1. Storm Kennedy StormKennedy.com. 

2. Inga Wilson OCTheatre.org/staff.

3. Kali Kardas KaliKardas.com.

EW readers have once again dubbed Storm Kennedy the best actor or actress in Eugene. She got what she calls her “trifecta” in 2020, when she took the category for the third year in a row. A former radio personality in town, Kennedy jokes that she may have won this year because of her most recent role, that of Myra in Death Trap at the Wildish Theater last summer, a character who dies onstage. “I died in a very convincing way,” she says.

More seriously, she’s been a regular on Willamette Valley stages for three decades. This year, besides Death Trap, she played in Love, Loss and What I Wore last spring at Albany Civic Theatre.

“The Eugene theater scene is full of amazing opportunities for local actors,” she says. “Although I wish there were more.”

A former model, Kennedy admits that at age 60 she might be past the ingénue phase of her career. “But I hope to keep doing this into my grandmother-role years,” she says. So what grandmother role does she have her eyes on? “Ouiser in Steel Magnolias,” she says. “That would be great.” 

Meanwhile, she’s thrilled to still be connecting with Eugene audiences. “They like me,” she quips. “They really like me!”