| Nominees for Calgary’s sought-after accolades of theatrical excellence, the Betty Mitchell awards, were announced at the Auburn Saloon on Tuesday. The annual awards gala will take place on August 28 at Stage West. From razor-sharp drama, to glitzy musicals, to tear-jerkers, this year marks the first time audiences will have a significant impact on who takes home the hardware and who leaves empty-handed.
Since the award ceremony’s inception nine years ago, the voting process has consisted of 12 rotating, anonymous jurors who take in a minimum of 80 per cent of the live productions in a season selecting five nominees in 15 categories. Their picks were then voted on by 500 card-holding professional members of the community by mail-in ballots.
D.J. Kelly, chair of the Betty Mitchell Professional Theatre Awards Society, notes it was not an ideal process in part because some members weren’t able to return their ballots in time to meet the deadline, so it was becoming clear they needed to rethink their voting approach.
"We asked ourselves, ‘who are we doing this for?’"
Bringing audiences into the voting was a natural progression for the group, and it gave them a chance to include companies outside the mainstream. "It gives us an opportunity to recognize smaller theatre groups," he adds.
Passports were issued to interested theatergoers, and for each production, a stamp confirmed voters’ attendance. In order to qualify, avid fans of live theatre had to attend a minimum of 75 per cent of the plays over the 2005-06 season. Kelly notes it was exciting to see many of the same faces out at shows throughout the year. He also says it brings the audience deeper into the creative process.
"It makes it a lot more of an adventure and opens it up to the audiences. They know what they like," he says. "It also makes it more interesting and fair."
Named after one of Calgary live theatre’s most respected icons, the awards honour the best of the boards in all areas including direction, performance, and technical support.
In addition to the main block of awards, the recipients of the Greg Bond Memorial Award for outstanding contribution to musical theatre and the Dean Ott/Debbie Boult award for outstanding achievement in technical production will be announced at the ceremonies.
"It’s one of the few times of the year when the entire theatre community gets together for one night," says Kelly, adding the modest ticket cost makes the event accessible to everyone from struggling actors to writers.
The wide-ranging selections represent a diverse mix of talent from the cutting edge grittiness of One Yellow Rabbit, to the blockbuster crowd pleasers at Theatre Calgary. Calgary Opera received a nod for its production of Dead Man Walking, but the big winner was Alberta Theatre Projects which led the pack with 24 nominations in total, with four nominees in the best supporting actress category. Theatre Calgary got five nods, while One Yellow Rabbit received four in tandem with the Old Trout Puppet Workshop. Lindsay Burns also made the list for her cheeky look at Martha Stewart, Dough. Smaller companies such as Ground Zero and Sage Theatre are also in the race, garnering nominations in outstanding production of a musical, and outstanding production of a play, respectively.
With 61 productions jockeying for some attention from Betty this year, Kelly says the competition is robust and making the top five is a remarkable accomplishment. "It really is an honour just to be nominated."
Watch for profiles on nominees in upcoming issues, running until the awards ceremony on August 28. The full list of nominees can be seen at www.bettymitchellawards.com. |
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