The Annual METAs
2023 Ceremony Programme
WELCOME! 33 productions were registered for the METAs during the 2022-2023 season. The METAs Jury has selected a robust 89 nominations, and will be awarding 17 trophies at the Ceremony. The METAs Committee is excited to be including the return of the Unsung Hero of the Theatre Award.
This year’s METAs Ceremony, presented in partnership with the Conseil des arts de Montréal, returns to the beautiful Gesù Theatre on Sunday, November 12th at 7:30 PM.
Support this year’s ceremony by checking out our Silent Auction, open until November. 13th, 2023, 8 PM.
Ceremony Creatives
Hosts: Debbie Friedmann & Keith Fernandez
Director: Anton May / Ceremony Writer: Kenny Streule
Sound Design & Ceremony Assistant: HeatherEllen Strain / Lighting Design & Digital Artist: Chris Wardell
Slideshow: Orlando López / Ceremony Liaison: Danielle Laurin
Backstage Assistant: Brianna Bagshaw-Stocks / Production Assistant: Hailey Verbonac
METAs Committee Members: Chelsea Dab Hilke, Carol-Ann Hoyte, Karine Kerr-Gillespie, Danielle Laurin, Orlando López, & Cat Preston.
Evening Schedule
6:00 pm: Doors of the Gesù open
7:30 pm: Ceremony - Act I
8:45 pm: Intermission
9:00 pm: Ceremony - Act II
10:15 pm: Post ceremony celebration with DJ Lady Oracle
11:30 pm: End of evening
Land Acknowledgment
The METAs operates on the unceded, traditional territory of Kanien’kehá: ka. The island called "Montreal" is known as Tiohtià:ke in the Kanien’kehá: ka language, and has been a meeting place for many Indigenous peoples; including but not limited to the Haudenosaunee Confederacy, Huron/Wendat, Abenaki, and Anishinaabeg (Algonquin). As artists living in a context of freedom of expression, we believe it is crucial to know the past consequences of colonialism and acknowledge its ongoing legacy in our present day. We stand in solidarity with all the Indigenous peoples for whom cultural expression has been prohibited and criminalized for decades. We urge everyone to learn more about the history of these territories and to support Indigenous resistance and initiatives across Turtle Island.
RESOURCES
First Peoples Justice Center of Montreal
Montreal Indigenous Community Network
Nominees & Recipients / 2022-2023 Ceremony:
RECIPIENTS IN BOLD
OUTSTANDING ENSEMBLE
Dracula, A Comedy of Terrors - James Daly, Ellen David, Naomi Ngebulana, David Noël, Colin Simmons
Frankenstein - Eloi Archambaudoin, Rosie Callaghan, Arun Varma
Pool (No Water) - Lucas DiTecco, Audrey-Shana Férus, David Noël, Rosemarie Sabor, Thomas Vallières, Dakota Jamal Wellman
Wildfire - Davide Chiazzese, Julie Tamiko Manning, Kathleen Stavert
Curtains - Tyler Amaral, Mikaël Tobio Bennett, Eric Curotte-Ryder, Darien Deer, Robyn Erin Ellison, Kirk Elsmore, Angelo Michele Fatica, Gio, Nathan Hill, Billy Iliopoulos, Brandi Jacobs, Madison King, Vanessa Marion, Mike Mastromonaco, Ainsley Meloche, Brianna Montour, Cédric Mulcair, Mark Ouimet, Dennen Phillips, Emily Pincin, Océanie Renaud, Angel Robertson, Linnea Sander, Trisha Sky, Kahonwentha Stacey, Eric Von Arx, Kerrin-lee Whyte
OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING PERFORMANCE - Independent Production
Skyler Clark - Lizzie
Julie d'Entremont - Reefer Madness
Caitlin Hawes - Reefer Madness
Gabe Maharjan - Landscape Grindr
Jennifer Roberts - What Rough Beast
OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING PERFORMANCE - PACT Production
Ravyn R. Bekh - Cymbeline
Lucinda Davis - Redbone Coonhound
Deborah Drakeford - Redbone Coonhound
Anne-Marie Saheb - Foxfinder
Sophie-Thérèse Stone-Richards - Tribes! (No Matter What)
OUTSTANDING LEAD PERFORMANCE - Independent Production
Robyn Erin Ellison - Curtains
Holly Gauthier-Frankel - The Covenant
Rahul Gandhi - What Rough Beast
Michael Martini - Landscape Grindr
Darragh Mondoux - Meet Me
OUTSTANDING LEAD PERFORMANCE - PACT Production
Patrick Emmanuel Abellard - King Dave
Ryan Bommarito - Foxfinder
Ellen David - Prayer for the French Republic
Inès Defossé - Sexual Misconduct of the Middle Classes
Tymisha Harris - Josephine: A Musical Cabaret
OUTSTANDING EMERGING ARTIST - PERFORMANCE
Robyn Erin Ellison - Curtains
Julie d'Entremont - Reefer Madness
Naomi Ngebulana - Dracula, A Comedy of Terrors
Simon Pelletier - Tribes! (No Matter What)
