{{short description|Annual theatre awards in Calgary, Alberta, Canada}} {{Infobox award | name = Betty Award | current_awards = 22nd Betty Awards | image = | imagesize = | alt = | caption = | awarded_for = Outstanding achievement in Calgary's professional theatre community | presenter = | country = {{CAN}} | year = {{Start date and age|1998}} | website = {{URL|bettymitchellawards.com}} }}
'''Betty Mitchell Awards''' were created in 1998 to celebrate and honour outstanding achievement in Calgary's professional theatre community. It is commonly called the Betty Award and is named for Calgary theatre pioneer Dr. Betty Mitchell.<ref>{{Citation | last = Northof | first = Anne | title = Betty Mitchell | publisher = The Canadian Theatre Encyclopedia, Athabasca University Press | date = February 18, 2018 | url = http://www.canadiantheatre.com/dict.pl?term=Mitchell%2C%20Betty | access-date = June 16, 2019 }}</ref><ref>{{Citation | last = Morrow | first = Martin | title = City theatre launches Betty Mitchell Awards | newspaper = Calgary Herald | pages = E2 | date = 18 June 1998 | url = https://www.newspapers.com/image/485661225/?terms=%22betty%2Bmitchell%2Baward%22 | access-date = 15 June 2019}}</ref><ref>{{Citation | last = Brooks | first = Bill | title = Betty Mitchell Awards honor the best of city's theatre world | newspaper = Calgary Herald | date = 4 September 2014 | url = http://www.calgaryherald.com/entertainment/Betty+Mitchell+Awards+honour+best+city+theatre+world/10177957/story.html | access-date = 15 June 2019}}</ref>
==Awards== The awards ceremony for the 2018–19 season was held on June 24 at the Vertigo Theatre in Calgary.<ref>Louis B. Hobson, [https://calgaryherald.com/entertainment/theatre/schemers-and-spies-top-the-betty-mitchell-award-nominations Schemers and spies top the Betty Mitchell Award nominations], Calgary Herald, June 5, 2019</ref>
In 2019, Pakistani-Canadian actor Ahad Raza Mir, the first Pakistani actor to play Hamlet in Canada,<ref>News Desk, [https://dailytimes.com.pk/371438/ahad-raza-mir-becomes-first-pakistani-to-star-as-hamlet-in-canada/ Ahad Raza Mir becomes first Pakistani to star as Hamlet in Canada], Daily Times (Pakistan), March 31, 2019</ref> won the Betty for Outstanding Performance by an Actor in a Drama for his performance of the title role<ref>[https://www.hipinpakistan.com/news/1158042 Ahad Raza Mir Wins the Betty Mitchell Award for Hamlet!], Hip In Pakistan</ref> In that same year Tiffany Ayalik became the first Inuk recipient of a Betty Award.<ref>{{cite web |title=Inuit actress wins 'Outstanding Performance' prize |url=https://windspeaker.com/news/windspeaker-news/inuit-actress-wins-outstanding-performance-prize |website=Windspeaker |date=June 27, 2019}}</ref>
===Categories=== Awards are given in the following categories:
*Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble *Outstanding Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role *Outstanding Lighting Design *Outstanding Set Design *Outstanding Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role {| class="wikitable mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" |+ style="text-align: left;"|{{nowrap|•Outstanding Projection or Video Design}} |- style="background:#bebebe;"! scope="col" | Year! scope="col" | Designer! scope="col" | Production ! rowspan="6"| 2024 |- style="background:#B0C4DE" | '''Beth Kates''' | '''''Meteor Shower''''' |- | Scott Reid | ''A Christmas Carol'' |- | Brendan