The Dora Mavor Moore Award (also known as the Dora Award) is an award presented annually by the

Toronto Alliance for the Performing Arts Toronto Alliance for the Performing Arts (TAPA) is an arts service organization representing professional theatre, dance and opera companies in the City of Toronto. Amongst their 175 members are the Canadian Opera Company, Luminato, Factory Theatre, ...

which honours theatre,

dance Dance is a performing art form consisting of sequences of movement, either improvised or purposefully selected. This movement has aesthetic and often symbolic value. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoir ...

and opera productions in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

. Named after

Dora Mavor Moore Dora Mavor Moore, (April 8, 1888–May 15, 1979) was a Canadian actress, teacher and director who was a pioneer of Canadian theatre. Life and work Born Dora Mavor in Glasgow, Scotland, she moved with her family to Toronto, Ontario, Cana ...

, who helped establish Canadian professional theatre, the award was established on December 13, 1978, with the first awards held in 1980. Each winner receives a bronze statue made from the original by John Romano.

Awards

Awards are given in major divisions: General Theatre (Drama/Comedy/Play, budget over $100,000 and over 150 seats), Musical Theatre (Musical/Revue/Cabaret), Independent Theatre (budget under $100,000 and/or under 150 seats), Dance, Opera, Theatre for Young Audiences, and Touring. Each of these major categories are further sub-divided in an assorted number of awards. In 2018, the awards announced that beginning with the 2019 awards it would discontinue gender-based performance categories, replacing its previous performance categories for men and women with "Outstanding Performance" categories."Dora Mavor Moore Awards to adopt gender-neutral performance categories"

CBC Arts CBC Arts (french: Radio-Canada Arts) is the division of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation that creates and curates written articles, short documentaries, non-fiction series and interactive projects that represent the excellence of Canada's div ...

, April 25, 2018.

Ancillary awards

In association with the Dora Awards, several ancillary awards are also administered and presented by TAPA.

Pauline McGibbon Award

This award was established in 1981 in honour of former

Lieutenant Governor of Ontario The lieutenant governor of Ontario (, in French: ''Lieutenant-gouverneur'' (if male) or ''Lieutenante-gouverneure'' (if female) ''de l'Ontario'') is the viceregal representative in Ontario of the , who operates distinctly within the province bu ...

Pauline McGibbon Pauline Mills McGibbon (21 October 1910 – 14 December 2001) served as the 22nd Lieutenant Governor of Ontario from 1974 to 1980. In addition to being the first woman to occupy that position, she was also the first woman to serve as a vi ...

, the winner is announced at the Dora Mavor Moore Award ceremony. This award is "Intended to assist a member of Ontario’s theatre community who has displayed a unique talent, a potential for excellence and who is in the early stages of his or her career." The Award recipient moves in a three-year cycle, rotating through individuals working as a

director Director may refer to: Literature * ''Director'' (magazine), a British magazine * ''The Director'' (novel), a 1971 novel by Henry Denker * ''The Director'' (play), a 2000 play by Nancy Hasty Music * Director (band), an Irish rock band * ''D ...

, a production craft person and a

designer A designer is a person who plans the form or structure of something before it is made, by preparing drawings or plans. In practice, anyone who creates tangible or intangible objects, products, processes, laws, games, graphics, services, or exp ...

respectively. Each award winner receives $7,000 and a medal designed by Dora de Pedry Hunt.

Barbara Hamilton Award

Established in 1996 in recognition of Barbara Hamilton, this $1,000 prize, administered by the City of Toronto is awarded to an individual who has "demonstrated excellence and professionalism in the performing arts." The winner of this award is announced during the press conference presenting the season's Dora Award nominees. Along with the cash prize, recipients also receive a scroll from the city of Toronto. Past winners include John Neville,

Karen Kain Karen Alexandria Kain (born March 28, 1951) is a Canadian former ballet dancer, and was the artistic director of the National Ballet of Canada from 2005 - 2021. Early training and childhood Kain's mother enrolled her daughter in ballet training ...