Arielle Shiri - Prayer for the French Republic
OUTSTANDING EMERGING ARTIST - Production
Dezmond Arnkvarn (Animation) - Redbone Coonhound
Iehente Foote (Stage Management) - Curtains
Mary Hayes (Set Painting) - Tribes! (No Matter What)
Jawon Kang (Set Design) - Redbone Coonhound
Michael Martini (Direction) - Landscape Grindr
Chris Wardell (Lighting Design) - Pool (No Water)
OUTSTANDING SET DESIGN
Brian Dudkiewicz - Prayer for the French Republic
Odile Gamache - Wildfire
Michael Gianfrancesco - Dracula, A Comedy of Terrors
Jawon Kang - Redbone Coonhound
James Lavoie - Sexual Misconduct of the Middle Classes
Liv Wright - Foxfinder
OUTSTANDING SOUND DESIGN/COMPOSITION
Jesse Ash - Bloodshot
Victoria Deiorio - Dracula, A Comedy of Terrors
Rob Denton & Claire Bourdin - Meet Me
Rob Denton - Tribes! (No Matter What)
Jackie Gallant - Foxfinder
Thomas Ryder Payne - Redbone Coonhound
OUTSTANDING LIGHTING DESIGN
Jon Cleveland - Tribes! (No Matter What)
Amber Hood - Dracula, A Comedy of Terrors
Chantal Labonté - Foxfinder
Michelle Ramsay - Redbone Coonhound
Tim Rodrigues - English
Chris Wardell - Pool (No Water)
OUTSTANDING COSTUME DESIGN
Louise Bourret - Josephine: A Musical Cabaret
Louise Bourret - Dracula, A Comedy of Terrors
Nalo Soyini Bruce - Redbone Coonhound
Sabrina Miller - Frankenstein
Jessica Poirier-Chang - Foxfinder
OUTSTANDING CONTRIBUTION TO THEATRE
Leanna Brodie (Translation) - Wildfire
Debora Friedmann (Choreographer) - Reefer Madness
Custom App (Designer: Jacob Niedzwiecki; Developer: Nic Goertzen;
Media Content Generator: Nate Plong; Media Content Creator/Writer: Stephanie Merulla)
- Meet MeStarcatcher Productions (Production Company) - Curtains
Allison Moore (Live Video, Design & Integration) - Cyclorama
OUTSTANDING DIRECTION
Micheline Chevrier (Director) & Kwaku Okyere (Associate Director) - Redbone Coonhound
Gordon Greenberg - Dracula, A Comedy of Terrors
Rosaruby Kagan - Meet Me
Howard Rosenstein - Tribes! (No Matter What)
Lisa Rubin - Prayer for the French Republic
OUTSTANDING NEW TEXT
Alice Abracen - The Covenant
Julia Ainsworth & Rosaruby Kagan - Meet Me
Rana Bose - Tribes! (No Matter What)
Gillian Clark - Poof
Jon Lachlan Stewart - The King Stinks
Amy Lee Lavoie & Omari Newton - Redbone Coonhound
OUTSTANDING INDEPENDENT PRODUCTION
Landscape Grindr - Landscape Grindr Collective
Meet Me - Live Action Theatre Project presented by Teesri Duniya Theatre
Pool (No Water) - Persephone Productions
Reefer Madness - Contact Theatre
The King Stinks - Surreal SoReal Theatre
What Rough Beast - Théâtre Ouest End & Tantalus
OUTSTANDING PACT PRODUCTION
Dracula, A Comedy of Terrors - Segal Centre for Performing Arts
Foxfinder - Imago Theatre
Prayer for the French Republic - Segal Centre for Performing Arts
Redbone Coonhound - Imago Theatre & Tarragon Theatre
Tribes! (No Matter What) - Theatre Espérance & Teesri Duniya
Wildfire - Talisman Theatre
UNSUNG HERO OF THE THEATRE
Kenny Streule - Artistic Producer, MainLine Theatre & St-Ambroise Montreal Fringe Festival
2022-2023 Season Jury Members
Stephen Patrick Booth, Rob Denton, Craig Francis, Ella Kohlmann, Gabe Maharjan, Michael Martini, Darragh Mondoux, Simon Pelletier, Diane Roberts, Jen Roberts, Nalo Soyini Bruce, Julie Tamiko Manning, Diana Uribe & Emlyn vanBruinswaardt.
The core mandate of the METAS is to celebrate the amazing theatre that is being made by our community. We would like to take a moment to highlight the upcoming work from our friends at Teesri Duniya Theatre: the staged readings of Seven Jewish Children on November 19th and My Name is Rachel Corrie on November 26th as well as their call for submissions for Gaza Monologues. We encourage you, our community, to attend these and other events in Montreal, that embolden conversations around issues important to our communities.
Thank you
The METAs Committee would like to thank the following for their help and contribution towards the ceremony:
Guillaume Simard, Véronique Pagnoux, Jonathan Poitras (Trophées Artistic Inc), Andrée Lanthier, Marabooth, Chef Sean, DJ Lady Oracle, Bob The Accountant, Segal Centre for Performing Arts, Imago Theatre, MainLine Theatre, Le Gesù, Conseil des arts de Montréal, Festival Accès Asie & the Quebec Drama Federation.
HAPPY DIWALI!
