As Jay Leno once said, awards season in Hollywood runs from January 1st through December 31st. But in daytime we really only celebrate one major awards show — the Daytime Emmys, typically held in June each year. And as a bonus, our directing team gets a chance to vie for a DGA nomination each January.

I’ve accumulated a tremendous number of photos from the Emmys over the years. This is my attempt to share them succinctly!

DAYTIME EMMYS 2006

The photo below is from my very first Daytime Emmys in 2006. I didn’t own a digital camera at the time so it’s my only photo of the whole night! I remember being SO THRILLED to attend in person after so many years of watching the Daytime Emmys as a soap fan growing up in Connecticut. When I was in high school, I begged my parents to take me to the awards when they were held in New York. But it was so much more rewarding to go as a working member of the daytime community!

The awards were held at the Kodak Theater in Los Angeles (now the Dolby Theater) where the Oscars are held each year. It was quite a glamorous night for us soap opera people.

DAYTIME EMMYS 2007

The following year, I attended the 2007 Daytime Emmy Technical Awards. Young & Restless was nominated in several categories and won for audio! Our audio supervisor Tommy has collected an outrageously impressive number of statues over the years — I believe his current count is 13 or 14, after several decades of working on the show.

And cast members from The Office presented the award to Tommy. I got a photo taken with them afterwards; they were so kind and approachable.

The following weekend I attended the Daytime Emmys with my co-workers… and Young & Restless tied Guiding Light for Outstanding Daytime Drama! Our cast and crew rushed the stage to accept. Unfortunately a lot of us were sitting in the balcony and therefore were unable to go on-stage (myself included), but we were no less thrilled with the victory.

There’s Molly, Jackson, and Jacquie on the left. Y&R accepts the top award on the right.

The win made for a very fun after-party. Here’s a collage of images of my co-workers celebrating.

My sister Bethany and I pose on the left. That’s me and our audio supervisor Tommy on the right.

Tommy poses with Allison on the left. On the right, Molly, former EP Lynn Latham, and I pose with Y&R’s newly acquired Emmy for Outstanding Daytime Drama.

My co-workers and I show off the Emmy. On the right, our wardrobe extraordinaire Scott raises his glass.

Clockwise starting with top-left:

• me and Lynsey (writer and script editor)
• V, Jackson (writer’s assistant), and me
• Michael (script & story coordinator), me, and Laura (office manager)
• me and Molly (producer’s assistant)

Clockwise starting with top-left:

• me, actor Greg Rikaart (Kevin), and my sister Bethany
• me and Patti (head make-up artist)
• Allison (production associate), Marina (writer), and me
• Me and Michael

I’m posing with our casting director Karen below left. That’s Melody Thomas Scott (Nikki) on the right, looking fabulous as always.

Clockwise starting with top-left:

• Amy (accountant), actor Daniel Goddard (Cane), and Laura
• Michael and Elise (publicist)
• Allison, actor Kristoff St. John (Neil), me, and Bethany
• Jackson and Molly

I ran into my friend Jade from Emerson! She was an actress on the soap opera I created and directed in college. Flash forward to several years later, and she is now a regularly working stand-up comedian and actress (she was on The Office last week and has also done Two Broke Girls). I knew her when! And that’s me with our former co-EP (and current head writer) Josh Griffith on the right.

Christian Le Blanc (Michael) won his second Emmy that night. He was thrilled. And there’s the dashing Peter Bergman (Jack) on the right.

Here I am with two actors from Bold & Beautiful — Kyle Lowder on the left and former American Idol contestant Constantine Maroulis on the right.

My sister and I posed with Bob Barker below. He had JUST retired from Price is Right at the time.

Molly works the dance floor as actress Judith Chapman (Gloria) looks on. And we enjoy finally kicking off our heels at the end of the evening!

DAYTIME EMMYS 2008

While we didn’t win the big award this year, it was still a rocking night. The event was held at the Kodak Theater for the third year in a row.

Here’s me on the left and Molly with her husband Joe showing off the official Daytime Emmy program on the right.

Here’s Molly, Lynsey, Brittany, and me. Below that: V and me, Erin and Jacquie, me and Julie.

Below, starting with the left:

• Erin (receptionist) and Greg (videographer)
• me and Christian Le Blanc (Michael)
• Kai (camera one) and Laura

Clockwise starting with top-left:

• Kai and Chico (camera one and camera two)
• Karen (casting director) and actress Raya Meddine (Sabrina)
• Michael and Patti
• me and actress Adrienne Frantz (Amber)

Below left we make the most of the dance floor. Below right, Josh Griffith shows off his unused acceptance speech. I hope he saved it for this upcoming June 2013, when it might come in handy…

DAYTIME EMMYS 2009

This year the Daytime Emmys moved to the Orpheum Theater in downtown Los Angeles.

