Dora Mavor Moore Awards

Last updated
Dora Mavor Moore Awards
Awarded forBest in Toronto theatre
CountryCanada
Presented by Toronto Alliance for the Performing Arts
First awarded1978–present
Website tapa.ca/doras

The Dora Mavor Moore Awards (also known as the Dora Awards or the Doras) are awards presented annually by the Toronto Alliance for the Performing Arts (TAPA), honouring theatre, dance and opera productions in Toronto. [1] [2] [3] Named after Dora Mavor Moore, [1] [2] who helped establish Canadian professional theatre, the awards program was established on December 13, 1978, with the first awards held in 1980. [3] Each winner receives a bronze statue made from the original by John Romano.

Contents

Awards

Awards are given in major divisions: General Theatre (Drama/Comedy/Play, budget over $100,000 and over 150 seats), Musical Theatre (Musical/Revue/Cabaret), Independent Theatre (budget under $100,000 and/or under 150 seats), Dance, Opera, Theatre for Young Audiences, and Touring. [4] Each of these major categories is further sub-divided in an assorted number of awards. In 2018, the awards announced that beginning with the 2019 awards, it would discontinue gender-based performance categories, replacing its previous performance categories for men and women with "Outstanding Performance" categories. [5]

General Theatre

Musical Theatre

Independent theatre

Dance

Opera

Theatre for Young Audiences

Touring

Ancillary awards

In association with the Dora Awards, several ancillary awards are also administered and presented by TAPA.

Although the Doras were cancelled in 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Canada shutting down theatre production in the 2020-21 season, ancillary awards were still presented that year as they are presented for the recipient's overall body of work rather than for specific shows within an eligibility period. [6]

Pauline McGibbon Award

This award was established in 1981 in honour of former Lieutenant Governor of Ontario Pauline McGibbon. The winner is announced at the Dora Mavor Moore Award ceremony. This award is "Intended to assist a member of Ontario’s theatre community who has displayed a unique talent, a potential for excellence and who is in the early stages of his or her career." The Award recipient moves in a three-year cycle, rotating through individuals working as a director, a production craft person and a designer respectively. Each award winner receives $7,000 and a medal designed by Dora de Pedry Hunt.

Barbara Hamilton Award

Established in 1996 in recognition of Barbara Hamilton, this $1,000 prize, administered by the City of Toronto, is awarded to an individual who has "demonstrated excellence and professionalism in the performing arts." The winner of this award is announced during the press conference presenting the season's Dora Award nominees. Along with the cash prize, recipients also receive a scroll from the city of Toronto. Past winners include John Neville, Karen Kain, and Colin Mochrie

George Luscombe Award

Named for George Luscombe, founder and artistic director for 27 years of the Toronto Workshop Productions, this award is presented to an individual who has shown great mentorship in the realm of theatre. This award was first presented in 1999, and the recipient receives a framed print by artist Theo Dimson. The winner of this award is announced during the press conference announcing the Dora Award nominees.

Audience Choice Award

The Audience Choice Award was inaugurated in 2006 at the 27th Annual Dora Mavor Moore Awards. Presented by the Toronto Alliance for the Performing Arts (TAPA), the Audience Choice Award for Outstanding Production is sponsored by Now Magazine Toronto and Yonge-Dundas Square. Facilitated and sponsored by Now Magazine, the public was invited to vote online for a winner from the list of nominees in the General Theatre (Play and Musical), Independent Theatre, Opera and Theatre for Young Audiences Divisions; and Outstanding New Choreography in the Dance Division, or choose their show. The winner is announced at the Dora Awards ceremony and presented with a commemorative plaque.

Silver Ticket Award

Beginning in 1980, TAPA began presenting the silver ticket award to "an individual who has made an outstanding contribution to the Toronto stage and the development of Canadian Theatre". Nominees for the award are submitted from individuals from the general performing arts community, and a committee composed of previous Silver Ticket winners. Along with the award, the winning individual is entitled to two free tickets, for life, to any production performed by a company belonging to the Toronto Alliance for the Performing Arts.

Awards and nominations for Outstanding Touring Production

The Dora Mavor Moore 'Award for Outstanding Touring Production' was an annual award celebrating achievements in live Canadian theatre. [7]

Past winners

Past winners have included Salome Bey, Kawa Ada, John Alcorn, BirdLand Theatre, Michel Marc Bouchard, Valerie Buhagiar, Ronnie Burkett, Caroline Cave, Waawaate Fobister, Paul-André Fortier, David Hersey, Tomson Highway, Christopher House, Stuart Hughes, John Krizanc, Daniel MacIvor, Manitoba Theatre for Young People, Diego Matamoros, Neil Munro, Julian Richings, Roseneath Theatre, Tyley Ross, Djanet Sears, Denis Simpson, Michel Tremblay and Jonathan Wilson.

In 2005, arts patron and philanthropist Bluma Appel received an Honorary Dora Award.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Buddies in Bad Times</span> Canadian queer theatrical company

Buddies in Bad Times Theatre is a Canadian professional theatre company. Based in Toronto, Ontario, and founded in 1978 by Matt Walsh, Jerry Ciccoritti, and Sky Gilbert, Buddies in Bad Times is dedicated to "the promotion of queer theatrical expression". It's the largest and longest-running queer theatre company in the world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Evalyn Parry</span> Canadian theatre maker and singer-songwriter

Evalyn Parry is a Canadian performance-maker, theatrical innovator and singer-songwriter. She grew up in Toronto, Ontario in the Kensington Market neighbourhood. Her music combines elements of spoken word and folk.

