In its 35th year of acknowledging excellence in the performing arts on the Melbourne stage during 2017, the Green Room Awards Association have announced the recipients of more than 65 awards at a star-studded ceremony at Melbourne’s Comedy Theatre on Monday 9 April 2018.
Hosted by MCs Anni Davey and Maude Davey and featuring a dynamic array of performances from YUMMY, the Victorian Opera Youth Chorus Ensemble, and the Chasing Smoke ensemble from BLAKflip (the First Nations program at Circus Oz) this year’s Green Room Awards once again offered the Melbourne arts loving community a superb forum to celebrate their peers, and applaud the outstanding work being created.
Thanks to new GRAA sponsor ARUP, the recipient of the Technical Achievement Award, Jethro Woodward, was awarded $10,000 to assist with further professional development and future work. Lifetime Achievement Award winner Sue Giles also received a monetary prize of $5000 towards future endeavours.
The Geoffrey Milne Memorial Award this year was presented to Candy Bowers for her stellar, ongoing work championing diversity and inclusivity in the arts.
For more information, visit: www.greenroom.org.au for details.
Image: Aladdin The Musical – photo by Deen van Meer
Winners of the 35th Annual Green Room Awards are:
CABARET:
Artiste:
Gillian Cosgriff – 8 Songs in 8 Weeks (Gillian Cosgriff, The Butterfly Club as part of MICF)
Ensemble:
YUMMY – Valerie Hex, Karen From Finance, Tanzer, James Andrews, Beni Lola, Hannie Heldsen, Benjamin Hancock and Zelia Rose (YUMMY, Melba Spiegeltent as part of MICF)
Writing:
Gillian Cosgriff – 8 Songs in 8 Weeks (Gillian Cosgriff, The Butterfly Club as part of MICF)
Original Songs:
Jude Perl – Roommates: The Musical and Let’s Hang Out (Hot Mess Productions, The Butterfly Club, The Coopers Malthouse as part of MICF)
Musical Direction:
Mark Jones – Cyrens (Melissa Langton, Amanda Harrison and Chelsea Gibb, Chapel Off Chapel as part of Melbourne Cabaret Festival)
Production:
YUMMY (YUMMY, Melba Spiegeltent as part of MICF)
Outstanding Contribution To Cabaret:
Ron and Margaret Dobell
CONTEMPORARY & EXPERIMENTAL PERFORMANCE:
Performer or Ensemble:
wãni Le Frère – Tales of an Afronaut (Arts House)
Sound Performance:
Between 8 and 9 (Chengdu Teahouse Project) – Chamber Made Opera and Sichuan Conservatory of Music, co-presented by Castlemaine State Festival and Melbourne Recital Centre for Asia TOPA
Design:
Emily Barrie, Michael Carmody, Jethro Woodward and Richard Vabre – For The Ones Who Walk Away (Nadja Kostich and St Martins)
Curatorial Contribution:
Asia TOPA – Asia-Pacific Triennial of Performing Arts
Curatorial Contribution:
Yirramboi – First Nations Arts Festival
Contemporary Circus:
Chasing Smoke – Natano Fa’anana – Director (Circus Oz/BLAKflip)
Community Collaboration:
Body of Work – Congress, The Coming Back Out Ball and Fun Run (All The Queens Men)
Puppetry:
Life is a Carousel (Sanctum Theatre and Magic Lantern Studio)
Work for Young Audiences:
Junk (Flying Fruit Fly Circus)
Production:
We All Know What’s Happening (Samara Hersch and Lara Thoms)
DANCE:
Female Performer:
Lilian Steiner – Body of Work
Male Performer:
Kimball Wong – Be Your Self (Australian Dance Theatre)
Ensemble, Duo or Trio:
Split (Lucy Guerin Inc)
Visual Design:
Fausto Brusamolino, Boris Morris Bagattini, Clare Britton, Victoria Hunt, Annemaree Dalziel and Justine Shih Pearson – TANGI WAI… The Cry of Water (Victoria Hunt)
Music Composition and Sound Design:
Senyawa (Rully Shabara and Wukir Suryadi) – Attractor (Dancenorth and Lucy Guerin Inc.)
