Available Light Theatre

Web: avltheatre.com

"We are overdue for decline," the home page for Available Light Theatre currently declares. The comment refers to ALVT's upcoming original production, Dirty Math, but to the pessimist it could apply as easily to the company itself.

This readers' poll win is the latest in a long line of accolades for the group of writers, performers and technicians under artistic director Matt Slaybaugh, first as BlueForms Theater Group starting in 2002, then as Available Light since 2006.

Slaybaugh and company - currently, that's Acacia Duncan, Michelle Schroeder, Ryan Osborn, Eleni Papaleonardos, Ian Short and Dave Wallingford - have won over every theater critic in the city (not to mention a few from out of town) and been regular honorees at the Central Ohio Theater Critics Circle awards. Arguably, there's not another local troupe of AVLT's size to match it in skill, daring and ingenuity.

Though the play doesn't debut until April 2, the company's finer qualities are already on display around Dirty Math (described by Slaybaugh as "Thomas Friedman meets the Huffington Post meets The Wooster Group"). It will continue the pay-what-you-want policy that won AVLT its most recent Critics Circle award for making theater accessible to all. And to raise supplemental funds, the company's auctioning off a speaking part on eBay and planning a unique benefit/mingling opportunity, where cast and crew will serve up fresh, hot toast and gourmet toppings from Katzinger's.

Runners up: CATCO, MadLab Theatre

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