May I Have the Envelope, Please?

On Monday, June 6, 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 honors, the 13th such presented by this informal association of local arts writers, began with the fourth induction of artists and arts patrons into the Austin Arts Hall of Fame. Six individuals were recognized, all of whom made remarkable contributions in the areas of dance, classical music, theatre, and the visual arts.

This year's awards saw no single production or exhibit as a runaway favorite, but three shows netted four awards each: the Mary Moody Northen Theatre's production of Honk!, which scored St. Edward's University its first-ever win for Production, Musical; State Theater Company's world premiere of Nightswim; and the Zachary Scott Theatre Center's Omnium-Gatherum. Ballet Austin's premiere of Light: The Holocaust & Humanity Project was the most honored dance production, receiving three awards.

Critics voting in this year's awards, which covered the period from May 1, 2004, to April 30, 2005, were Austin American-Statesman writers Michael Barnes (arts), Jamie Smith Cantara (theatre), Sondra Lomax (dance), David Mead (music), Tommy O'Malley (theatre), Jeanne Claire van Ryzin (arts), and Holly Williams (dance); and the Chronicle's Heather Barfield (theatre), Rachel Koper (visual art), and yours truly (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.

Production, Drama

Nightswim, State Theater Company

Director, Drama

Katie Pearl, Nightswim

Actress, Drama

Janelle Buchanan, Omnium-Gatherum

Actor, Drama

David Stahl, Nightswim

Supporting Actress, Drama

Carla Nickerson, House Arrest/Omnium-Gatherum/Twilight: Los Angeles, 1992

Supporting Actor, Drama

Guy Roberts, Othello

Production, Comedy

The Drawer Boy, Hyde Park Theatre

Director, Comedy

Carlos Treviño, Not Clown

Actress, Comedy

Barbara Chisholm, Blown Sideways Through Life

Actor, Comedy

Michael Stuart, The Drawer Boy

Supporting Actor, Comedy

Ben Wolfe, The Dog in the Manger

Supporting Actress, Comedy

Andrea Osborn, Enchanted April

Production, Musical

Honk!, Mary Moody Northen Theatre

Director, Musical

Rod Caspers, The Secret Garden/Honk!

Actress, Musical

Jill Blackwood, Aida

Actor, Musical (tie)

Daniel Adams, Honk!

David Gallagher, Honk!

Supporting Actress, Musical (tie)

Karen Kuykendall, Cabaret (Zach)

Kendra Treichler, Cabaret (UT)

Musical Direction

Lyn Koenning, The Secret Garden/Cabaret (UT)

Movement

Rachel Murray, Cabaret (UT)

Ensemble Performance

Orange, Refraction Arts Project

David Mark Cohen New Play Award

Nightswim, Steve Moore

Original Score

Adam Sultan (pictured) and Jon Nelson, Fear of a Führer

Original Composition

Genghis Khan, Graham Reynolds and Jason Neulander

Cabaret or Theatrical Concert

Donna McKechnie: Gypsy in My Soul, Austin Cabaret Theatre

Touring Show

Renée Fleming, UT-PAC

Scenic Design

Chase Staggs, The Death of a Cat/Know Dog/The Philomel Project: we are all transformed to birds/Genghis Khan

Costume Design

Laura Cannon, The Death of a Cat/Cherrywood/Genghis Khan

Lighting Design

Jason Amato, Cabaret (Zach)/Ghost From a Perfect Place/Where Nothing Falls II/Omnium-Gatherum/Crowns/St. Enid and the Black Hand/Aida/Sleeping Beauty

Sound Design

Allen Robertson, House Arrest/Omnium-Gatherum

Choreographer

Stephen Mills, Cinderella/Light: The Holocaust & Humanity Project

Dance Concert, Small to Medium

The Match, Deborah Hay Dance Company/Dance Umbrella

Dance Concert, Large

Light: The Holocaust & Humanity Project, Ballet Austin

Dancer, Female

Margot Brown, Cinderella/Peter Pan/Let the Fools Stand in Line/Light: The Holocaust & Humanity Project

Dancer, Male

Jason Janas, In the Pocket

Symphonic Performance

Corigliano: Circus Maximus, UT Wind Ensemble

Chamber Performance

Dvorák: Trio in F Minor, Miró Quartet (Yamamoto, Gindele, with Gregory Allen)

Choral Concert

Pathways to Bach, Texas Early Music Project

Opera

Della's Gift/Holy Night, UT Opera Theatre

Singer, Female

Brenda Harris, Elektra/Beethoven: Symphony No. 9

Singer, Male

Wayne Tigges, The Marriage of Figaro

Instrumentalist

Bion Tsang, Dvorák: Cello Concerto, UT Symphony

Museum Exhibition

"Lounge!," Arthouse

Solo Gallery Exhibition

Peat Duggins, "The Battle of Hickory Ridge," The Fresh Up Club

Group Gallery Exhibition

"Construction Site," AMLI Downtown

Gallery, Body of Work

D Berman Gallery

Artist, Female

Hana Hillerova

Artist, Male

Lance Letscher

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SPECIAL CITATIONS

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

Scott Tomlinson, UT Opera Theatre

John Bustin Award for Conspicuous Versatility

Meredith McCall

Keep Austin Colorful Award

"Color/Pattern/Grid," Austin Museum of Art

Don't Fence Me In Award

Texas Biennial 2005

Art Is Where You Find It Award

"Cracks in the Pavement," Heather Johnson and collaborators

Up Close and Personal Award

An Evening With Anna Deveare Smith, Zachary Scott Theatre Center

Take Me Out Award

Throws Like a Girl series, Rude Mechanicals

"Hello, Dollars" Award

Cliff Redd, Long Center for the Performing Arts

Unique Theatrical Experience

At Home With Dick, Dick Price and Rubber Repertory Theatre

Dances With Video Award

Carolyn Pavlik, Lady-boy/Endless Buttonings