Culture Class
The 2009-2010 Austin Critics Table Awards
By Robert Faires, Fri., June 11, 2010
In the awards themselves, this was not a year for sweeps. The most honored works were Forklift Danceworks' The Trash Project, which won three awards and a special citation, and Tutto Theatre Company's Black Snow, which was honored in four categories. Nine other productions or works received two awards each. Overall, 41 productions, exhibitions, or works were recognized.
Critics participating in this year's awards, covering the period from May 3, 2009, to May 2, 2010, were the Austin American-Statesman's Michael Barnes (arts), Claire Canavan (theatre), Clare Croft (dance), and Jeanne Claire van Ryzin (arts); ... might be good's Claire Ruud (visual arts); and the Chronicle's Elizabeth Cobbe (theatre), Jonelle Seitz (dance), Avimaan Syam (theatre), and Robert Faires (arts). Obligatory ethical note: Critics refrained from voting in any category in which the critic or a family member was nominated.
THEATRE
Production, Drama
Dionysus in 69, Rude Mechanicals
Production, Comedy
Killer Joe, Capital T Theatre
Production, Musical
John & Jen, Penfold Theatre Company
Direction
Beth Burns, The Taming of the Shrew
Mark Pickell, Killer Joe
Acting in a Leading Role
Pamela Christian, Mary Stuart
Ryan Crowder, The Taming of the Shrew
Joey Hood, The Atheist
Gabriel Luna, Black Snow/Orestes/Endgame
Acting in a Supporting Role
Michael Amendola, Our Town (Zach Theatre)
Smaranda Ciceu, Black Snow
Sean Martin, Mary Stuart/Three Days of Rain
Jose Villarreal, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee
David Mark Cohen New Play Award
House of Several Stories, A. John Boulanger
Ensemble Performance
Black Snow, Tutto Theatre Company
bobrauschenbergamerica, Mary Moody Northen Theatre
Music Direction
Lyn Koenning, The Difficulty of Crossing a Field
Movement
Madge Darlington/Shawn Sides, Dionysus in 69
Touring Show, Theatre
Paved Paradise Redux, Fusebox Festival
DESIGN
Scenic Design
Lisa Laratta, Murder Ballad Murder Mystery/Black Snow
Costume Design
Alison Heryer, The Trojan Women/ The Difficulty of Crossing a Field
Lighting Design
Stephen Pruitt, bobrauschenbergamerica/ The Trash Project/Ears Wide Open
Sound Design
William Meadows, Impermanence/The Trash Project
DANCE
Dance Concert
The Trash Project, Forklift Danceworks
Short Work
"Angel of My Nature," Truth & Beauty: The Bach Project
Choreographer
Deborah Hay, No Time to Fly
Dancer
Masa Kolar, "Your Provision"
Jaime Lynn Witts, Truth & Beauty: The Bach Project
Ensemble Performance
Ears Wide Open, Tapestry Dance Company
Touring Show, Dance
Black Grace, Texas Performing Arts
CLASSICAL MUSIC
Symphonic Performance
Symphony VI, Golden Hornet Project
Chamber Performance
Ellen Fullman & the Long String Instrument, New Music Co-op
Choral Performance
Ode to Common Things, Conspirare Symphonic Choir with Austin Symphony
Opera
A View From the Bridge, UT Butler Opera Center
Singer
Cristina Caldas, A View From the Bridge
Jean-Paul Fouchécourt, The Star
Brad Raymond, Albert Herring
Instrumentalist
Douglas Harvey, cello, Don Quixote
Original Composition/Score
"Two Cautionary Tales," Steve Snowden
VISUAL ARTS
Museum Exhibition
"Desire," Blanton Museum of Art,
curator: Annette DiMeo Carlozzi
Group Gallery Exhibition
"Polymict," Okay Mountain, curator: Nathan Green
Solo Gallery Exhibition
"Beili Liu: Bound," D Berman Gallery
Work of Art: Independent or Public Project
The 24 Hour Roman Reconstruction Project, Liz Glynn, Arthouse
Work of Art: One of A Kind
Halliburton Archiving Solutions (II), 1987, Adam Schreiber, "ONE on ONE on ONE," Art Palace
Work of Art: Installation
Camp Base Camp: Everest Friends, Peter Reichardt, Mary Rothlisberger, and Kristyn Weaver, "Ideas of Mountains," Creative Research Laboratory
Artist
Okay Mountain
Touring Show, Art
"The Lining of Forgetting: Internal and External Memory in Art," Austin Museum of Art
SPECIAL CITATIONS
John Bustin Award for Conspicuous Versatility
Graham Reynolds
W.H. 'Deacon' Crain Award for Outstanding Student Work
La Tasha Stephens, UT Department of Theatre & Dance
Jacob Trussell, St. Edward's University
Graced in the Machine Award
Don Anderson, "The Crane Dance," The Trash Project
Get Up, Up, and Away Award
Shannon McCormick & Shana Merlin
Time Out of Mind Award
The Hideout's 40-Hour Improv Marathon
