The 34th Annual Ceremony will again be held at the beautiful Commodore Ballroom. This year ceremony is being produced by Holding Space Productions who will bring their own special vision to the event.
Date/Time: Jun 27 2016, 5:30 pm to 9:30 pm
Vancouver, Commodore BallroomCost: $29.50
Find tickets: here
The Jessie Richardson Theatre Awards offers several special awards geared towards otherwise unrecognized areas of the industry.
Special awards accepting nominations from the public are the John Moffat and Larry Lillo Prize, The Colin Campbell Award for Excellence in Technical Theatre, The Representation and Inclusion Award and The Mary Phillips Award.
Special awards selected by committee are the Patron of the Arts Award, GVPTA Career Achievement Award, Sam Payne Award for Most Promising Newcomer, Sydney Risk Prize for Outstanding Original Script by an Emerging Playwright, and The Ray Michael Prize for Most Promising New Director.
The diverse productions from the past year, in venues large and small, demonstrate the creativity, imagination, and skill of the extremely talented group of artists who bring their vision to life on the stage. The dynamic works add to the cultural richness and vibrancy not only to Vancouver and its residents, but also to the province and beyond.
Here are some of the highlights of the nominations. There are three categories in which the Jessie Awards are divided: Large Theatre, Small Theatre, and Theatre for Young Audiences along with other special awards. The Arts Club Theatre Company had 11 productions selected and received a whopping total of 34 nominations. Their inventive production of Onegin was the runaway winner picking up 13 nominations; securing a nomination in each of the individual categories that include Meg Roe and Alessandro Juliani for their Outstanding Performances in Lead Roles. In addition, Good People, The Valley and Peter and the Starcatcher each received 4 with Colleen Wheeler nominated for her Outstanding Performance in a Lead Role in Good People and for her Supporting Role performance in Peter and the Starcatcher. Bard on the Beach garnered 7 nominations – one for Love’s Labour’s Lost and 6 for Comedy of Errors with Scott Bellis nominated for Outstanding Direction. Rumble Theatre’s powerful production of Cock received 3 nominations with Stephen Drover recognized for Outstanding Direction. Firehall Arts Centre & Haberdashery Theatre earned 3 nominations for The Motherfucker with the Hat, along with the Firehall Arts Centre securing one nomination each for Social Studies, Dead Metaphor and God and the Indian.
The Small Theatre Category was extremely prolific with a total of 21 theatre companies and 23 productions nominated! Munish Sharma was recognized for his performance in Pi Theatre’s production of The Invisible Hand that received a stellar 8 nominations followed by Babelle Theatre’s presentation of RIVULETS: 3 short plays about a flood earning 6 nominations that include Outstanding Production, Direction, Set, Lighting & Sound Design, and Significant Artistic Achievement. Upintheair Theatre’s production of The North Plan and Vancouver Asian Canadian Theatre’s production of Empire of the Son secured a total of 5 nominations each and both for Outstanding Direction & Production.
Under the Theatre for Young Audiences category, Green Thumb Theatre had 2 productions nominated and a total of 6 nods – Caitlin McFarlane was nominated for her performance in The Invisible Girl and Olivia Hutt for her moving work in Still/Falling. Théâtre la Seizième secured a total of 4 nominations for Mathieu Mathématiques, with director, Giles Poulin-Denis nominated for Artistic Creation along with the talent of Drew Facey for Outstanding Design.
The Jessie Richardson Theatre Awards Board of Directors created a new award this year; it is the Vancouver Now Representation and Inclusion Award that will recognize excellence in the field of accessibility and inclusion. The nominees include: Gateway Theatre – Jovanni Sy, Playwright’s Theatre Centre, Theatre Terrific, Donna Yamamoto, and David C. Jones and Heathers: The Musical. Additional awards that will be presented at the Jessie ceremony include: the Patron of the Arts Award, the Mary Phillips Prize, the Ray Michal Prize for Emerging Director, the Sam Payne Award for the Most Promising Newcomer, the John Moffat & Larry Lillo Award, the Georgia Straight Critics Choice Innovation Award, and the GVPTA Career Achievement Award.
More info