Stage Door News
Stage Door News
Toronto, June 25, 2012 - The 33rd Annual Dora Mavor Moore Awards for the 2011/2012 season were handed out in a star-studded ceremony in Toronto on the evening of Monday, June 25 at the St. Lawrence Centre for the Arts' Bluma Appel Theatre, hosted by Thom Allison, currently garnering raves as Coalhouse Walker Jr. in the Shaw Festival's production of Ragtime, directly after his Broadway turn in Priscilla, Queen of the Desert.
The Dora Mavor Moore Awards are produced and presented on behalf of the Toronto Alliance for the Performing Arts (TAPA) and celebrate excellence in Toronto theatre, dance and opera. The 212 Dora-eligible shows opened between June 1, 2011 and May 31, 2012. A total of 35 Dora Awards plus the Silver Ticket Award, the Pauline McGibbon Award and the Audience Choice Award were given out.
Overall, Acting Up Stage Company and Theatre Passe Muraille tie for top spot with five Dora Mavor Moore Awards each: Passe Muraille receives four for Crash in the General Theatre Production Division while Acting Up receives four for Caroline, or Change (three in Musical Theatre Division and one in General Theatre Production Division) - and they both earn a fifth Dora in the General Theatre Production Division for Outstanding Touring Production for their co-production of Ride the Cyclone.
Following with three wins each are: Obsidian Theatre Company for Topdog/Underdog in the General Theatre Production Division and the Canadian Opera Company with three wins over two divisions (Opera and General Theatre) for two shows.
The winners are detailed below.
GENERAL THEATRE PRODUCTION DIVISION:
In the General Theatre Production Division, Theatre Passe Muraille leads the field with five Dora Mavor Moore Awards: four for its production of Crash: Outstanding New Play and Outstanding Performance by a Female in a Principal Role to Pamela Mala Sinha, Outstanding Lighting Design to Kimberly Purtell and Outstanding Sound Design/Composition to Debashis Sinha; and one with Acting Up Stage Company for Outstanding Touring Production for Ride the Cyclone. Sinha also receives a gift of $5,000 from the Bluma Appel Community Trust, the seventh year in a row this prize has been donated in Appel's name to the winner of Outstanding New Play in this division.
Obsidian Theatre Company in association with the Shaw Festival earns three Dora Awards for Topdog/Underdog: Outstanding Production, Outstanding Direction of a Play / Musical to Philip Akin and Outstanding Performance by a Male in a Principal Role to Nigel Shawn Williams.
The Ensemble of Nightwood Theatre's The Penelopiad scores Outstanding Performance in a Featured Role / Ensemble.
War Horse (produced by Bob Boyett, Tim Levy, National Theatre of Great Britain, David Mirvish) wins two Doras: Outstanding Choreography (Toby Sedgwick, Director of Movement and Horse Choreography); and Outstanding Costume Design (Costume Designer Rae Smith; Puppet Design, Fabrication and Direction Adrian Kohler with Basil Jones for Handspring Puppet Company).
MUSICAL THEATRE DIVISION:
In this division, Acting Up Stage Company in association with Obsidian Theatre Company takes the lead with three wins for Caroline, or Change: Outstanding Production, Outstanding Performance by a Female in a Principal Role for Arlene Duncan and by a Male for Sterling Jarvis. In the General Theatre Production Division, Reza Jacobs wins Outstanding Musical Direction for a total of four wins for Caroline, or Change. Plus, sharing Outstanding Touring Production in that same division for Ride the Cyclone, Acting Up Stage tallies in with five awards.
Queen of Puddings' SVADBA - Wedding by Ana Sokolovic nabs Outstanding New Musical / Opera.
INDEPENDENT THEATRE PRODUCTION DIVISION:
Continuing the tradition of Bluma's Indies, the winners in the Independent Theatre Production Division each received a $1,000 cheque from the Bluma Appel Community Trust in addition to Dora Awards.
In this division, Theatre Smash leads with two Doras for The Ugly One: Outstanding Production and Outstanding Set Design by Camellia Koo.