The Joseph Jefferson Award, more commonly known informally as the Jeff Award, is given for theatre arts produced in the Chicago area. Founded in 1968, the awards are named in tribute to actor Joseph Jefferson, a 19th-century American theater star who, as a child, was a player in Chicago's first theater company. Two types of awards are given: "Equity" for work done under an Actors' Equity Association contract, and "Non-Equity" for non-union work. Award recipients are determined by a secret ballot.

The Jessie Richardson Theatre Award is given to recognize achievement in professional theatre in Vancouver, British Columbia. The Jessies are presented by the Jessie Richardson Theatre Award Society, at an annual ceremony. The awards are named after Jessie Richardson, co-founder of the Playhouse Holiday Theatre, local actor, director and designer.

Classical Theatre Project is a professional theatre company based in Toronto, Ontario that creates innovative productions of classic plays for a new generation of theatre fans. The company was founded in 2001 and focuses on producing the works of William Shakespeare. Since its creation, the CTP has played to more than 500,000 audience members across Canada and the U.S.

The Company Theatre is a Toronto-based independent theatre company that produces provocative international plays with Canada's best actors.

The Dora Mavor Moore Award for Outstanding New Play is an annual award celebrating achievements in Toronto theatre.

The Dora Mavor Moore Award for Outstanding Direction of a Play/Musical is an annual award celebrating achievements in Toronto theatre.

The Dora Mavor Moore Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male in a Principal Role - Play is an annual award celebrating achievements in live Canadian theatre.

The Dora Mavor Moore Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female in a Principal Role - Play is an annual award celebrating achievements in live Canadian theatre.

Charlotte Moore is a Canadian actress who has been performing for more than thirty years. Her acclaim includes a Dora Mavor Moore Award in 1990 for her performance as Janet in a Toronto production of The Rocky Horror Show.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anusree Roy</span> Canadian writer

Anusree Roy is a Canadian award-winning writer of plays, television, film and libretto. She is also an actress.

Ronald Pederson is a Canadian, Métis actor, comedian and theatre director who has worked extensively throughout Canada and in the United States. He has performed at most of Canada's major theatres including The Stratford Festival, The Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre, The Citadel Theatre, Alberta Theatre Projects, The Arts Club, The Vancouver Playhouse, The Young Centre, The Canadian Stage Company, The Tarragon Theatre, Theatre Passe Muraille, Soulpepper and The SummerWorks Festival. Pederson is an alumnus of Toronto’s The Second City and has also worked extensively in television and may be best known for his Canadian Comedy Award-nominated work and his three seasons on Fox Television's MADtv.

Nigel Shawn Williams is a Canadian actor and theatre director from Toronto, Ontario.

Tawiah Ben M'Carthy is a Ghanaian-born Canadian actor and playwright. He is best known for his 2012 play Obaaberima, a one-man play about growing up gay in Ghana.

Betty Mitchell Awards were created in 1998 to celebrate and honour outstanding achievement in Calgary's professional theatre community. It is commonly called the Betty Award and is named for Calgary theatre pioneer Dr. Betty Mitchell.

The Dora Mavor Moore Award for Best Leading Performer (General Theatre) is an annual Canadian theatre award, presented as part of the Dora Mavor Moore Awards to honour the year's best performance in a leading role in a stage production in the Toronto theatre market.

Gregory Prest is a Canadian actor, playwright and theatre director. He is most noted for his role as Simon in the comedy television series Pillow Talk, for which he and his castmates received an ensemble nomination for Best Performance in a Variety or Sketch Comedy Program or Series at the 11th Canadian Screen Awards in 2023, and as a Dora Mavor Moore Award winner for Best Direction in a Musical in 2019 for Soulpepper's musical Rose.

Vanessa Sears is a Canadian actress and singer. She originated the role of Nicola in the Canadian premiere production of Kinky Boots, which played at the Royal Alexandra Theatre. In 2022, Sears originated the role of Anaia in the Canadian premiere production of Is God Is, for which she was nominated for a Dora Award for Outstanding Performance in a Leading Role.

Michael Torontow is a Canadian actor, singer and director, best known for his work in musical theatre. He has played such roles as Link Larkin in the first Canadian production of Hairspray in 2004 Giuseppe Naccarelli in Toronto productions of The Light in the Piazza in 2010 and 2016, and the title character in Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street in 2022. He is an artistic director for Talk is Free Theatre in Barrie, Ontario. He has been nominated for Dora Awards both as a leading actor and director.

References

  1. 1 2 King, Kimball (2003). Western Drama Through the Ages: Four Great Eras of Western Drama. Westport, CT: Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 136. ISBN   0-313-32935-4.
  2. 1 2 "Dora Mavor Moore Awards". Canadian Theatre Encyclopedia. Retrieved 2011-07-25.
  3. 1 2 Benson, Eugene; Conolly, Leonard W. (2010). The Oxford Companion to Canadian Theatre . Toronto: Oxford University Press. p.  38. ISBN   978-0-19-540672-6.
  4. ↑ "TAPA - Eligibility". 13 April 2021.
  5. ↑ "Dora Mavor Moore Awards to adopt gender-neutral performance categories". CBC Arts, April 25, 2018.
  6. ↑ "Dora Awards honour lifetime achievement in theatre as COVID-19 shuts down live shows: Dora Mavor Moore Awards celebrates lifetime contributions after COVID-19 pandemic shut down live performances". The Globe and Mail , June 16, 2021.
  7. ↑ "Dora Awards: Recipients" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2013-10-29. Retrieved 2012-10-07.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.