an exciting yet understated performance. We're not used to such acting depth in local musicals.

First runner-up: Katrina Larson, for her amazing transformation from a very proper grandmother to a foul-mouthed, working-class lesbian in Las Vegas Little Theatre's "Cloud 9." Second runner-up: Helen Lipton for her irresistible and authentic Jewish hen mother in Las Vegas Little Theatre's interpretation of James Sherman's "Beau Jest," directed in February by Carl Butto and Ken Feldman on the LVLT mainstage. Third runner-up: Dale Segal for the poignancy she brought to the role of a teacher in a concentration camp in Rainbow Company's April showing of Celeste Raspanti's "I Never Saw Another Butterfly," directed by Brian Kral at the Reed Whipple Studio.

Best Supporting Actor

Chris Carrier, fresh off his best actor-triumph in Test Market's "The Play About the Baby," illuminated a different side of the human animal in his performance as Shane, a naive, troubled and not-very-bright pitcher who may have murdered someone on the field in Las Vegas Little Theatre's March production of Richard Greenberg's "Take Me Out," directed by Walter Niejadlik on the LVLT mainstage. Carrier is one of the most honest, organic actors in Las Vegas. He gets us so far inside his character he is sometimes pleasantly painful to watch.

First runner-up: The remarkable Bobby Rodgers for his bellowing cameo as Marshal Ferdinand Foch in Cockroach Theatre's "Tattoo Girl." Second runner-up: Brian Hinson's touching and uproariously funny characterization of a coming-out financial adviser in Las Vegas Little Theatre's "Take Me Out." Third runner-up: John Ivanoff for his deliciously twisted Ray Bolger impersonation in the Asylum's June mounting of the Raymond Hull-Mike Corda musical melodrama, "The Devil, the Damsel and Demon Rum" at Winchester Cultural Center, directed by Sarah O'Connell.

Best Supporting Actress

Annette Houlihan Verdolino was surprisingly human and direct in what could have been a cartoon role as the mother of Jack (as in Jack in the Beanstalk) in Signature Productions' "Into the Woods." Verdolino projects unusual warmth as a performer, and is a vibrantly alive always-in-the-moment actress.

First runner-up: Mary O'Brien for her poignant portrayal of a widow steeped in the past in Las Vegas Little Theatre's November mounting of Neil Simon's "London Suite," directed by Frank Mengwasser on the LVLT mainstage. Second runner-up: Kathleen Etor as a Mother Superior who unwittingly goes under the influence in Signature Production's October mounting of Dan Googin's "Nunsense," directed by Steve Huntsman at the Summerlin Performing Arts Center; Third runner-up: Annette Houilhan Verdolino for her determined, wise and eccentric Widow Douglas in Super Summer Theatre-P.S. Productions June version of Ken Ludwig-Don Schultz's musical "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer," directed by Philip Shelburne at Spring Mountain Ranch.

Best Director

The performances of the 10 actors in Cockroach Theatre's "Tattoo Girl" bled into one another so effortlessly that the production seemed to be the product of one brain. Director John Lorenz's strong unity of vision was evidence of an artist who knows not only how to get different people on the same page, but how to inspire them to deliver the best of themselves. It's been a while since we've seen such a consistently smooth and effective slice-of-life.

First runner-up: Rob Kastil for his mastery of the small moments as well as the big in Las Vegas Little Theatre's "Cloud 9." Second runner-up: Philip Shelburne for his whimsical "Into the Woods." Third runner-up: Stephen Crandall for his mystically giddy August rendition of the Bard's "A Midsummer Night's Dream" for Project Shakespeare at the Paul Harris Theatre.

Best Set Designer

When you entered the dimly lit performing space at the Aruba Hotel and made your way to the tables, chairs and couches, you were greeted by the sight of a middle-aged man (Shawn Overton) in his underwear reading a book inside a glass-enclosed cage surrounded by electronic gadgetry -- you know, the weird kind of gizmos that mad scientists used to use in episodes of "The Twilight Zone." This was designer (and director) Jason DeFreitas' way to introduce us to a story about the study of a man's mind in Cockroach Theatre's September production of Richard Foreman's "Permanent Brain Damage." That's worthy of an award, isn't it?

First runner-up: Ron Lindblom for his understated, elegant "London Suite" at Las Vegas Little Theatre. Second runner-up: Yale Yeandel's well-angled and complete studio apartment in New American Theatre Project's "This is Our Youth." Third runner-up: Scott Fadale for his toweringly perfect platforms that gave an epic feel to Cockroach Theatre's "Tattoo Girl."

Best Light Designer

Axis deBruyn's regal lighting for the Asylum's "The Devil, the Damsel and Demon Rum" provided this musical melodrama with a sharp, festive, elegant touch. He made the stage constantly pleasing to the eye, without overwhelming the action.

First runner-up: Jay LeDane's pictorial effects for Signature Productions' "Into the Woods." Second runner-up: Shawn Heckler's bare-boned but effective effects for Las Vegas Little Theatre's "Cloud 9." Third runner-up: Matt Dillingham's homey ambience in Super Summer Theatre-P.S. Productions' "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer."

Best Costume Designer

John Lorenz's costumes for Cockroach Theatre's fantasy-laden "Tattoo Girl" were tongue-in-cheek exaggeration without slipping into silly. Clever creations -- including what must be one of the biggest boot heels ever worn by an actress playing a prostitute -- abounded, yet always felt right to the story and characters.

First runner-up: Shelly Callister's holiday-colorful threads for Signature Productions' "Into the Woods." Second runner-up: Amy Elizabeth Nixon's coordination of gently mocking royal dressings for Las Vegas Little Theatre's "Cloud 9." Third runner-up: Federic Pineau's lighthearted designs for Super Summer Theatre-P.S. Productions' "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer."

Best Choreographer

Suzanne Childers, for her wonderfully detailed movement in Super Summer Theatre-P.S. Productions' "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer." Childers has this uncanny ability to create dance that expresses characters' attitudes and emotional temperatures. She does so much more than design pretty-looking steps. And yet, she knows how to work with nondancers. You never get the feeling she's scaling things down to accommodate amateurs -- and yet, no doubt, that's exactly what she has to do most of the time.

Special Mention

No discussion of the past season would be complete without honoring two giants of the local theater community who recently died: 83-year-old Joseph Bernard and 48-year-old Bob Blomgren. Both former "Tony" winners, they created many performances that will forever stay in the memory.