, and

Colin Mochrie Colin Andrew Mochrie (; born November 30, 1957) is a Scottish-born Canadian actor, writer, producer and improvisational comedian, best known for his appearances on the British and US versions of the improvisational TV show ''Whose Line Is It A ...

George Luscombe Award

Named for

George Luscombe George may refer to: People * George (given name) * George (surname) * George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George * George Washington, First President of the United States * George W. Bush, 43rd Preside ...

, founder and artistic director for 27 years of the Toronto Workshop Productions, this award is presented to an individual who has shown great mentor-ship in the realm of theatre. This award was first presented in 1999, and the recipient receives a framed print by artist

Theo Dimson Theo is a given name and a hypocorism. Greek origin Many names beginning with the root "Theo-" derive from the Ancient Greek word ''theos'' (''θεός''), which means god, for example: *Feminine names: Thea, Theodora, Theodosia, Theophania, ...

. The winner of this award is announced during the press conference announcing the Dora Award nominees.

Audience Choice Award

The Audience Choice Award was inaugurated in 2006 at the 27th Annual Dora Mavor Moore Awards. Presented by the Toronto Alliance for the Performing Arts (TAPA), the Audience Choice Award for Outstanding Production is sponsored by '' Now Magazine'' Toronto and Yonge-Dundas Square. Facilitated and sponsored by ''Now Magazine'', the public was invited to vote online for a winner from the list of nominees in the General Theatre (Play and Musical), Independent Theatre, Opera and Theatre for Young Audiences Divisions; and Outstanding New Choreography in the Dance Division, or choose their own show. The winner is announced at the Dora Awards ceremony and presented with a commemorative plaque.

Silver Ticket Award

Beginning in 1980, TAPA began presenting the silver ticket award to "an individual who has made an outstanding contribution to the Toronto stage and to the development of Canadian Theatre". Nominees for the award are submitted from individuals from the general performing arts community, and a committee composed of previous Silver Ticket winners. Along with the award, the winning individual is entitled to two free tickets, for life, to any production performed by a company belonging to the Toronto Alliance for the Performing Arts.

Past winners

Past winners have included

Salome Bey Salome Bey (October 10, 1933 – August 8, 2020)While ''The Canadian Encyclopedia'' gives her year of birth as 1939, other sources say she was born in 1933 or 1944. was an American-born Canadian singer-songwriter, composer, and actress who liv ...

Kawa Ada Kawa Ada (born June 12, 1982) is an Afghan-Canadian actor, writer and producer. He distinguished himself as a stage actor on Broadway and in Toronto before pursuing a career as a film and television actor and a writer. He is also a dancer, a ch ...

, John Alcorn,

BirdLand Theatre BirdLand Theatre is a non-profit performing arts company located in downtown Toronto, Ontario. It was founded in 2003 by Artistic Producer Zorana Kydd. BirdLand Theatre concentrates on contemporary plays and the development of new works with focus ...

Michel Marc Bouchard Michel Marc Bouchard, (born February 2, 1958) is a Canadian playwright. He has received the Prix Journal de Montreal, Prix du Cercle des critiques de l'Outaouais, the Dora Mavor Moore Award for Outstanding New Play, the Floyd S. Chalmers Canadi ...

Valerie Buhagiar Valerie Buhagiar (born May 12, 1964) is a Maltese-Canadian actress, film director and television host. She studied acting at George Brown College in Toronto, Ontario, graduating in 1986. Her debut as a filmmaker was ''The Passion of Rita Camill ...

Ronnie Burkett Ronnie Burkett, OC is a Canadian puppeteer, best known for his original theatrical plays for adults, performed with marionettes. Burkett, who hails from Medicine Hat, was the puppeteer for Ralph on the TV Ontario series '' Harriet's Magic Hats'' ...

