THEATRE NEWS: Dora Awards spread out evenly
29 Jun'10

JOHN COULBOURN - QMI Agency

The quest to dominate the Dora Mavor Moore Awards ended in a four-way tie Monday night as the awards, honouring the best in Toronto Theatre, were handed out during a ceremony at the St. Lawrence Centre. When the curtain fell, there was plenty of cause for celebration in the camps of Luminato, Soulpepper, Tarragon and Theatrefront -- each of whom managed to walk off with four awards.

Luminato's wins came not only in the general theatre category where they claimed a Dora for best touring production for their presentation of Ex Machina's LIPSYNCH, but in the musical theatre division, where of the best new musical Dora went to R. Murray Schafer's THE CHILDREN'S CRUSADE and the dance division where the Nederland Dans Theater's SHOOT THE MOON/WINGS OF WAX/SECOND PERSON took the Dora for best production. Luminato's fourth Dora was also in the dance division, where Richard Sacks' collaboration with a group of Red Sky musicians took earned the Dora for best original sound design/composition for their work on TONO.

Soulpepper, meanwhile, picked up three awards for their production of PARFUMÉRIE, including Best Production, Best Direction (Morris Panych), and Best Set Design (Ken MacDonald), scoring its fourth for WHO'S AFRAID OF VIRGINIA WOOLF? when Diego Matamoros picked up the Dora for best actor, all in the general theatre division.

Tarragon also took home four awards in the general theatre division -- two for COURAGEOUS (best new play to playwright Michael Healey, best supporting actor to Maurice Dean Wint) and two for IF WE WERE BIRDS (best actress for Tara Rosling, best original sound design/composition for Thomas Ryder Payne).

Theatrefront, meanwhile, claimed its four awards in the smaller independent theatre category, all of them for their ongoing episodic production of THE MILL -- which in addition to claiming the Dora for best production, also took honours for best set design (Gillian Gallow), best costumes (Dana Osborne) and best lighting (Andrea Lundy).

Other notable wins include: Donna-Michelle St. Bernard for best new play, in the independent theatre division, for GAS GIRLS; Heidi Strauss, for best original choreography in the dance division, for a work titled 'this time'; Lorraine Kimsa Theatre for Young People in the theatre for young audiences division for their presentation of Youtheatre's INTHIS WORLD which garnered best production honours; Birdland Theatre and Talk is Free Theatre for best production in the musical theatre division for ASSASSINS; Jeff Lillico for best actor in the musical theatre division for his performance in THE LIGHT IN THE PIAZZA and Louise Pitre for best actress in the same division for her performance in THE TOXIC AVENGER; The Canadian Opera Company and its partners for best production in the opera division for THE NIGHTINGALE AND OTHER SHORT FABLES.

Also honoured at Monday night's award ceremony were Philip Akin, artistic director of Obsidian Theatre, who received the Silver Ticket Award in recognition of his contributions to the development of Canadian Theatre and production craftsperson Lokki Ma, who received the Pauline McGibbon Award for emerging theatre artists.

For a compete list of 2010 Dora winners, visit tapa.ca