What to know
- The 46th annual Dora Mavor Moore Awards will take place at Meridian Hall on June 29.
- A total of 214 productions were submitted this year — the highest number since 2019.
- TAPA announced 221 nominations across 44 gender-inclusive categories spanning theatre, dance and opera.
- Several awards have already been handed out ahead of the ceremony, including honours for Ashley Naomi, Michael Caldwell and Clay and Paper Theatre.
As Toronto’s theatre industry regains its pre-pandemic momentum, the Dora Awards return this month with the highest number of show submissions since 2019.
The 46th annual Dora Mavor Moore Awards will take place at Meridian Hall on June 29, celebrating the achievements of Toronto-based artists working across theatre, dance and opera.
Founded in 1978, the awards are named after Dora Mavor Moore, a theatre teacher and director whose work helped shape the development of professional theatre in Canada.
This year, 214 productions were submitted for consideration — the highest total since 2019.
On Monday, the Toronto Alliance for the Performing Arts (TAPA) announced 221 nominations across 44 gender-inclusive categories spanning seven divisions.
The ceremony will be hosted by actor Amaka Umeh, who earned two nominations this season for their work in Mary, Mary, Mary, Mary and Narnia, bringing their career Dora nomination total to 10.
Here’s who took home awards in advance
Ahead of the full awards ceremony, TAPA also handed out three ancillary awards and announced the recipients of two competitive Dora categories.
The Pauline McGibbon Award, which recognizes an early-career artist demonstrating exceptional promise, was presented to designer Ashley Naomi.
“It is an honour to receive this,” Naomi said in her acceptance speech, noting she had officially become the first trans person — and trans woman of colour — to receive the prize. “I carry the full weight of this amid the heavy tides that this world is facing from multiple angles, and I hope to be the first of many.”
The biannual George Luscombe Mentorship Award, which recognizes outstanding mentorship in the performing arts, went to artistic director Michael Caldwell. Although unable to attend in person, Caldwell shared his thanks through a video message.
Clay and Paper Theatre received the Ray Ferris Innovation and Sustainability Grant, taking home $25,000 in recognition of its work in theatrical design and environmental sustainability. The company, known for its large-scale puppetry productions, has operated out of Dufferin Grove Park since 1994.
“I feel this is the recognition of not just this project, but a history of the work that we’ve been doing… Sustainability wasn’t a program, and it wasn’t a policy for us. It was simply the way we worked,” artistic director Tamara Romanchuk said on behalf of the company. “David and I are deeply moved by this grant — that this grant recognizes not only what we are building this summer, but the decades of practice that God’s given.”
Two Dora Award recipients were also announced ahead of the ceremony.
What the Day Owes to the Night, presented as part of the city’s annual Luminato Festival, received the award for Outstanding Touring Production.
“What the Day Owes to the Night reminds audiences of the power of dance to transcend borders, languages, and histories, bringing people together through movement, humanity, and shared experience,” Luminato artistic director Olivia Ansell said onstage. “As the Luminato Festival celebrates its 20th anniversary and opens in 48 hours, we hope to see many of you joining us for this wonderful celebration — the largest in the festival’s history.”
The award for Outstanding Innovative Experience went to Shira Leuchter’s The Haunting.
“For me, innovation is a real chance to challenge our dominant knowledge systems, to think about the shapes that our stories take, and to think about other shapes they may take that maybe better describe the vision and futures that we want to make together,” Leuchter said.
Tearfully, she also thanked several contributors, including her husband.
“[He] did everything from creating all of the special effects to creating the ticketing site to feeding our children every night.”
The Dora Awards will take place at Meridian Hall on June 29.
Voting is now open for the annual Jon Kaplan Audience Choice Award, sponsored by Now Toronto and named in honour of the longtime theatre writer.
The full list of nominations is available on TAPA’s website.
