31st Annual DORA MAVOR MOORE AWARDS Celebrating Excellence in Toronto’s Performing Arts

AND THE DORA GOES TO …

Luminato, Soulpepper, Tarragon and Theatrefront Tie Lead with 4 Awards Each

In the General Theatre Production Division:
Soulpepper’s PARFUMERIE Leads with Three Awards including Outstanding Production & Direction
Tarragon’s COURAGEOUS and IF WE WERE BIRDS Each Take Two Wins including Outstanding New Play for Courageous & Outstanding Performance by a Female in a Principal Role for If We Were Birds

In the Independent Theatre Production Division:
Theatrefront’s THE MILL Leads with Four Awards including Outstanding Production
DVxT’s THE TURN OF THE SCREW Captures Three Wins including Outstanding Direction & Male and Female Outstanding Performance

In the Dance Division:
Factory’s THIS TIME Scores Two Awards including Outstanding Original Choreography & Performance

In the Opera Division:
Canadian Opera Company’s THE NIGHTINGALE AND OTHER…

Toronto, June 28, 2010 – Production Craftsperson Lokki Ma is the 2010 recipient of the Pauline McGibbon Award. The announcement was made by the Honourable Michael Chan, Minister of Tourism and Culture at the 31st Dora Mavor Moore Awards. The Awards were presented today at Toronto’s St. Lawrence Centre for the Arts in the Bluma Appel Theatre.

About the recipient:
Lokki Ma is a builder, buyer and coordinator of props who started her theatre career in Toronto with Metcalf Foundation support for a props internship with The Canadian Stage Company during its 2007/2008 season. In three years, Lokki has collaborated on several projects with Ontario theatre companies and cultural organizations:

• She was head of props for Blyth Festival’s 2007 and 2009 seasons, as well as for Theatre Direct’s Binti’s Journey and Walking the Tightrope.
• At Tarragon Theatre, her build credits also include If We Were Birds, Molière, Mimi and Ubuntu.
• Most recently, Lokki worked with Native Earth…

Nominations Announced for the 31st DORA MAVOR MOORE AWARDS

Hamlet Takes Top Spot in General Theatre Production Division with 6 Nods
The Mill Front-runner with 7 Nominations in the Independent Theatre Production Division
The Flying Dutchman Flies High for Opera with 7 Nods
The Toxic Avenger Musical Ahead with 5 Nominations in Musical Theatre Division
PARIS 1994/GALLERY and this time Tie in Dance Division
Roseneath Theatre Leads in TYA Division

Toronto, June 2, 2010 – At a press conference held today at the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts, the Toronto Alliance for the Performing Arts (TAPA) announced 174 nominations for 225 eligible productions that opened between June 1, 2009 and May 31, 2010 for the 31st annual Dora Mavor Moore Awards which honour excellence in the performing arts in Toronto.

For the 2009-2010 season, 113 producing companies registered eligible productions. A total of 35 Dora Awards plus the Silver Ticket Award, the Pauline…

Celebrated and actor and director R.H. THOMSON Presented with Barbara Hamilton Memorial Award

Toronto, June 2, 2010 – The Barbara Hamilton Memorial Award was inaugurated in 1996 and is given to a Canadian artist who demonstrates excellence in the performing arts and is dedicated to advocating and being an ambassador for the arts in Canada. The Barbara Hamilton Memorial Award is sponsored by the City of Toronto, and the recipient is awarded with a scroll and a cheque for $1,000 from the City.

The Award was established to recognize Barbara Hamilton’s illustrious career and her remarkable canon of work. A list of previous winners reads as a who’s who of legendary Canadian performers: Don Harron, George Luscombe, John Neville, Douglas Campbell, Mervyn Blake, Charmion King, Maureen Forrester, Eric Peterson, William Hutt, Martha Burns, Albert Schultz, Karen Kain, Fiona Reid and Colin Mochrie.

The winner of this year’s Barbara Hamilton Memorial Award is R.H. Thomson, a…

Natasha Parsons Honoured with Leonard McHardy and John Harvey Award

Toronto, June 2, 2010 – The Leonard McHardy and John Harvey Award (LMJH Award) was inaugurated in 2008 and 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. The Award is named after Leonard McHardy and John Harvey, the celebrated owners of Toronto’s Theatrebooks, which they co-founded in 1975, and now stands as one of the longest surviving independent bookstores in the country.

This year’s recipient is Natasha Parsons, a diligent, warm-hearted individual who, in her 16 years working in the Box Office and Front of House at Tarragon Theatre, has become a beloved staple of both Tarragon and Toronto’s theatre scene, leaving her mark on casts, crews and audiences alike.

