The Montreal English Theatre Awards (METAs) recognize and celebrate the outstanding artistic work of the individuals and companies that comprise Montreal’s English Theatre community. Established in 2012, the peer-juried awards exist to promote professional and emerging English theatre artists and companies, to heighten their visibility both regionally and beyond, and to elevate the level of critical discourse about theatre in Montreal amongst artists and with the community at large.

This season was completely unprecedented due to COVID-19 and the cancelation of public gatherings in the spring and summer months. Despite this upheaval, 17 productions were registered for the METAs during the 2019-2020 season. The METAs Jury has selected a robust 75 nominations, and will be awarding 18 trophies at the Ceremony: 16 peer-juried-awards and 2 honorary awards.

Leading the list of honourees this season is the Segal Centre for Performing Arts’s Small Mouth Sounds with 9 nominations, followed by the Centaur Theatre Company’s productions of Paradise Lost and MOB with 8 nominations apiece. Purple Divine’s Going Up, Geordie Theatre’s The Water Chronicles, and Ballet Opéra Pantomime’s Please Thrill Me are also on the radar with 7 nominations each.

Among the individuals repeatedly recognized this year are Sophie El-Asssad with 4 nominations, Stephen Booth and Martin Sirois each with 3 honours, and Kiki Dranias and Chadia Kikonjo with 2.

This year’s 8th annual Ceremony, presented in partnership with the Conseil des arts de Montréal, will take place on Sunday, November 8th and will be streamed live.

The full list of nominees follows.

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2019-2020 METAs Nominees

1. Outstanding Lead Performance – Actor

Andreas Apergis – Small Mouth Sounds (The Segal Centre for Performing Arts)
Stephen Booth – Fear of Missing Out (Geordie Theatre)
Bruce Dinsmore – Billy Bishop Goes to War (Hudson Village Theatre)
Matthew Kabwe – MOB (Centaur Theatre Company)
Paul Van Dyck – Going Up (Purple Divine)

2. Outstanding Lead Performance – Actress

Kelly Craig – Going Up (Purple Divine)
Alex Petrachuk – Chattermarks (Cabal Theatre)
Adrianne Richards – MOB (Centaur Theatre Company)
Amelia Sargisson – Paradise Lost (Centaur Theatre Company)
Warona Setshwaelo – Small Mouth Sounds (The Segal Centre for Performing Arts)

3. Outstanding Supporting Performance – Actor

Nick Carpenter – Billy Bishop Goes to War (Hudson Village Theatre)
Marcel Jeannin – Paradise Lost (Centaur Theatre Company)
Amir Sàm Nakhjavani – Winter’s Daughter (Tableau D’Hôte Theatre)
Dakota Jamal Wellman – Simone, Half and Half (Black Theatre Workshop)
Jake Wilkinson – Paradise Lost (Centaur Theatre Company)

4. Outstanding Supporting Performance – Actress

Susan Bain – MOB (Centaur Theatre Company)
Rebecca Gibian – Paradise Lost (Centaur Theatre Company)
Alexandra Laferrière – Simone, Half and Half (Black Theatre Workshop)
Julie Tamiko Manning – Paradise Lost (Centaur Theatre Company)
Jennifer Roberts – Simone, Half and Half (Black Theatre Workshop)

5. Outstanding Ensemble

Mythic – Julia McLellan, Heather McGuigan, Jessica Gallant, James Daly, Aadin Church, Patrick Park, Jacob Sheffield, Matt Raffy, Kathline Greco, Megan Brydon, Alexia Gourd & Eva Petris (The Segal Centre for Performing Arts)
Persephone Bound – Léda Davies, Eric Nyland & Jed Tomlinson (Geordie Theatre, Imago Theatre & Screaming Goats Collective)
The Water Chronicles – Stephen Booth, Chloe Giddings & Chadia Kikondjo (Geordie Theatre)

6. Outstanding Set Design

Sophie El-Assaad – The Water Chronicles (Geordie Theatre)
Bruno-Pierre Houle – Small Mouth Sounds (The Segal Centre for Performing Arts)
James Lavoie – MOB (Centaur Theatre Company)
Félix Poirier – Please Thrill Me (Ballet Opéra Pantomime)
Diana Uribe – Persephone Bound (Geordie Theatre, Imago Theatre, Screaming Goats Collective)

7. Outstanding Costume Design

Louise Bourret – Mythic (The Segal Centre for Performing Arts)
Sophie El-Assaad – Chattermarks (Cabal Theatre)
Sophie El-Assaad – Small Mouth Sounds (The Segal Centre for Performing Arts)
Sophie El-Assaad – The Water Chronicles (Geordie Theatre)
Anne-Sophie Gaudet – Please Thrill Me (Ballet Opéra Pantomime)

