Okotoks’ theatre group may have left empty-handed at last weekend’s Community Theatre Awards in Calgary, but its members still feel like winners.
Dewdney Players Group Theatre was nominated for 17 awards in 23 categories for last season’s productions Calendar Girls, The 39 Steps and Cinderella Pantomime earlier this summer. The awards were presented at a ceremony in the University of Calgary’s Rozsa Centre on Aug. 27.
“It’s still a win,” said Ed Sands, president of the Dewdney Players Group Theatre. “We had 17 nominations. All of our plays got recognized as being worthy of nomination. That’s great recognition.”
Sands said this year was the first time all three of Dewdney’s plays were represented at the awards. He added that the performances also drew the largest audience numbers and more standing ovations than any other season.
The local theatre group also received the highest number of nominations since joining Calgary’s Alliance of Community Theatres Society (Calgary-ACTS) in 2008, and received the third most nominations among the 11 competing theatre groups in the Calgary area.
Sands was more confident this year than in past years, particularly with the success of Calendar Girls last fall, which included a Calgary actress.
“A lot of her friends came out to see that, but we were up against Death of a Salesman from Morpheus Theatre and that was brilliant acting as well,” he said.
Calendar Girls received standing ovations at each performance and the cast and crew went above and beyond the typical performance.
“Calendar Girls was a rock solid production,” Sands said. “It was bigger than the production because we did the calendar and appeared at every possible event in the summer and donated $5,000 to the (Foothills Country) Hospice.”
Sands also felt strongly that The 39 Steps had a good chance for winning outstanding director for a play.
“We had an adjudicator out who just raved about it and some Calgary people who attended,” he said. “That was my last greatest hope.”
Voting is done by a combination of adjudicators and private members who hold Calgary-ACTS memberships, said Sands.
“To ensure success in winning an award means you have enough people who have a vote,” Sands said. “If enough voters don’t see your play we’re not going to win the prize.”
That’s the disadvantage to not being located in Calgary, said Sands, who added the only time Dewdney won a CAT Award since joining the society in 2008 was when Calgary’s Jerod Blake directed Cat on a Hot Tin Roof last year and won outstanding direction of a play, outstanding production of a play and outstanding stage fight. Blake and Sands also won an award for outstanding lighting design.
“To maintain a presence in the larger Calgary community and have a meaningful place at the table you’ve got to pay your $50 and come to some meetings and accept the inevitable,” said Sands. “Unless you do something different you are not going to be successful when it comes time to voting. We really have to make sure we get the influential members of Calgary-ACTS come out and see our plays.”
Another way is to encourage Dewdney fans to pay $10 to join the society and watch the plays in Okotoks, Calgary, Airdrie and Strathmore, said Sands.
“Come July they can vote for the plays and maybe we’ll get some success if we stand up in the broader community,” he said.
Sands, an adjudicator, attended 16 plays last season to get a cross section of the area’s talent and was not surprised to see Front Row Centre Players’ Catch Me if You Can win nine awards.
To view the CAT Award recipients go to www.calgary-acts.com
Dewdney Players Theatre Group is currently preparing for the coming season’s performances It’s a Wonderful Life Radio Show and a reprise of Lafferty’s Wake.
