Prison Dancer, with Julio Fuentes, Josh Capulong, Daren Dyhengco, Renell Doneza, Pierre Angelo Bayuga, Byron Flores, Citadel Theatre. Photo by Nanc Price.

Austin Eckert in The Royale, Citadel Theatre. Photo by Nanc Price

By Liz Nicholls, 12thnight.ca

The season on Edmonton stages was toasted live and in person Monday night at the 35th annual Sterling Awards gala, for the first time at Edmonton Fringe Theatre headquarters — directed by Kate Ryan and hosted by the charismatic duo of Sue Goberdhan and Matt Schuurman.

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Prison Dancer and The Royale proved, overwhelmingly, the top choice of jurors, including Sterling honours as outstanding musical and play, respectively. Between them, the two productions, both at the Citadel, gathered 10 Sterlings, including all four of the acting awards, in an evening dominated by Edmonton’s largest playhouse.

Of its eight Sterling nominations, Prison Dancer, a back story of sorts to a YouTube sensation (the weird 2007 viral video of 1,500 prisoners at a maximum security Filipino prison, dancing to Michael Jackson’s Thriller), took home five. They include awards for Julio Fuentes’ leading performance (plus a Sterling for his choreography/fight direction). As well, Romeo Candido’s score will have a Sterling on the resumé when Nina Lee Aquino’s all-Filipino production runs at the National Arts Centre in the fall.

Nominated in nine categories, The Royale, which chronicles in its highly theatricalized way a collision of ambition and racial hatred on the 1905 boxing circuit, now has five Sterlings, including honours for André Sills’ direction, for Austin Eckert’s leading and Jameela NcNeil’s supporting performances, and for Dave Clarke’s sound design (a category newly separated from outstanding score this year).

Additionally, Scott Reid’s perpetual motion Clue set was Sterling-ed. And Mieko Ouchi’s high-speed production of Pride and Prejudice came home with two awards, one as the outstanding ensemble (a new category this year) and the other for Deanna Finnman’s costumes, a category in which all her competitors also designed Citadel shows.

Sheldon Elter (centre) in Sweeney Todd, The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, Plain Jane Theatre. Photo by Mat Simpson

Of the smaller theatres, Northern Light, nominated for 10 Sterlings, received two, both for A Hundred Words For Snow. Alison Yanota’s lighting and Matt Schuurman’s multi-media design for Trevor Schmidt’s production, created a kind of floating iceberg for the protagonist’s journey to the North Pole. Of its seven nominations, Plain Jane Theatre’s ingenious eight-actor/ one-piano chamber version of Sweeney Todd received a Sterling for Shannon Hiebert’s musical direction of Kate Ryan’s production, and performing live from the keyboard.     

Jade Robinson, Hayley Moorhouse in Smoke, the second cast in the Tiny Bear Jaws production. Photo by Brianne Jang

In the very competitive indie and new play categories, the Tiny Bear Jaws two-cast production of Smoke, directed by Jenna Rodgers, took home the Sterling in the former. Elena Belyea’s challenging play, set in the smouldering ruins of a relationship, explores the aftermath of sexual assault without being definitive about cause and blame. A heterosexual couple alternated nightly with a queer one.

playwright/ actor Carly Neil in In My Own Little Corner. Photo by Brianne Jang

The new play Sterling goes to Carly Neis’s solo cabaret In My Little Corner, about love of music, friendship, and negotiating the disabled life. It premiered in the RISER Edmonton series, part of a national initiative for supporting indie artists, produced by Common Ground Arts Society.   

The two theatre for young audiences Sterlings were divided between Jana O’Connor’s CTL-ALT-DELETE at Concrete Theatre and Alberta Musical Theatre’s Jack and the Beanstalk. Of the five Fringe categories, three Sterlings went to Linette J. Smith’s Uniform Theatre/ Scona Alumni Theatre production of the Canadian musical Ride the Cyclone, with the Fringe new work honours going to Liam Salmon’s Fags in Space, and the performance Sterling awarded to Zachary Parsons-Lozinski aka Lilith Fair in Guys in Disguise’s Pansy Cabaret.

As previously announced, actor/administrator Coralie Cairns is this year’s recipient of the Margaret Mooney Award in administration. The U of A innovator Mel Geary received the Ross Hill Award in production. And the late Judy Unwin, artist/ artistic director/ indefatigable theatre volunteer and lobbyist, was recognized for her outstanding contribution to Edmonton theatre.

And the 2022-2023 Sterling Awards go to …

Outstanding Production of a Play: The Royale (Citadel Theatre).

Timothy Ryan Award for Outstanding Production of a Musical: Prison Dancer (Citadel Theatre and Prison Dancer Inc.).

Outstanding Independent Production of a Play: Smoke (Tiny Bear Jaws)

Outstanding New Play (Award to Playwright): Carly Neis, In My Own Little Corner (Common Ground Arts Society).

Outstanding Performance in a Leading Role – Play: Austin Eckert, The Royale (Citadel Theatre)

Outstanding Performance in a Leading Role – Musical: Julio Fuentes, Prison Dancer (Citadel Theatre and Prison Dancer Inc.)

Outstanding Performance in a Supporting Role – Play: Jameela McNeil, The Royale (Citadel Theatre)

Outstanding Performance in a Supporting Role – Musical: Diana Del Rosario, Prison Dancer (Citadel Theatre and Prison Dancer Inc.)

Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Play or Musical: Pride and Prejudice (Citadel Theatre)

Outstanding Director: André Sills, The Royale (Citadel Theatre)

Outstanding Set Design: Scott Reid, Clue (Citadel Theatre)

Outstanding Costume Design: Deanna Finnman, Pride and Prejudice (Citadel Theatre)

Outstanding Lighting Design: Alison Yanota, A Hundred Words for Snow (Northern Light Theatre)

Outstanding Multi-Media Design: Matt Schuurman, A Hundred Words for Snow (Northern Light Theatre)

Outstanding Score of a Play or Musical: Romeo Candido, Prison Dancer (Citadel Theatre and Prison Dancer Inc.)

Outstanding Sound Design: Dave Clarke, The Royale (Citadel Theatre)

Outstanding Musical Director: Shannon Hiebert, Sweeney Todd (Plain Jane Theatre)

Outstanding Choreography or Fight Direction: Julio Fuentes, Prison Dancer (Citadel Theatre and Prison Dancer Inc.)

Outstanding Individual Achievement in Production: Nancy Yuen (stage manager)

Outstanding Production for Young Audiences: CTRL-ALT-DEL (Concrete Theatre)

Outstanding Artistic Achievement for Young Audiences: Shrina Patel, choreographer, Jack and the Beanstalk (Alberta Musical Theatre Company)

Outstanding Fringe Production: Ride the Cyclone (Uniform Theatre and Scona Alumni Theatre Co)

Outstanding Fringe New Work (Award to Playwright): Liam Salmon, Fags in Space (Low Hanging Fruits)

Outstanding Fringe Performance by an Individual: Zachary Parsons-Lozinski/Lilith Fair, Pansy Cabaret (Guys in Disguise)

Outstanding Fringe Performance by an Ensemble: Ride the Cyclone (Uniform Theatre and Scona Alumni Theatre Co)

Outstanding Fringe Director: Linette J. Smith, Ride the Cyclone (Uniform Theatre and Scona Alumni Theatre Co)

The Margaret Mooney Award for Outstanding Achievement in Administration: Coralie Cairns

The Ross Hill Award for Outstanding Achievement in Production: Mel Geary

Outstanding Contribution to Theatre in Edmonton: Judy Unwin