A big congrats to everyone who was nominated and received an award!
As we face up to COVID-19 and the most difficult situation any of us have faced in our lifetime, with the Arts sector being particularly devastated, it's especially important to recognise the achievements of so many talented creatives.
Congratulations to Midsumma Festival alumni, friends and colleagues for their achievements in the 2020 Green Room Awards. It's wonderful to see so many artists who have been involved with recent Midsumma Festivals recognised, including:
- Caitlin Dullard: Geoffrey Milne Award for Outstanding Contribution to Independent Theatre WINNER
- Daniel Clarke: Outstanding Contribution to Cabaret WINNER
- Drew Downing - REBEL: Music Theatre [Original Australian Writing] + [Ensemble]
- Flutter & Flounce (PO PO MO CO): Contemporary & Experimental Performance [Ensemble]
- Honor Wolff, Patrick Durnan Silva and company - POOPIE TUM TUMS: Cabaret [Ensemble WINNER] + [Writing] + [Production]
- Joel Bray - DADDY: Dance [Performer] + [Production] | Contemporary and Experimental Performance [Production WINNER] + [Visual Design] + [Performer]
- Jarred Dewey & associates - PARTY GHOST: Contemporary & Experimental Performance [Circus WINNER]
- Mama Alto - GENDER EUPHORIA: Cabaret [Production]
- Maude Davey - NEVER... CALM DOWN!: Contemporary & Experimental Performance [Performer] | GENDER EUPHORIA: Cabaret [Production]
- Melba Spiegeltent: Contemporary & Experimental Performance [Program WINNER]
- Rory Godbold - WHEN THE LIGHT LEAVES: Independent Theatre [Writing]
- Sarah Ward - THE LEGEND OF QUEEN KONG EPISODE II: QUEEN KONG IN OUTER SPACE: Cabaret [Artiste] + [Writing] + [Original songs] + [Production] + [Design]
- Selina Jenkins - BOOBS: Cabaret [Artiste WINNER] + [Writing WINNER] + [Original songs WINNER] + [Production WINNER]
- YUMMY - YUMMY DELUXE: Cabaret [Ensemble] + [Design]
We were delighted to see the special award acknowledging the contribution of Daniel Clarke, who has been the driving force behind Midsumma productions at Theatre Works and Arts Centre Melbourne spanning many years. It's also wonderful to see Caitlin Dullard honoured for her, often non-acknowledged, extraordinary contribution to the Arts and the La Mama community over many years, including many Midsumma Festival seasons, and her tireless work in helping to rebuild La Mama after their devastating fire.
In the coming months and years, as we rebuild and restructure our society, the Arts will be more important than ever before. However, just when we need maximum funding to do this, many will be struggling to even survive. We all need to do everything we can to help, by donating to the Arts sector whenever we can, being even more imaginative and creative than ever before, seeking out and supporting new works and new talent (online mostly for the time being) and spreading the word about worthwhile initiatives that we discover.
