And the Award Goes to ...

On Monday, June 4, the Austin Critics Table handed out its annual awards for outstanding achievements in the Austin arts in a ceremony at the Cap City Comedy Club. This year's ceremony, the 15th such presented by this informal association of local arts writers, began with the induction of James Armstrong, Larry Connelly, Sally Jacques, Emily Little, Harold McMillan, Ishmael Soto, Dan Welcher, and Suzan Zeder into the Austin Arts Hall of Fame.

In the awards themselves, Blue Lapis Light's Requiem, staged on the concrete skeleton of the Intel building, took top honors, wining five awards, including Dance Concert (an award it shared with Tapestry Dance Company's The Souls of Our Feet). The rest of the awards were evenly distributed among shows and exhibitions, with The Assumption, Refraction Arts' twisted adaptation of Hamlet, the only other production to win more than three awards.

Critics participating in this year's awards, covering the period from May 1, 2006, to April 30, 2007, were the Austin American-Statesman's Michael Barnes (arts), Clare Croft (dance), Randy Harriman (music), Erin Keever (visual arts), Sondra Lomax (dance), David Mead (music), Joey Seiler (theatre), and Jeanne Claire van Ryzin (arts) and the Chronicle's Salvador Castillo (visual arts), Elizabeth Cobbe (theatre), Amanda Douberley (visual arts), Patti Hadad (theatre), Rachel Koper (visual arts), Nikki Moore (visual arts), and Robert Faires (arts). Obligatory ethical note: Critics refrained from nominating themselves or members of their families for any awards and refrained from voting in any category in which the critic or a family member was nominated.

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THEATRE

Production, Drama

In On It, dirigo group

Production, Comedy

The Assumption, Refraction Arts

Production, Musical

Parade, Mary Moody Northen Theatre

Direction

Marcus McQuirter, Funnyhouse of a Negro

Dave Steakley, I Am My Own Wife/ Present Laughter/Take Me Out

Acting in a Leading Role

Jill Blackwood, As You Like It

Breanna Stogner, I Love My Dead Gay Son: The Musical!/Psycho Beach Party

Ken Webster, St. Nicholas/ Thom Pain (based on nothing)

Acting in a Supporting Role

Ron Berry, The Assumption

Quincy Kuykendall, Parade

Ensemble Performance

Red Cans, Rubber Repertory Company

David Mark Cohen New Play Award

My Child, My Child, My Alien Child, Zell Miller III

Musical Direction

Michael McKelvey, The Music Man/ Seven Brides for Seven Brothers/Parade/Big River

Movement

Robin Lewis, The Music Man/Seven Brides for Seven Brothers/Big River

Touring Show, Theatre

Hamlet, Actors From the London Stage

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DESIGN

Scenic Design

Cliff Simon, Present Laughter

Chase Staggs, The Assumption/Macbeth

Costume Design

Susan Branch, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers/Present Laughter

Sarah Mosher, The Way of the World

Lighting Design

Jason Amato, Requiem/I Am My Own Wife/The Souls of Our Feet/Take Me Out

Sound Design

William Meadows, Requiem

Video Design

K. Eliot Haynes, The Assumption

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DANCE

Dance Concert

Requiem, Blue Lapis Light

The Souls of Our Feet, Tapestry Dance Company

Short Work

"Room," Fuse Box Festival, Deborah Hay, Linda Austin, Tahni Holt

Choreographer

Sharon Marroquin, "Creative Process: Weekday 6:00AM," Hot September Flurries/"Upstream," Suite … Peggy Lee/"Prayer 1-4," Dance Carousel 2007

Dancer

Theresa Hardy, Requiem

Aara Krumpe, "Serenade"/Golden Section

Nicole Whiteside, Requiem

Ensemble

The Souls of Our Feet, Tapestry Dance Company

Touring Show, Dance

The Bends of Life, Wideman/ Davis Dance, Dance Umbrella

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CLASSICAL MUSIC

Symphonic Performance

Shostakovich: Symphony No. 13, "Babi Yar" Nikita Storojev with Austin Symphony Orchestra

Chamber Performance

Two to Tango: Nuevo Tangos of Astor Piazzolla, Austin Chamber Music Center

Choral Concert

Crossing the Divide Closing Gala Concert,

Conspirare, et al.

Opera

Waiting for the Barbarians, Austin Lyric Opera

Singer

Phillip Hill, Plump Jack/Fall of the House of Usher

Richard Salter, Waiting for the Barbarians

Original Composition/Score

"DSCH"/Symphony No. 5, Graham Reynolds

Instrumentalist

Marianne Gedigian, Liebermann: Flute Concerto, UT Symphony

Ensemble

Tosca String Quartet, Dialogues 2006/Dialogues 2007

Body of Work/Season

Austin Chamber Music Center

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VISUAL ARTS

Museum Exhibition

"The Geometry of Hope," Blanton Museum of Art, Gabriel Perez-Barreiro curator

Solo Gallery Exhibition

Michael Sieben, "Smile Forever," Art Palace

Group Gallery Exhibition

"Celebrated Skin," Butridge Gallery, Dougherty Arts Center, Christina Hiett curator

"Take Me to Bed or Lose Me Forever," Volitant Gallery, Leona Scull-Hons curator

Independent Project

"The 'I' of Texas," Luke Savisky (First Night Austin)

"Texas Biennial 2007," Butridge Gallery, Okay Mountain, Site 1808, Bolm Studios

Work of Art

"Outside In" installation, Elaine Bradford

(Okay Mountain)

Gallery, Body of Work

Okay Mountain

Artist

Candace Briceño

Touring Show, Art

"E-Flux Video Rental," Arthouse

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SPECIAL CITATIONS

W.H. "Deacon" Crain Award for Outstanding Student Work

Feliz Dia McDonald, Austin Community College

Daniel Adams, St. Edward's University

Corey Atkins, UT Theatre & Dance

Corey Jones, UT Theatre & Dance

John Bustin Award for Conspicuous Versatility

Bernadette Nason

Addition of Note Award

Ed Kliman, for his musical participation in As You Like It, Katrina: The Girl Who Wanted Her Name Back, Big River, and The Glass Menagerie

Good Us Award

All of Austin for its involvement in the 365 Days/365 Plays project

Didn't I Blow Your Mind This Time Award

Ron Berry and Refraction Arts for the newly expanded Fuse Box Festival

All Hands on Deck Award

Susan Threadgill and Vince Herod, for calling Waiting for the Barbarians

Nothing up My Sleeve Award

Austin Lyric Opera for The Barber of Seville

UN Award for Achievement in Cooperative Music-making

St. Cecilia Music Series for the Bach Christmas Oratorio

Takin' It to the Streets Award

Meredith Powell and the Austin Fine Arts Festival