If there’s one thing the Elizabeth Sterling Haynes Awards, held at the Mayfield Dinner Theatre last Monday night brought home, is the number of recipients or productions that showcased some pretty amazing St. Albert-linked talent.
Plain Jane Theatre’s production of the moving and poignant Fun Home, a musical about self-discovery and coming out, was a top contender with eight nominations.
It scooped up four awards including Outstanding Production of a Musical and Outstanding Musical Director for Janice Flower, artistic director of St. Albert Children’s Theatre.
The six out of nine cast members of current and past St. Albert Children's Theatre actors also deserve a great deal of credit for Fun Home’s enormous success. They include Jillian Aisenstat, Karina Cox, Gabriel Gagnon, Kate Ryan, as well as brothers Carter and Connor Woodley.
In the Outstanding Production of a Play, former St. Albert Children’s Theatre actor/playwright Damien Atkins was the winner for his touring one-man show, We Are Not Alone, a personal exploration into unidentified flying objects. The production also received a nod for Outstanding Light Design.
The trophy for Outstanding Performance in a Leading Role deservedly went to another children’s theatre alumna, Vanessa Sabourin, for Northern Light Theatre’s, 19 Weeks, a heart-wrenching true story of a woman who chooses to have an abortion.
Concrete Theatre’s Songs My Mother Sang Me took home three awards, including one for St. Albert Children’s Theatre's Luc Tellier for Outstanding Artistic Achievement in theatre for young audiences.
Once again playwright Stewart Lemoine from Teatro La Quindicina received the Outstanding Fringe New Work for A Lesson in Brio. Two members of the cast, St. Albert-raised Jenny McKillop and former children’s theatre musical director Rachel Bowron were tapped for major roles in the production.
Last but not least, Tami and Greg Dowler-Coltman, former St. Albert residents now living in Edmonton, were presented with the Outstanding Contribution to Theatre. Both are educators at Victoria School of the Arts and have contributed extensively to the live theatre scene.
This is the first year Sterling organizers dropped categories for best actor and best actress in favour of broader categories aimed at removing gender bias.
For a full list of nominees and winners visit sterlingawards.com.
