Art Par Excellence
The nominees for the 2014-15 Austin Critics Table Awards
11:59PM, Wed. May 20, 2015
After poring over the hundreds of stage productions, concerts, and art exhibitions mounted locally between May 1, 2014, and April 30, 2015, the members of the Austin Critics Table have agreed on the most outstanding work in dance, classical music, visual art, and theatre in the past year and announced the nominees for the 2015 Critics Table Awards.
Earning the most attention from the group were two premieres: Ballet Austin's Belle Redux/A Tale of Beauty & the Beast and the UT Department of Theatre & Dance's Refugia, created with the Moving Company, each of which received seven nominations. Four productions captured six nods apiece: Zach Theatre’s Texas premiere of the Robert Schenkkan political drama All the Way; Austin Opera's modern-day staging of Verdi's A Masked Ball; Salvage Vanguard Theater's undead riff on Chekhov, Thr3e Zisters; and the Texas State University Department of Theatre & Dance's spirited revival of Cole Porter’s Kiss Me, Kate.
The critics will present the awards in their usual fashion – with drinks in hand – in an informal ceremony on Monday, June 1, 7pm, at Cap City Comedy Club, 8120 Research. The event will also include the induction of three local artists into the Austin Arts Hall of Fame: painter and muralist Fidencio Duran, choreographer and dancer Heloise Gold, and composer/music director/Biscuit Brother Allen Robertson. As always, the public is welcome, and admission is free.
Taking part in the Critics Table award process this year were the Austin American-Statesman's Cate Blouke (theatre), Claire Canavan (theatre), Luke Quinton (classical music/visual arts), and Jeanne Claire van Ryzin (arts), and the Chronicle's Elizabeth Cobbe (theatre), Caitlin Greenwood (visual arts), Seth Orion Schwaiger (visual arts), Jonelle Seitz (dance), Natalie Zeldin (classical music), and Robert Faires (arts). Note: Members of the Table refrained from voting on any project in which they or an immediate family member took part.
THEATRE
Production, Drama
All the Way, Zach Theatre
Am I White?, Salvage Vanguard Theater
The Christians, Hyde Park Theatre
Cock, Theatre en Bloc
Love and Information, Mary Moody Northen Theatre
Refugia, UT Department of Theatre & Dance
Production, Comedy
Cenicienta, Zach Theatre
Detroit, Capital T Theatre
Everything Is Established, Physical Plant Theater
Peter and the Starcatcher, Zach Theatre
The Suicide, Paper Chairs
Thr3e Zisters, Salvage Vanguard Theater
Production, Musical
100 Heartbreaks, Joanna Garner
Bright Now Beyond, Salvage Vanguard Theater
Chicago, Half & Half Productions
Footloose, Summer Stock Austin
Kiss Me, Kate, Texas State University Department of Theatre and Dance
Stone Soup, Summer Stock Austin
Direction
Cassie Abate, Kiss Me, Kate
Derek Kolluri, Cock/Jacob’s Ladder
David Long, Love and Information
Charles Ney, A Midsummer Night’s Dream
Caroline Reck, Cenicienta
Dominique Serrand, Refugia
M. Scott Tatum & Julianna Wright, Chicago
Yuri Umov, Thr3e Zisters
Acting in a Leading Role
Liz Beckham, As You Like It
Jill Blackwood, The King and I
Jacques Coliman, Bright Now Beyond
Amy Downing, Silence! The Musical
Philip Goodwin, The Invention of Love
Leslie Hollingsworth, Chicago (Half & Half Productions)
Vincent J. Hooper, Stone Soup
J. Robert Moore, Peter and the Starcatcher
Carla Nickerson, The Mountaintop
Jason Phelps, Feast of My Heart
Marc Pouhé, Cyrano de Bergerac/The Mountaintop/The Taming of the Shrew
Matt Radford, We Play Chekhov/Deus Ex Machina
Gricelda Silva, Changelings/Simple Sundries/Cenicienta
Steve Vinovich, All the Way
Jaston Williams, Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike/Maid Marian in a Stolen Car
Acting in a Supporting Role
Melvin Abston, All the Way
Michelle Alexander, All the Way
Christina Baldwin, Refugia
Florida Bryant, Am I White?
