June 25, 2019
Sony Centre for the Performing Arts
Dora Awards Producer and TAPA Executive Director Jacoba Knaapen announced that the multi-talented award-winning theatre artist Rick Miller, well-known across the country for his widely acclaimed one-man shows (including MacHomer, BOOM and Bigger Than Jesus among others) will host this very special 40th-anniversary celebratory evening. Mr. Miller last hosted the Dora Mavor Moore Awards in 2007.
2019 Dora Mavor Moore Awards will take place on Tuesday, June 25 and, for the very first time, will be held at the Sony Centre for the Performing Arts. The show this year will highlight the triumphs (and tribulations!) of Toronto’s performing arts community along its storied journey these past forty years.
The Dora Mavor Moore Awards are Canada’s longest-running professional theatre, dance and opera awards. Notably, the 40th anniversary of the Doras is the first year that gender-neutral performance awards will be given out.
This trailblazing policy, originally announced in April of 2018, impacts all performance categories for the Dora Mavor Moore Awards beginning with the 2018-19 season. All binary male and female designations have been eliminated and replaced with gender-inclusive “Outstanding Lead/Featured/Individual Performance” categories as applicable. The 2019 Dora Awards are making history with the implementation of this precedent-setting step forward. TAPA aspires to honour all narratives and all gender identities with this inclusive policy.
Additionally, the number of nominees in each of the performance categories has been increased to eight from five throughout the now-seven divisions: General Theatre, Independent Theatre, Musical Theatre, Theatre for Young Audiences, Dance, Opera, and Touring.
Ms Knaapen noted, “I am happy to make this announcement on behalf of TAPA about the 40th Anniversary Dora Mavor Moore Awards on World Theatre Day. TAPA is proud to have taken the bold step of adopting a gender-neutral policy beginning with the 2019 Dora Awards. The Doras continue to celebrate excellence, regardless of expressed or unexpressed gender identity.”
Tickets for this celebratory evening go on sale May 28 through the box office at the Sony Centre for the Performing Arts, either in person at the St. Lawrence Centre box office at 27 Front St. East or by calling 1-855-872-SONY (7669) via Ticketmaster and online via ticketmaster.ca .
Hosted by the multi-talented, multi-award-winning Rick Miller (of MacHomer and BOOM fame)
Written by Diane Flacks, Directed by Edward Roy
Musical Direction by Evelyne Datl, Lighting and Production Design by Andrea Lundy
Produced by Jacoba Knaapen
6:00pm-7:00pm Pre-Show VIP Cocktail Reception in the Lower Lobby of the Sony Centre for the Performing Arts
7:30pm Dora Mavor Moore Awards Show in the Sony Centre
10:30pm After-Party in and around the Sony Centre for the Performing Arts
