FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
For information, contact:
Damiano DeMonte: Demonte@sunshinesachs.com
Nicki Fertile: Fertile@sunshinesachs.com
Sunshine, Sachs & Associates: 212-691-2800

THE INTERNATIONAL ACADEMY OF DIGITAL ARTS AND SCIENCES
ANNOUNCES THOMAS KAIL, ANDREW FRIED AS CREATIVE DIRECTORS
OF THE 2012 WEBBY AWARDS
Vets of Broadway and Television Bring Unique Vision as They Take Helm of
The 16th Annual Webby Awards(New York, NY) February 21, 2012 — The International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences (IADAS) today announced that Thomas Kail and Andrew Fried have been named as Creative Directors of the 16th Annual Webby Awards Show. The two veterans of the Broadway and television worlds will bring their unique experience and vision to The Webby Awards. Hailed as the “Internet’s highest honor” by The New York Times, this year’s Webbys will take place on Monday, May 21, 2012, at The Hammerstein Ballroom, in New York.

“We are thrilled to have Tommy and Andrew join our team as Creative Directors,” said David-Michel Davies, Executive Director of The Webby Awards. “We have long admired their work. We can’t say enough about Tommy’s work with Freestyle Love Supreme, In the Heights, and with The Tony’s last year. Andrew brings an equally varied and impressive body of work that includes the television projects Iconoclasts and The Conversation, which premieres in April on Lifetime. We are very much looking forward to the innovative ideas they will bring to this year’s show.”

Kail is the Tony-nominated director of In the Heights and the critically-acclaimed Lombardi. He is set to direct the new sports-themed play Magic/Bird, which will open on Broadway in April 2012. Fried is a veteran of unscripted programming for networks including ABC, MTV, Sundance Channel, PBS, AMC, Lifetime, Oxygen, ESPN, and A&E.

Kail and Fried will contribute their wealth of experience to the tradition of inventive on- and offstage performances at The Webby Awards. At last year’s show, Norah Jones performed a cover of Johnny Cash’s “Ain’t No Grave” alongside The Johnny Cash Project, a crowd-sourced digital art initiative that produced a music video from fan drawings. In a tribute to ChatRoulette founder Andrey Ternovskiy at the 2010 show, Ben Folds improvised a song inspired by live shots of the audience.

“We are honored to have the opportunity to work on such a creative and unique platform as The Webby Awards,” said Thomas Kail and Andrew Fried. “The Webbys have a tremendous reputation. We are thrilled to bring our vision to the table, and look forward to working with entire team to deliver the best Webby Awards yet.”

For more information about the 16th Annual Webby Awards, please visit www.webbyawards.com

About The Webby Awards:

Hailed as the “Internet’s highest honor” by the New York Times, The Webby Awards is the leading international award honoring excellence on the Internet, including Websites, interactive advertising & media, online film & video, and mobile & apps. Established in 1996, the 15th Annual Webby Awards received nearly 10,000 entries from all 50 states and over 60 countries worldwide. The Webby Awards is presented by The International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences. Sponsors and Partners of The Webby Awards include: AOL; Vitamin T; Yahoo!; Rackspace; Microsoft; PricewaterhouseCoopers; Ford; Google; .CO; IDG; LBi; paidContent and The Guardian.

To join the conversation:
Visit: www.webbyawards.com
Fan: Facebook.com/TheWebbyAwards
Follow: @TheWebbyAwards
Look: flickr.com/webbys
Watch: youtube.com/thewebbyawards
Read: tumblr.webbyawards.com