Shirley McKechnie Award for Choreography:
Lucy Guerin – Split (Lucy Guerin Inc)
Concept and Realisation:
Split (Lucy Guerin Inc)
INDEPENDENT THEATRE:
Performer:
Dushan Philips – Angels in America (Cameron Lukey and Dirty Pretty Theatre in association with fortyfivedownstairs)
Performer:
Jennifer Vuletic – Merciless Gods (Little Ones Theatre in association with Darebin Arts Speakeasy)
Ensemble:
Song For a Weary Throat (Rawcus in association with Theatre Works)
Lighting Design:
Amelia Lever-Davidson – Looking Glass (New Working Group in association fortyfivedownstairs)
Set and Costume Design:
Eugyeene Teh – The Happy Prince (Little Ones Theatre in association with La Mama)
Music Composition and Sound Design:
Song For a Weary Throat – Jethro Woodward and Gian Slater – (Rawcus in association with Theatre Works)
Writing:
Merciless Gods – Dan Giovannoni after Christos Tsiolkas (Little Ones Theatre in association with Darebin Arts Speakeasy)
Direction:
Stephen Nicolazzo – The Happy Prince (Little Ones Theatre in association with La Mama)
Production:
Song For a Weary Throat (Rawcus in association with Theatre Works)
MUSIC THEATRE
Female Lead:
Christie Whelan Browne – Vigil (Arts Centre Melbourne)
Male Lead:
Charles Edwards – My Fair Lady (Opera Australia & John Frost)
Female in a Supporting Role:
Robyn Nevin – My Fair Lady (Opera Australia & John Frost)
Male in a Supporting Role:
Reg Livermore – My Fair Lady (Opera Australia & John Frost)
Lighting Design:
Natasha Katz – Aladdin The Musical (Disney Theatrical Productions)
Set Design:
Bob Crowley – Aladdin The Musical (Disney Theatrical Productions)
Costume Design:
Gregg Barnes – Aladdin The Musical (Disney Theatrical Productions)
Sound Design:
Michael Waters – My Fair Lady (Opera Australia & John Frost)
Music Direction/Supervision:
Guy Simpson – My Fair Lady (Opera Australia & John Frost)
Betty Pounder Award for Excellence in Choreography:
Casey Nicholaw – Aladdin The Musical (Disney Theatrical Productions)
Direction:
Gary Young – Hello Dolly! (The Production Company)
Direction:
Tyran Parke – Ordinary Days (Pursued by Bear)
Production:
Aladdin The Musical (Disney Theatrical Productions)
OPERA:
Female Lead:
Lorena Gore – King Roger (Opera Australia)
Male Lead:
Michael Honeyman – King Roger (Opera Australia)
Female in a Supporting Role:
Dominica Matthews – Cavalleria Rusticana (Opera Australia)
Male in a Supporting Role:
James Egglestone – King Roger (Opera Australia)
Conductor:
Andrea Molino – King Roger (Opera Australia)
Lighting Design:
Jon Clark – King Roger (Opera Australia)
Set and Costume Design:
Steffen Aarfing – King Roger (Opera Australia)
Direction:
Damiano Michieletto – Cavalleria Rusticana/Pagliacci (Opera Australia)
Production:
King Roger (Opera Australia)
THEATRE COMPANIES:
Female Performer:
Kate Mulvany – Richard 3 (Bell Shakespeare)
Male Performer:
Paul Blackwell – Faith Healer (Melbourne Theatre Company and Belvoir)
Ensemble:
Wild Bore (Malthouse Theatre)
Lighting Design:
Paul Jackson – Away (Malthouse Theatre and Sydney Theatre Company) and Testament of Mary (Malthouse Theatre)
Set and Costume Design:
Dale Ferguson – Away (Malthouse Theatre and Sydney Theatre Company)
Music Composition and Sound Design:
J. David Franzke – Away (Malthouse Theatre and Sydney Theatre Company)
New Writing/Adaptation for the Australian Stage:
Nathan Maynard – The Season (Tasmania Performs)
Direction:
Isaac Drandic – The Season (Tasmania Performs)
Production:
The Season (Tasmania Performs)
GREEN ROOM ASSOCIATION AWARDS:
Geoffrey Milne Memorial Award:
Candy Bowers
Technical Achievement Award:
Jethro Woodward
Lifetime Achievement Award:
Sue Giles