Natasha Parsons began working at Tarragon Theatre…

Toronto Alliance for the Performing Arts Announces 31ST ANNIVERSARY OF DORA MAVOR MOORE AWARDS Monday June 28, hosted by JIAN GHOMESHI

Toronto, May 14, 2010 – The Toronto Alliance for the Performing Arts (TAPA) proudly announces that the 31st anniversary of the Dora Mavor Moore Awards, celebrating extraordinary Toronto talent, will take place on Monday, June 28, 2010 at 8pm at the St. Lawrence Centre for the Arts in the Bluma Appel Theatre, hosted for the second year in a row by CBC Radio personality Jian Ghomeshi of CBC Radio One’s flagship arts show, Q.

New this year, the always-fabulous After-Party will be even more awesome as it transforms Front Street into a giant street party in front of the theatre where surprise guest performances await.

Jian Ghomeshi has been the host of CBC Radio One’s Q since its inception in 2007. Q has garnered the largest audience of any cultural affairs program in Canada and has become the highest-rated show in its morning timeslot in CBC…

In the General Theatre Production Division:

• AGOKWE Rides High with Six Awards including Outstanding Production of a Play & New Play
• THE SOUND OF MUSIC Tallies Three Awards including Outstanding Production of a Musical
• JERSEY BOYS Earns Two Awards including Outstanding Direction of a Musical
• SANCTUARY SONG Takes Outstanding New Musical / Opera

In the Independent Theatre Production Division:

• ETERNAL HYDRA Leads with Four Awards including Outstanding Production, Direction & New Play or Musical

In the Dance Division:

• INNOVATION: EMERGENCE Sweeps the Four Awards including Outstanding Production, Choreography, & Performance

In the Opera Division:

• WAR AND PEACE Captures Outstanding Production

In Theatre for Young Audiences Division:

• WALKING THE TIGHTROPE Scores Both Awards: Outstanding Production & Performance

The 30th Annual Dora Mavor Moore Awards for the 2008/2009 season were handed out in a star-studded ceremony on the evening of Monday, June 29 at…

Dora VIP Presenters and Celebrity Attendees Announced. Special Book Commemorating Three Decades of The Doras to be Launched at Doras

Toronto, June 17, 2009 The Toronto Alliance for the Performing Arts (TAPA) is pleased to announce the VIP Presenters for the 30th Annual Dora Mavor Moore Awards to be held on Monday, June 29 (officially proclaimed “Dora Day” by the City of Toronto) at the Winter Garden Theatre, followed by the always-fabulous After-Party at Metro Square. The exquisite Rosewater Supper Club again hosts the elegant pre-show VIP Reception where guests have the opportunity to mingle with the nominees.
TAPA will also use this auspicious occasion to launch a special book commemorating three decades of the Doras. Published by TAPA and edited by Angela Rebeiro, Member of the Order of Canada and now-retired head of Playwrights Canada Press for sixteen years, The Doras: 30 Years of Theatre, Dance and Opera in Toronto will be distributed…

Agokwe Rides High in General Theatre Production Division with 8 Nods
Eternal Hydra Takes Top Spot with 10 Nominations in the Independent Theatre Production Division
Canadian Opera Company Front-runner in Opera Division The National Ballet of Canada and princess productions Tie in Dance Division
LKTYP Leads in TYA with 6 nominations

Toronto, June 3, 2009 – At a press conference held today at the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts, the Toronto Alliance for the Performing Arts (TAPA) announced 176 nominations from 218 eligible productions that opened between June 1, 2008 and May 31, 2009 for the 30th annual Dora Mavor Moore Awards which honour excellence in the performing arts in Toronto.

Of the eligible shows for the 2008-2009 season, 65 were new plays, musicals or operas in the General and Independent Theatre Production Divisions. A total of 35 Dora Awards plus the Silver Ticket Award, the Pauline McGibbon Award and the Audience Choice…

Toronto Alliance for the Performing Arts Announces 30TH ANNIVERSARY OF DORA MAVOR MOORE AWARDS Monday June 29, hosted by JIAN GHOMESHI

Toronto, April 20, 2009 – The Toronto Alliance for the Performing Arts (TAPA) proudly announces that the 30th anniversary of the Dora Mavor Moore Awards, celebrating extraordinary Toronto talent, will take place on Monday, June 29, 2009 at 8pm at the Winter Garden Theatre, hosted by CBC Radio personality, Jian Ghomeshi of CBC Radio One’s flagship arts show, Q. The always-fabulous After-Party will be held at Metro Square.

Jian Ghomeshi has been the host of CBC Radio One’s Q since its inception in 2007. He has also been a host and contributor to a variety of other CBC Radio and TV programs including The National Playlist, Sounds Like Canada, 50 Tracks, Zed, The End, and The Hour. He is also a writer whose editorials and opinion pieces have been published in The National Post (where he is currently a regular contributor), The Globe and Mail…