All roads lead to MECCA

The city’s English critics give the nod to this
year’s best theatre productions

By NEIL BOYCE

Montreal writer and critic (and former Mirror columnist) Gaëtan Charlebois had an idea nine years ago to gather local journalists covering English-language theatre, argue over what they thought of the past season and publish the results. Dubbing themselves the Montreal English Critics Circle Award, the group has met yearly ever since.

MECCA winners originally got a mailed-out certificate and their name in the paper. But when we went live in 2006 (I’ve been a board member since 2001), a whole new and beloved cheese factor was brought to the event.

Actors were both emcees and onstage entertainment. Gaffes, insults and jokes flew unrestrained. The universal response from those in attendance was, “You have to keep doing this.” Two awards, announced only at the event, are particularly close to our hearts:

The Revelation Award is given to a person or organization performing especially compelling work—a “breakout” year in theatre. The Myron Galloway Award for Distinction—named after the writer and MECCA cofounder whose multitalented career had such impact on Montreal theatre—is given to a person or organization that has contributed a significant body of work to the Montreal theatre scene.

So in keeping with award show lingo, without further ado, here are the MECCA nominations for 2007–2008:

Best Actor
Brad Carmichael (Quills)
Chip Chuipka (The Dishwashers)
Patrick Costello (Trad)
Greg Kramer (Haunted Hillbilly: The Hyram Woodside Atrocity)
Brett Watson (Zarathustra Said Some Things, No?)

Best Actress
Caroline Cave (The Syringa Tree)
Nathalie Claude (The Baroness and the Pig)
Jennifer Morehouse (Shakespeare Unplugged)
Leni Parker (The Baroness and the Pig)
d’bi.young.anitafrika (blood[claat])

Best Director
Frances Balenzano (Quills)
Larry Moss (The Syringa Tree)
Olivier Perras (7 Stories)
Andrew Shaver (Haunted Hillbilly: The Hyram Woodside Atrocity)
Gabrielle Soskin (Unity (1918))

Best New Text
Graham Cuthbertson (Haunted Hillbilly: The Hyram Woodside Atrocity)
Trevor Ferguson (Zarathustra Said Some Things, No?)
Joel Fishbane (Short Story Long)
Talya Rubin (The Girl With No Hands)
Elison Zasko (The Sputniks)

Best Ensemble
7 Stories (Tableau d’Hôte)
Gas (Infinitheatre)
Housekeeping & Homewrecking (Alex Haber)
This Hour Has 88 Years (Quint Productions)
Unity (1918) (Persephone Productions)

Best Visiting Production
The Divine Reality Comedy Circus (Bread and Puppet Theater)
mady-baby.edu (Teatrul Foarte Mic)
Richard III in Bouffon (A Company of Fools)
Taking Over (Danny Hoch)
The Tricky Part (Hearts & Eyes Theatre Collective)

Best Set Design
John C. Dinning (The Diary of Anne Frank)
Jennifer Goodman (7 Stories)
Amy Keith (The Jungle Book)
Brian Smith (Forever Yours, Marie-Lou)
Jonas Veroff Bouchard (Gas)

Best Costume Design
Elli Bunton (Diary of Anne Frank)
Louis Hudon (The Baroness and the Pig)
Pavla Mano (Peacemaker)
Jennifer Sheshko (Quills)
Susana Vera and Vickie Marston (The Jungle Book)

Best Lighting
Ana Cappelluto (Import/Export)
Steve Lucas (blood[claat])
Spike Lyne (Relative Good)
Sarah Yaffe (Haunted Hillbilly: The Hyram Woodside Atrocity)
Sarah Yaffe (Peacemaker)

Best Sound
Nathan Barber and Joe Grass (Haunted Hillbilly: The Hyram Woodside Atrocity)
Jean-François Blouin (Gas)
Kristie Ibrahim (The Jungle Book)
Jeff Lorenz (Speak Easy)
Troy Slocum (An Enemy of the People)

Best Production
The Baroness and the Pig (Imago Theatre)
blood[claat] (Black Theatre Workshop)
Haunted Hillbilly: The Hyram Woodside Atrocity (SideMart Theatrical Grocery)
Trad (SideMart Theatrical Grocery)
Unity (1918) (Persephone Productions)

Winners will be announced Oct. 20 at the 2007–2008 MECCA Awards.