8. Outstanding Lighting Design

Julie Basse – Alice and the World We Live In (Centaur Theatre Company)
Martin Sirois – MOB (Centaur Theatre Company)
Martin Sirois – Persephone Bound (Geordie Theatre, Imago Theatre, Screaming Goats Collective)
Martin Sirois – Small Mouth Sounds (The Segal Centre for Performing Arts)
Ted Stafford – Please Thrill Me (Ballet Opéra Pantomime)

9. Outstanding Sound Design and / or Music Composition

Devon Bate – Chattermarks (Cabal Theatre)
Nick Carpenter – Billy Bishop Goes to War (Hudson Village Theatre)
Rob Denton – Small Mouth Sounds (The Segal Centre for Performing Arts)
Oran Eldor, Nick Burgess & Lucie Cauchon – Mythic (The Segal Centre for Performing Arts)
Nataq Huault & Sean Nicholas Savage – Please Thrill Me (Ballet Opéra Pantomime)

10. Outstanding Contribution to Theatre

Aerial Circus Team – Persephone Bound (Geordie Theatre, Imago Theatre & Screaming Goats Collective)
Chris Campbell – MOB – Translation (Centaur Theatre Company)
Haui – Simone, Half and Half – Video Design (Black Theatre Workshop)
Purple Divine – Going Up – Site Specific/Immersive Production (Purple Devine)
Band – Mythic – Live Music (The Segal Centre for Performing Arts)
Band – Please Thrill Me – Live Music (Ballet Opéra Pantomime)

11. Outstanding New Text (Original or Adaptation)

Michaela Di Cesare – Fear of Missing Out (Geordie Theatre)
Kiki Dranias – Going Up (Purple Divine)
Christine Rodriguez – Simone, Half and Half (Black Theatre Workshop)

12. Outstanding Emerging Artist(s) – Performance

Chloe Bilodeau – Blue Stockings (Persephone Productions)
Stephen Booth – Fear of Missing Out / The Water Chronicles (Geordie Theatre)
Chadia Kikonjo – Fear of Missing Out / The Water Chronicles (Geordie Theatre)
Darragh Mondoux – Blue Stockings (Persephone Productions)
Jake Wilkinson – Paradise Lost (Centaur Theatre Company)

13. Outstanding Emerging Artist(s) – Production

Kiki Dranias – Going Up – Playwright and Producer (Purple Divine)
Mahalia Golnosh Tahririha – Paradise Lost – Assistant Direction (Centaur Theatre Company)
HeatherEllen Strain – Small Mouth Sounds – Stage Management (The Segal Centre for Performing Arts)
Jaclyn Turner – Winter’s Daughter – Projection Design (Tableau D’Hôte Theatre)

14. Outstanding Direction

Sophie Cadieux – Please Thrill Me (Ballet Opéra Pantomime)
Dean Patrick Fleming – Billy Bishop Goes To War (Hudson Village Theatre)
Zach Fraser – The Water Chronicles (Geordie Theatre)
Caitlin Murphy – Small Mouth Sounds (The Segal Centre for Performing Arts)
Andrew Shaver – MOB (Centaur Theatre Company)
Jen Viens – Going Up (Purple Divine)

15. Outstanding Independent Production

Chattermarks – Cabal Theatre
Going Up – Purple Divine
Please Thrill Me – Ballet Opéra Pantomime

16. Outstanding PACT Production
Presented in partnership with the Conseil des arts de Montréal

MOB – Centaur Theatre Company
Paradise Lost – Centaur Theatre Company
Persephone Bound – Geordie Theatre, Imago Theatre & Screaming Goats Collective
Small Mouth Sounds – Segal Centre for Performing Arts
The Water Chronicles – Geordie Theatre

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Call for Nominations – Honorary Awards

In addition to the preceding juried awards, the following honorary awards will be bestowed during the live streaming METAs Ceremony on November 8th. These awards are community nominated and chosen by a small jury of peers.

Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) Award 

Presented in partnership with the Conseil des arts de Montréal

Established to encourage practices of access and inclusion, the EDI recognizes those who embrace the range of cultures, identities, and abilities that make up and enrich our city.

Unsung Hero of the Theatre (UHOT) Award

Celebrating those in our community who too rarely get the public recognition they deserve, the UHOT honours a deserving member of a production or administrative team working behind the scenes.

The METAs are currently accepting submissions for both honorary awards until October 18th, 2020. Click HERE for more information.

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www.METAs.ca