ONCE, THE WILD PARTY & More Score 2015 Dora Awards Nominations

At a press conference held June 1 in the lobby of the Sony Centre for the Performing Arts, the Toronto Alliance for the Performing Arts (TAPA) announced 236 nominations for 212 eligible productions for the 36th Annual Dora Mavor Moore Awards, which honour excellence in the performing arts in Toronto.

For the 2014-2015 season, 117 producing companies registered eligible productions. A total of 48 Dora Awards, plus the Silver Ticket Award and the Audience Choice Award, will be given out in a glittering ceremony on Monday, June 22 at Harbourfront Centre's WestJet Stage hosted by multi-award-winning actor and comedian Gavin Crawford.

GENERAL THEATRE DIVISION:

Soulpepper Theatre Company leads the General Theatre Division with 13 nominations, with an additional 8 nods in the Musical Theatre Division bringing its total to 21 with its Accidental Death of an Anarchist leading its team with 6 including Outstanding Production, Outstanding Direction, Outstanding Performance - Male, Outstanding Performance - Ensemble.

Buddies in Bad Times Theatre is in second place in this division with 8 nominations for Tom at the Farm including Outstanding Production, Outstanding Direction, Outstanding Performance - Male (x2), and Outstanding Performance - Female.

Soulpepper's Twelve Angry Men and David Mirvish's The Heart of Robin Hood (with Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre, Barry and Fran Weissler) are also tapped for Outstanding Direction. (In total, Mirvish shows earned 13 nods - 6 taps in General and 7 in Musical Theatre Divisions.)

Soulpepper's Twelve Angry Men, Tarragon Theatre's An Enemy of the People and Theatre Passe Muraille's Hooked are all up for Outstanding Production as well in the General Theatre Division. (With 5 nominations in the General Division - 3 for Hooked and 2 for The De Chardin Project - and3 in Musical Theatre for Life, Death and the Blues, Theatre Passe Muraille tallies 8 taps in total over both divisions.)

Adding to Tarragon's 5 nods for An Enemy of the People (including Outstanding Production and Outstanding Performance - Male), Tarragon's Abyssand Infinity (a co-production with Volcano Theatre) are up for Outstanding New Play to bring its total to 7. Theatre Passe Muraille's Hooked andVideoCabaret's Trudeau and Lévesque (earning a total of 4) are also up for Outstanding New Play.

INDEPENDENT THEATRE DIVISION:

In the Independent Theatre Division, Aluna Theatre leads the pack with 9 nominations: 8 for Modern Times Stage Company/Aluna Theatre's Blood Wedding (Bodas de Sangre) - including taps for Outstanding Production, Outstanding Direction, Outstanding Performance - Female and Outstanding Performance - Ensemble - and a sole nomination for What I learned from a decade of fear for Outstanding New Play.

Tying Modern Times Stage Company/Aluna Theatre's 8 nods is Canadian Rep Theatre whose 8 taps are divided between How Do I Love Thee? (5 hits) and Watching Glory Die (3 taps), with both nominated for Outstanding New Play. How Do I Love Thee? also earns nods for Outstanding Direction and Outstanding Performance - Female.

Three companies follow closely with 6 nods apiece, each garnering them for a single show: Suburban Beast - Concord Floral, Actors Repertory Company - Moment and Quote Unquote Collective - Mouthpiece. Each of these three shows include picks for Outstanding Production, Outstanding Direction and Outstanding Performance - Ensemble. The Theatre Centre/6th Man Collective's Monday Nights also earned Outstanding Production and Outstanding Performance - Ensemble nods as part of its 5 hits.

MUSICAL THEATRE DIVISION:

In the Musical Theatre Division, Spoon River (Soulpepper Theatre Company) and The Wild Party (Acting Up Stage Company) lead the pack with 8 nods each, followed closely by Once (David Mirvish) with 7 taps, including Outstanding Production and Outstanding Performance - Ensemble for all three. In addition, The Wild Party and Once both get taps for Outstanding Performance - Male and Outstanding Performance - Female and Spoon River and Once each get a nod for Outstanding Direction. Spoon River also nabs an Outstanding New Musical/Opera pat along with Tapestry Opera for Tapestry Briefs: Booster Shots, Against the Grain Theatre for #Uncle John and Soundstreams' Airline Icarus. Young People's Theatre's James and the Giant Peach and Theatre Passe Muraille's Life, Death and the Blues are both up for Outstanding Production as well.

Canadian Stage leads Outstanding Touring Production (open to General Theatre and Musical Theatre/Opera) with 3 nominations for Kiss & Cry, Nongogo and Ubu and the Truth Commission.

OPERA DIVISION:

In the Opera Division, Canadian Opera Company (COC) productions lead overall with a total of 14 nominations as well as another 15 in categories shared with the Musical Theatre Division, making for a total of 29 nods. The COC's Die Walküre earns the COC the most nods over the two divisions from its season, 9 in total, including Outstanding Production, Outstanding Direction, Outstanding Performance - Male, Outstanding Performance - Female and Outstanding Performance - Ensemble; while its Falstaff follows closely with 8.