Steven Epp, Refugia
Joseph Garlock, Romeo and Juliet
Babs George, Jacob’s Ladder
Joey Hood, The Christians
Jessica Hughes, The Christians
André Martin, The Invention of Love
Erik Mathew, The Invention of Love
Robert Matney, Thr3e Zisters
William Earl Ray, All the Way
Jose Villarreal, Silence! The Musical
Johanna Whitmore, Jacob’s Ladder
Ensemble Performance
Cock, Theatre en Bloc
Everything Is Established, Physical Plant Theatre
Love and Information, Mary Moody Northen Theatre
This Is Our Youth, Punchkin Repertory Theatre
Thr3e Zisters, Salvage Vanguard Theater
A Year With Frog and Toad, Zach Theatre
Music Direction
Jeanette Cannata-Grahmann, How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying
Emily Goldman, Kiss Me, Kate
Lyn Koenning, Chicago (Summer Stock Austin)
Michael McKelvey, Silence! The Musical
Allen Robertson, The Who’s Tommy/Stone Soup/The King and I/A Year With Frog and Toad
John VanderGheynst, Chicago (Half & Half Productions)
Movement
Cassie Abate, Kiss Me, Kate
Brazie Mata Adamez, Chicago (Half & Half Productions)
Robin Lewis, The Who’s Tommy
Jennifer Young Mahlstead, A Year With Frog and Toad
Judy Thompson-Price, How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying
Greg Zane, The King and I
David Mark Cohen New Play Award
Am I White?, Adrienne Dawes
Cenicienta, Rupert Reyes and Caroline Reck
Everything Is Established, Hannah Kenah
Refugia, Steven Epp
Stone Soup, Allen Robertson and Damon Brown
Teen Girl FANtasies, Kimberly Belflower and Megan Tabaque
"The Theory of Substitution," C. Denby Swanson
DANCE
Dance Concert
Belle Redux/A Tale of Beauty & the Beast, Ballet Austin
Desplezados, A'lante Flamenco Dance Ensemble
Ignite: Three Works, Performa/Dance
Season of Innocence, Ballet Austin II
There, the Magnificent, Kathy Dunn Hamrick Dance Company
The Trees of Govalle, Forklift Danceworks
Short Work
“The Backup Dancer: Bits and Acts From the Night Train,” Gold Show/Rose Show
"Hearing My Place,” Tapestry Dance Company
"On Truth and Love," Performa/Dance
“Vicissitudes of the Heart,” Chaddick Dance Theater
Choreographer
Cheryl Chaddick, “Vicissitudes of the Heart”
Kathy Dunn Hamrick, There, the Magnificent/Briefs: An Episodic Adventure
Jennifer Hart, Ignite: Three Works/To Here
Sally Jacques, In Light
Nicholas Kepley, Season of Innocence
Karen Nelson and ensemble, The Tuning Project
Dancer
Bailey Anglin, Season of Innocence
Jeremy Arnold, Soul/Sole Connections
Edward Carr, Belle Redux
Siobhan Cooke, Soul/Sole Connections
Mariclaire Gamble, Briefs: An Episodic Adventure
Brian Heil, Season of Innocence
Aara Krumpe, Agon
Ashley Lynn, Agon
Julie Nathanielsz, “Yo Genesis”
Michelle Thompson, Belle Redux
Nicole Whiteside, In Light
Jaime Lynn Witts, Firebird/To Here
Duet
Devon Adams & Nathan Brumbaugh, "Vicissitudes of the Heart"
Purna Bajekal & Anuradha Naimpally, Jewels of the Tanjuvar Tradition
Ellen Bartel & Heloise Gold, 1000 Forest Gorillas in Kansas
Edward Carr & Jaime Lynn Witts, To Here
Alyson Dolan & Jack Anthony Dunlap II, Briefs: An Episodic Adventure
Ashley Lynn & Christopher Swaim, Agon
Ensemble
A'lante Flamenco Dance Ensemble, Desplezados
Andrea Ariel Dance Theatre/Strike Anywhere Performance Ensemble/Super Creeps, The Bowie Project 2
Ballet Austin II, Season of Innocence
Ready|Set|Go!, In Habitants
Kathy Dunn Hamrick Dance Company, There, the Magnificence/Briefs: An Episodic Adventure
Tapestry Dance Company, Soul/Sole Connections
Touring Show
Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, Texas Performing Arts
Martha Graham Dance Company, Texas Performing Arts
Otro Teatro, Luciana achugar, Fusebox Festival
a quartet, Heather Kravas, Fusebox Festival
Seven, MET Dance, Austin Dance Festival
Slump, Dark Circles Contemporary Dance, Austin Dance Festival
DESIGN
Scenic Design
Aaron Bell, A Year With Frog and Toad/The Three Little Pigs
Ia Ensterä, We Play Chekhov/Detroit/The Tempest/Thr3e Zisters
Ann Marie Gordon, Changelings
Richard M. Isackes & Wendall Harrington, A Masked Ball
Lisa Laratta, The Suicide
Michael Raiford, Kiss Me, Kate
Leslie Turner, Jacob’s Ladder
Costume Design
Jennifer Davis, Changelings
Pam Fletcher Friday, Stone Soup
Alison Heryer, The King and I
Christina Montgomery, A Year With Frog and Toad
