SIX NATIONS — Santee Smith’s acclaimed production showing the devastating impacts of residential schools in Canada has brought in 6 nominations for the 2020 Dora Mavor Moore Awards.
The work is a shared production with Young People’s Theatre and Smith’s Kaha:wi Dance Theatre – which was nominated for Outstanding Production.
Smith herself was nominated for Outstanding New Play and Outstanding Direction.
Nominated for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble are Jonathan Fisher, Raelyn Metcalfe, Santee Smith, Montana Summers, Julianne Blackbird.
The production also saw a nod for Outstanding Achievement in Design – Sound Composition by Jesse Zubot and Adrian Dion Harjo; and Production Design by Ryan Webber and Shane Powless.
Smith posted congratulations on Facebook saying, “Nia:wen, a special thank you to the Mohawk Institute Survivors past and present who have generously shared their experiences with us. It is a complete honour for us all to be a voice/body of truth in Canada’s Indian residential school legacy. We look forward to sharing The Mush Hole with many more audiences in the future.”
The annual Dora Mavor Moore Awards, produced by the Toronto Alliance for the Performing Arts (TAPA), celebrate excellence in the city’s professional performing arts sector for theatre, dance and opera.
TAPA Executive Director and Dora Awards Producer Jacoba Knaapen announced that, in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Dora Mavor Moore Awards for the 2019-20 season will be presented virtually on Monday, June 29.
“I am pleased to announce that we are moving forward with the 2020 Dora Mavor Moore Awards – Virtual Edition. Given the fact that 85% of productions registered for the Dora Awards were successfully produced during the 2019-20 season, we felt it important to honour the work of our extraordinarily talented and hard-working arts community,” said Knaapen.
Régine Cadet, TAPA Board President, added, “While it would have been preferable to celebrate in person, it remains unclear when that could safely happen due to the pandemic. The evening of June 29 was the original date for the Dora Awards and we look forward to celebrating with all of our colleagues on that same night.”