Caroline Cave Caroline Cave is a Canadians, Canadian film, television and stage actor, known for her roles in the films ''This Beautiful City'', ''One Week (2008 film), One Week'', ''The War Bride'', ''Six Figures (film), Six Figures'' and ''Saw VI'', and the te ...

Waawaate Fobister Waawaate Fobister (Anishinaabe) is a Canadian actor, dancer, playwright, choreographer, instructor, producer and storyteller, best known for their semi-autobiographical one-man play, ''Agokwe.'' Early life Fobister grew up on the Grassy Narrow ...

, Paul-André Fortier,

David Hersey David Hersey (born November 30, 1939) is a lighting designer who has designed the lighting for over 250 plays, musicals, operas, and ballets. His work has been seen in most corners of the globe and his awards include the Tony Award for Best Lighti ...

Tomson Highway Tomson Highway (born 6 December 1951) is an Indigenous Canadian playwright, novelist, and children's author. He is best known for his plays ''The Rez Sisters'' and ''Dry Lips Oughta Move to Kapuskasing'', both of which won the Dora Mavor Moore ...

Christopher House Christopher House (born May 30, 1955) is a Canadian choreographer, performer and educator. For many years he was the artistic director of Toronto Dance Theatre. Early life and education House was born in St.John's, Newfoundland. He moved to Ot ...

, Stuart Hughes,

John Krizanc John Krizanc (born 1956) is a Canadians, Canadian playwright who established an international reputation with his non-linear work, ''Tamara (play), Tamara''. Exploring the rise of Fascism in 1920s Italy, the play was one of the first non-linear, i ...

Daniel MacIvor Daniel MacIvor (born July 23, 1962) is a Canadian actor, playwright, theatre director, and film director. He is probably best known for his acting roles in independent films and the sitcom ''Twitch City''. Personal MacIvor was born in Sydney, Nov ...

Manitoba Theatre for Young People Manitoba Theatre for Young People (MTYP) is a theatre for children and young adults in The Forks area of Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. , MTYP's annual attendance regularly exceeds 100,000. Within the theatre complex are two performance venues: a ...

Diego Matamoros Diego Matamoros is a Canadian actor who has performed in theatre, television, film, radio, and voice animation, both across Canada and in the United States. In 1998, he won a Gemini award for his performance as Dr. Goldman in CBC Television's min ...

, Neil Munro,

Julian Richings Julian Richings (born 30 August 1956)''Births, Marriages & Deaths Index of England & Wales, 1916–2005.''; at Ancestry.com is a British-Canadian character actor. He has appeared in over 225 films and television series. Career After touring th ...

Roseneath Theatre Roseneath Theatre is a not-for-profit theatre specializing in work for Young Audiences (TYA) which is officed in downtown Toronto but tours its productions to schools grades JK-12 across the province of Ontario. They have also been to the far N ...

, Tyley Ross,

Djanet Sears Djanet Sears is a Canadian playwright, actor and director, nationally recognized for her work in African-Canadian theatre. Sears has many credits in writing and editing highly acclaimed dramas such as ''Afrika Solo'', the first stage play to be wr ...

Denis Simpson Denis Simpson (born Dennis Anthony Leopold Simpson; 4 November 1950 – 22 October 2010)Michel Tremblay Michel Tremblay (born 25 June 1942) is a French-Canadian novelist and playwright. Tremblay was born in Montreal, Quebec, where he grew up in the French-speaking neighbourhood of Plateau Mont-Royal; at the time of his birth, a neighbourhood wit ...

and Jonathan Wilson. In 2005, arts patron and philanthropist

Bluma Appel Bluma Appel, (September 4, 1919July 15, 2007) was a Canadian philanthropist and patron of the arts. She was born the daughter of Russian émigrés who left Czarist Russia around 1905. Born and raised in Montreal, Quebec, she was the founder of C ...

received an Honorary Dora Award.

References

External links

Official site

Dora Awards Eligibility Requirement
{{Dora Awards Awards established in 1978 1978 establishments in Canada Canadian theatre awards