DANCE DIVISION:

In the Dance Division, DanceWorks and Harbourfront Centre's World Stage tie for top spot with 7 nods each with elsewhere (DanceWorks & adelheid dance projects) and This Is a Costume Drama (Harbourfront Centre's World Stage presents The Deitrich Group) each garnering 3 spots. Esmeralda Enrique Spanish Dance Company follows with 4 taps for different works in Letters to Spain. For Outstanding Production, 2 of Harbourfront Centre's World Stage taps are for that category (Gudirr Gudirr and Me So You So Me); Luminato earns its 2 in that category for So Blue and Stones In Her Mouth while Canadian Stage nabs 1 in the same category for Dominion (to bring its total to 5 nods).

THEATRE FOR YOUNG AUDIENCES DIVISION:

The Theatre for Young Audiences Division sees Young People's Theatre (YPT) take the lead with 5 nods with 3 for To Kill a Mockingbird including Outstanding Direction, Outstanding Performance - Individual and Outstanding Performance - Ensemble. (YPT also earns 4 taps in the Musical Theatre Division for James and the Giant Peach including Outstanding Production as noted above as well as Outstanding Performance - Male and Outstanding Performance - Ensemble for a total of 9 hits). Canada's Ballet Jorgen and Theatre Direct follow with 4 knocks each for The Velveteen Rabbit and Beneath the Banyan Tree respectively, both up for Outstanding Production, Outstanding Direction and Outstanding Performance - Ensemble. Roseneath Theatre also tallies 4: 2 for Outside and 2 for The Money Tree, both up for Outstanding New Play (as is The Velveteen Rabbit).

Of note, designers Michael Levine, Ken Mackenzie and Lorenzo Savoini are each up for 3 awards - but of these, only Michael Levine competes against himself for Outstanding Scenic Design in the Musical Theatre/Opera Division for the Canadian Opera Company's Bluebeard's Castle/Erwartungand Die Walküre.

And for the first time, the Pat and Tony Adams Freedom Fund for the Arts provides a cash prize of $1,000 each to the recipients of the Outstanding Performance - Female and Outstanding Performance - Male in the General Theatre Division.

As well, it was announced that the Bluma Appel Community Trust will continue its special gift: a $5,000 prize to be awarded at the Dora Awards ceremony on June 22 to the winning playwright of Outstanding New Play in the General Theatre Division for the ninth year in a row, in addition to the continuation of Bluma's Indies comprised of a cash prize of $1,000 per winning category in the Independent Theatre Division.

ANCILLARY AWARDS:

In addition, the recipients of the Pauline McGibbon Award, George Luscombe Award and Leonard McHardy and John Harvey Award were announced.

Toronto-based theatre director and creator Mumbi Tindyebwa is the recipient of the 2014 Pauline McGibbon Award. It includes a $7,000 prize and a medal designed by Dora de Pédery-Hunt and is presented to a member of Ontario's professional theatre community in the early stages of his or her career who has displayed a unique talent and a potential for excellence. The award is given each year by the Province of Ontario through the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Sport and is administered by the Ontario Arts Council. The founder and artistic director of IFT (It's A Freedom Thing) Theatre, she is also a 2015 co-director for the AMY (Artists Mentoring Youth) Project and has directed and assistant directed with such companies as Obsidian Theatre, Canadian Stage, and Buddies in Bad Times among others.

The winner of this year's George Luscombe Award is legendary dancer, choreographer and teacher Peggy Baker, Artistic Director of Peggy Baker Dance Projects and Artist-in-Residence at Canada's National Ballet School. The award recognizes an individual for mentorship in the performing arts community and is named after revolutionary theatre-maker George Luscombe who founded Toronto Workshop Productions in 1959. It is administered by the Toronto Alliance for the Performing Arts and comes with original artwork by Theo Dimson, a copy of Conversations with George Luscombe: Steven Bush in conversation with the Canadian Theatre visionary and a cash prize of $1,000 through the generous sponsorship of an anonymous donor. Ms. Baker has been honoured with numerous awards for her extraordinary achievements including the Governor General's Award for Lifetime Achievement, the Premier's Award for Excellence in the Arts, the Order of Canada, and the Walter Carsen Prize for Excellence in the Performing Arts. Numerous dance artists - seasoned and emerging - count Baker among their top influences and are recipients of her warm generosity with her time and knowledge.

The recipient of the 2015 Leonard McHardy and John Harvey Award (LMJH Award) is Sue Edworthy. The award recognizes the important work of theatre, dance and opera administrators. Recipients of the LMJH Award have at least 10 years of demonstrated commitment to the performing arts, in addition to having made an impact on the industry in Toronto. Edworthy has worked in the non-profit performing arts sector for over fifteen years, working with organizations such as Artscape, Luminato, Opera Atelier and Theatre Passe Muraille. She founded Sue Edworthy Arts Planning in 2011, and is in demand as a social media, communications and strategic planning consultant.

AUDIENCE CHOICE AWARD:

TAPA's Audience Choice Award is co-sponsored once again this year by NOW Magazine and Yonge-Dundas Square. The public is invited to choose a winner and vote for their favourite show from the list of nominees for Outstanding Production or they can choose their own! Theatre, dance and opera fans can cast their votes online at www.nowtoronto.com/doras. The winner will be announced at the Dora Awards show ceremony and will receive a special plaque from NOW Magazine.

For more details and the full list of awards, go to www.tapa.ca.

Photo Credit: Cylla von Tiedemann