BASIL DAWKIN'S drama A Gift for Mom walked away with four awards, including Best Production, at the International Theatre Institute (ITI) 2003 Actor Boy Awards on Tuesday night.
The ceremony took place at the Little Theatre, Tom Redcam Avenue, St. Andrew.
"I'd like to recognise the presence and the power of the divine," said Dawkins in a nice re-write of the standard form of thanking God before all else, when receiving the Best Production award. Six additional productions had vied for the Best Production award, including another Dawkins play Who God Bless. The other nominees in the category were Mama I Want To Sing, Combolo, Pecong, Redemption and Single Entry.
A Gift for Mom also copped the awards for Best Director (Buddy Pouyat), Best New Jamaican Play, and Best Drama, making it the night's biggest winner.
Tuesday's Actor Boy Awards, hosted by double nominee Karl Williams, proved an entertaining night, through the combined efforts of the host and even some of the winners.
SUCCESS FOR COMBOLO
The production going in with the greatest number of nominations, Combolo (the Little Theatre Movement National Pantomime), went home with three awards, two of which were in the technical category. Michael McDonald's work on the lighting for the production earned it the Best Lighting Design award.
Michael Lorde earned Combolo its second award, Best Set Design. Lorde had received two nominations in that category, also being nominated for his work on A Gift for Mom. Patrick Brown for Christopher Cum-Buck-Us and Ron Steger for Mama I Want to Sing were the other nominees in the category.
Combolo also earned the award for Best Original Song for Higher Ground with lyrics by Barbara Gloudon and music by Grub Cooper. Combolo had a second nomination in the category with Why Have I Come Here while The Rock from Christopher Cum-Buk-Us completed the three nominees.
Possibly in tribute to the high calibre of productions in 2003, no other production claimed more than two awards. The Jamaica Junior Theatre's production Scheherazade's Tale was one of the productions to earn two awards. Carolyn Chin Yee, another double nominee, earned the award for Best Costume Design for her work on the production.
Two special awards were also given out during the ceremony. Michael Reckord was awarded for his 12 years as a judge with the ITI, while Lauriston 'Larry' Watson was presented with a Special Award for Outstanding Achievement for his work on the technical side of theatre, having worked with the LTM for the past 21 years.
