The Donnamarie “Dusty” Reeds Award was established in 1990 and is given for Excellence in Artistic Contribution to the activites of Theatre Arts at SJSU. The winner is awarded with a tuition waiver and placement in a summer acting internship.

Dusty counts more than 250 productions that have been touched by her artistry in addition to her work as an actress and director. Dusty’s career as a designer includes stops at the Cherry Lane in New York, the Provincetown Playhouse, the San Jose Opera, Actors’ Theatre of Louisville, and Colorado’s Diamond Circle Theatre. Dusty’s local work features directing stints with the Marshall and Battle Creek Civic troupes.
A Professor Emeritus of Theatre at San Jose State University, Dusty now resides in Richland, Michigan where her winters are spent volunteering with the Kalamazoo Animal Rescue, helping save hundreds of abused and abandoned pets. Her sons, J. Michael Reeds, and recent Barn favorite Robin Haynes, are both successful New York performers.