Mercedes O’Bannion, Refugia
Michael Raiford, Belle Redux/Kiss Me, Kate
Lighting Design
Jason Amato, Maid Marian in a Stolen Car/The Invention of Love
Patrick Anthony, DNA/Changelings
Natalie George, The Tuning Project/Gold Show/Rose Show/Feast of My Heart/Thr3e Zisters/
1000 Forest Gorillas in Kansas
Michelle Habeck, A Masked Ball/All the Way
Stephen Pruitt, Once There Were Six Seasons/The Trees of Govalle
Steven Shirey, We Play Chekhov/Jacob’s Ladder
Sound Design
Robert Fisher, Thr3e Zisters
K. Eliot Haynes, Once There Were Six Seasons/The Wars of Heaven, Part I
Billy Henry, Refugia
William Meadows, In Light/The Invention of Love
Joel Mercado-See, The Mountaintop
Buzz Moran, We Play Chekhov/The Trees of Govalle
CLASSICAL MUSIC
Classical Performance
Austin Symphony Orchestra with Alison Balsom
Beethoven: Ninth Symphony, Chorus Austin and Chorus Austin Orchestra
Don Giovanni, Austin Opera
Indie Orchestra Night, Texas Choral Consort
A Masked Ball, Austin Opera
Shostakovich: Symphony No. 7, UT Symphony Orchestra
Chamber Performance
Bach vs. Handel Smackdown, La Follia
La Femme Bohème, LOLA Austin
The Lodger, Austin Classical Guitar
Miró Quartet with James Dunham & Norman Fischer, Butler School of Music
North Star, Austin Chamber Music Center
Schoenberg: Verklärte Nacht, , Austin Chamber Music Center
Choral Performance
Beethoven: Choral Fantasy, Chorus Austin
Haydn: The Creation, Texas Choral Consort
Muhly: How Little You Are, Conspirare/Austin Classical Guitar/Texas Performing Arts
Southwest Voices, Chorus Austin
Singer
Emily Breedlove, La Femme Bohème
Dominick Chenes, A Masked Ball
Michael Chioldi, A Masked Ball
Sara Ann Mitchell, A Masked Ball
Morgan Smith, Don Giovanni
Julie Taylor, La Femme Bohème
Nick Zammit, Bach Vs. Handel Smackdown
Gil Zilkha, “Oseh Shalom,” Southwest Voices
Original Composition/Score
Belle Redux, Graham Reynolds
How Little You Are, Nico Muhly
The Lodger, Joseph V. Williams II
Season of Innocence, Steve Parker
"Symmetrographia," Travis Weller
The Wars of Heaven, Part I, Justin Sherburn
Instrumentalist
Graeme Francis, North Star
Carla McElhaney, Beethoven: Choral Fantasy
Michelle Schumann, North Star
Bion Tsang, The Lodger
Keith Womer, Bach vs. Handel Smackdown
Sandy Yamamoto, Franck: Sonata in A Major
Leanne Zacharias, River Measures
Ensemble
Conspirare
line upon line percussion
Miró Quartet
New Music Co-op
Texas Guitar Quartet
VISUAL ART
Museum Exhibition
“James Drake: Anatomy of Drawing and Space (Brain Trash),”
Blanton Museum of Art
"Do Ho Suh," The Contemporary Austin
“The Making of Gone With the Wind,” Steve Wilson, curator; Ransom Center
“Margo Sawyer: Reflect,” Umlauf Sculpture Garden & Museum
“Wildly Strange: The Photographs of Ralph Eugene Meatyard,” Jessica McDonald, curator;
Blanton Museum of Art/Ransom Center
Solo Gallery Exhibition
“40Hz: Barna Kantor,” Big Medium
“Blanket of Fog: Hollis Hammonds,” Women & Their Work
“Contamination | Pollination: Elizabeth McDonald,” Pump Project
“Dave Culpepper: Wake Me When It’s Quitting Time,” Co-Lab Projects
“Sarah Frantz: Between Borderlands,” Women & Their Work
“Susan Collis: I would like to invite the viewer,” Lora Reynolds Gallery
“Susie Brister: Fables,” Women & Their Work
Group Gallery Exhibition
“The Contemporary Print,” Kevin McNamee-Tweed and Kathryn Polk, curators; Big Medium
“Gently Fried,” Los Outsiders, curators; Emma S. Barrientos Mexican American Cultural Center
“Tell Me What You Think of me,” Leslie Moody Castro, curator; Texas State University
Work of Art: Independent or Public Project
AHOM, Museum of Human Achievement
Comfort Station, Katelena Hernandez Cowles
Creek Show: Light Night, Waller Creek Conservancy (Lewis Legge Lewis, Design Workshop, Baldridge Architects, Jason Sowell, Thoughtbarn)
Leavings, Nancy Mims
Neighborhood Watch, Sean Ripple
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Robert Faires, May 13, 2019
Robert Faires, June 5, 2018
Austin Critics Table Awards, Ballet Austin, Belle Redux, UT Department of Theatre & Dance, Refugia, Zach Theatre, All the Way, Austin Opera, A Masked Ball, Salvage Vanguard Theater, Thr3e Zisters, Texas State University Department of Theatre and Dance, Kiss Me, Kate