I recycled my dress from two years earlier. I LOVE this dress and was thrilled to have a second opportunity to wear it.

That’s my sister and I on the left. That’s me, Dino, Erin, Molly, and Joe on the right.

DAYTIME EMMYS 2010

This year the Emmys moved to VEGAS.

We kicked off the weekend with a party at Lavo at the Venetian the night before the awards. That’s Allison, Michael, and Laura on the left. And there’s Allison, actor Michael Easton, and me on the right.

The ceremony was held at the Hilton. Our fancy after-party was held at Tryst at the Wynn. Check out sweet atmosphere below — including a three-story waterfall on the right, with our logos projected mid-stream.

Here’s me, Allison, Michael, and Laura. Below that I pose with Matt (casting associate) and Jacquie (production assistant / associate). In the middle are extremely yummy cupcakes featuring the Y&R logo.

NOTE: The next six photos are courtesy of my co-worker Laura. Thanks to Facebook it’s easy to round out photo collections with images taken by partners-in-crime!

Here I am with three of our actors: Christian Le Blanc (Michael), Joshua Morrow (Nick), and Michelle Stafford (Phyllis). They are all class acts and extremely funny individuals.

That’s Michael and Julie on the left; Michael, Jacquie, and me in the middle; me and Luis on the right. I remember Luis had driven to Vegas just to attend the after-party with all of us, and I think he planned to drive back to Los Angeles that very night. He loved to celebrate and we were so fortunate to have that time together.

DAYTIME EMMYS 2011

This was a VERY special year. I was nominated for my very first Daytime Emmy!

I should explain that for the previous years I’d worked as a production associate (2007-2010), our directing team was eligible to be nominated for Outstanding Directing in a Daytime Drama. And year after year I would wake up early the morning the nominations were announced, and Y&R was never on the list. I actually believed we’d never get another nomination… but then 2011 rolled around and I received this email:

AHHH!!! It finally happened!!!

When I was in Vietnam a few months earlier, I had a dress made for this very night. Now I’d get to wear it as a nominee.

On the left: me, Allison (production associate), Tom (stage manager), Nancy (production associate), and Robbin (associate director).

On the right: me, Michael, Allison, Laura.

AND THEN WE WON!!!!

Okay, actually we tied with Bold & Beautiful. Minor detail. And it was sweet to share the award with our sister show.

Being the photographer that I am, I snapped this shot while director Mike Denney gave the acceptance speech for our team. I spy Anderson Cooper at the end of Mike’s fingertips.

Here we are at the after party, showing off the statue. Every member of our team received an Emmy statue (they came in the mail several weeks later).

Clockwise starting with top-left:

• me and Luis
• My co-worker and her lovely parents (who showed me a wonderful time in Oahu on my four-hour layover last May!)
• Craig, Patti, and George
• me and Robert Scorpio Tristan Rogers

DAYTIME EMMYS 2012

This is bittersweet because it’s my last Emmys for awhile. Last year’s ceremony was held at the Beverly Hilton, in the same room where the Golden Globes take place each year.

Our directing team received a nomination (two in a row!!) but General Hospital took home the gold in 2012. I was thrilled for my friend Allison, who won her first statue.

Above: Y&R’s production associate team; our stage managers Tom & Herbie; me and Allison.

Below: me with Ed (script & story coordinator) and Beth (script editor); me with Christian and Greg (casting associate); me with directors Mike Denney and Dean Lamont.

DGA AWARDS — 2010, 2011, 2012

And now for the Director’s Guild of America awards!

While the first several years I worked at Y&R we failed to receive nominations, we made up for it the past few years.

In 2010 Y&R earned two nominations — both Dean Lamont and Sally McDonald were nominated, along with their directorial teams (the production associates, associate directors, and stage managers).

Below left is the Y&R production associate team in 2011. We’re also on the right in 2012, joined by Robbin (associate director).

In 2011, Sally McDonald was nominated again. In 2012, Mike Denney received a nomination. Every year it is such a treat to attend the DGA awards — it’s very “Hollywood.” We’ve rubbed shoulders with Leonardo DiCaprio, Brad Pitt, and George Clooney, among others. Plus major directors like Steven Spielberg, Martin Scorsese, and Kathryn Bigelow are usually in the room.

Here’s our team from last year’s awards, clockwise starting with top-left:

• Mike Denney, Robbin, Herbie
• me and Mike Denney
• me and Allison
• Tom and his wife & Chris and his partner

And here’s a “before and after” photo — we ended the night grabbing burgers at In ‘N Out, still dressed in formal wear! I treasure this memory.

Until we meet again, my Y&R family!!