Other wins in this division include:
Outstanding New Play or New Musical to Jules Lewis for Rooftop Creations' Tomasso's Party;
Outstanding Direction to Jennifer Brewin for Theatre Columbus' The Story;
Outstanding Performance by a Male to Richard Donat for His Greatness produced by independent Artists Repertory Theatre (iArt);
Outstanding Performance by a Female to Astrid Van Wieren for Mermaid Parade's This Wide Night; and
Outstanding Performance in a Featured Role/Ensemble goes to The Ensemble of Morro And Jasp: Go Bake Yourself (U.N.I.T. Productions).
Astrid Janson nabs Outstanding Costume Design for VideoCabaret's The Life and Times of Mackenzie King and Andre du Toit snares Outstanding Lighting Design for TheatreRUN's The Double. Outstanding Sound Design / Composition goes to Gaishi Ishizaka for A Fool's Life (Ahuri Theatre in association with Why Not Theatre).
DANCE DIVISION:
Two of the Dance Division's four awards go to princess productions' Soupe du Jour: Outstanding Original Choreography (Lina Cruz/Fila 13 Productions) and Outstanding Original Sound Design/Composition (music composition and performance by Philippe Noireaut).
Outstanding Production goes to Dark Matters (a Kidd Pivot Frankfurt RM production presented by Canadian Stage) while the Ensemble of Klorofyl (Gadfly) nabs Outstanding Performance.
THEATRE FOR YOUNG AUDIENCES DIVISION:
The two awards in the Theatre for Young Audiences Division are split between Outstanding Production to Young People's Theatre for Baobab [Young People's Theatre presents Théâtre Motus and Sô Company (Mali)], and Outstanding Performance to Xin Wang in Theatre Direct's Sanctuary Song.
OPERA DIVISION:
In the Opera Division, both Dora Awards go to the Canadian Opera Company's Iphigenia in Tauris: Outstanding Production (Canadian Opera Company presents a co-production of Lyric Opera Chicago, San Francisco Opera and Royal Opera House, Covent Garden) and Outstanding Performance to Susan Graham.
(With a win in the General Theatre Production Division for Outstanding Set Design to Wilson Chin for A Florentine Tragedy / Gianni Schicchi, the COC tallies in with 3 awards.)
OTHER AWARDS:
The Pauline McGibbon, Silver Ticket and Audience Choice Awards were also handed out.
Arts activist, actor, producer and Why Not Theatre Artistic Director Ravi Jain was presented with the 2012 Pauline McGibbon Award. The $7,000 cash prize and medal designed by Dora de Pédery-Hunt is awarded on behalf of the Ministry of Culture and the Ontario Arts Council in a three-year cycle to a designer, director and theatre craftsperson.
The Silver Ticket Award is bestowed upon an individual who has excelled in their career while also nurturing the development of Canadian theatre. It was presented to one of the country's major contributors to Canada'a dance landscape: Toronto Dance Theatre's long-time Artistic Director, choreographer Christopher House, whose artistic influence, for more than three decades, has been immeasurable. House is the first dance artist to win this award.
TAPA's Audience Choice Award for Outstanding Production, co-sponsored by NOW Magazine and Yonge-Dundas Square, was also handed out. The public was invited to vote online from a list of Outstanding Production nominees in all divisions; or choose their own favourite. Presented with a commemorative plaque, the Audience Choice Award winner is War Horse, produced by Bob Boyett, Tim Levy, National Theatre of Great Britain, David Mirvish.
For more information on the Dora Awards visit www.tapa.ca
The Dora Mavor Moore Awards is a program of the Toronto Alliance for the Performing Arts (TAPA). TAPA is an arts service organization that represents nearly 200 professional theatre, dance and opera companies in Toronto. In addition to the Doras, other programs and services provided by TAPA include: T.O. TIX - Toronto's Official One Stop Ticket Shop at Yonge-Dundas Square and online at www.totix.ca; Toronto's official Theatre Guide; hipTIX, offering $5 tickets to students; citySPECIAL; the Commercial Theatre Development Fund; and the Travel Retreat Initiatives Program. For more information visit www.tapa.ca and www.totix.ca
Photo: Arlene Duncan in Caroline, or Change. ©2012
2012-06-25
Toronto: At 33rd Annual Doras “Crash” and “Caroline, or Change” tie with 4 awards each