Briceland | ''Selma Burke'' |- | David Bengali | ''Beaches The Musical'' |- | Brendan Briceland | ''Girl on the Train'' |- ! rowspan="6"| 2023 |- | Andy Moro | ''Hookman'' |- | Scott Reid | ''Agatha Christie's Murder on the Orient Express'' |- | Andy Moro | ''The Extractionist'' |- | Cindy Mochizuki (Video Design & animation), Sammy Chien/Chimerik Collective (Projection Design) | ''Forgiveness'' |- style="background:#B0C4DE" | '''Wladimiro A. Woyno R.''' | '''''STRUCK''''' |- ! rowspan="6"| 2022 |- | Nicolas Dostie, Irina Litvinenko, Rick Miller | ''Boom YZ'' |- style="background:#B0C4DE" | '''Jamie Nesbitt''' | '''''Cipher''''' |- | Jamie Nesbitt | ''In Wonderland'' |- | Scott Reid | ''A Christmas Carol'' |- | Scott Reid | ''Million Dollar Quartet'' |- ! rowspan="6"| 2019<ref name="2019nom">Louis B. Hobson, [https://calgaryherald.com/entertainment/theatre/betty-mitchell-theatre-awards-go-crazy-for-theatre-calgary Schemers and spies top the Betty Mitchell Award nominations], Calgary Herald, June 5, 2019</ref> |- | Nicolas Dotsie | ''BOOM X'' |- | Bretta Gerecke |''The Invisible Agents of Ungentlemanly Warfare'' |- | Amelia Scott | ''A Love Letter to Emily C'' |- | Andy Moro | ''Honour Beat'' |- style="background:#B0C4DE" | '''Elaine J. McCarthy''' |'''''Everest''''' |- ! rowspan="6"| 2018<ref name="2018win">Louis B. Hobson, [https://calgaryherald.com/entertainment/theatre/betty-mitchell-theatre-awards-go-crazy-for-theatre-calgary Puppets and sisters big winners at Betty Mitchell Awards], Calgary Herald, June 26, 2018</ref> |- style="background:#B0C4DE" | '''Jamie Nesbitt''' | '''''Nine Dragons''''' |- | Remy Siu | ''Empire of the Son'' |- | T. Erin Gruber | ''Easter Island'' |- | Corwin Ferguson | ''Julius Caesar'' |- | Amelia Scott |''To the Light'' |- ! rowspan="6"| 2017<ref name="2017win">Louis B. Hobson, [https://calgaryherald.com/entertainment/theatre/betty-mitchell-theatre-awards-go-crazy-for-theatre-calgary Betty Mitchell Theatre Awards go Crazy for Theatre Calgary], Calgary Herald, August 22, 2017</ref> |- | Corwin Ferguson | ''Richard III'' |- | David Leclerc | ''BOOM'' |- | Jamie Nesbitt | ''The Big Sleep'' |- style="background:#B0C4DE" | '''Amelia Scott with illustrations by Tyler Jenkins''' | '''Crime Does Not Pay''' |- | JP Thibodeau |''Lest We Forget'' |- ! rowspan="6"| 2016<ref name="2016win">Louis B. Hobson, [https://calgaryherald.com/entertainment/theatre/best-of-calgary-theatre-honoured-at-betty-mitchell-awards Best of Calgary theatre honoured at Betty Mitchell Awards], Calgary Herald, August 23, 2016</ref> |- style="background:#B0C4DE" | '''Jamie Nesbitt''' | '''Calamity Town''' |- | Sean Nieuwenhuis | ''The Little Prince'' |- | Scott Reid | ''Die Tote Stadt'' |- | JP Thibodeau | ''The Boy’s Own Jedi Handbook'' |- | Amelia Scott and Joel Adria |''Cockroach'' |- ! rowspan="6"| 2015<ref name="2015win">Bill Brooks, [https://www.newspapers.com/image/487101118/ Betty honors Calgary's shining stars], [Calgary Herald], September 12, 2015</ref> |- | Andrzej Goulding | ''Silent Night'' |- | Jamie Nesbitt | ''Liberation Days'' |- | Jamie Nesbitt | ''Farewell, My Lovely'' |- | Kalyna Conrad | ''Legoland'' |-style="background:#B0C4DE" | '''Wladimiro A. Woyno R.''', '''Matthew Waddell''' and '''Laura Anzola''' |'''The Last Voyage of Donald Crowhurst''' |- ! rowspan="6"| 2014<ref name="2014win">Bill Brooks, [http://www.calgaryherald.com/entertainment/Betty+Mitchell+Awards+honour+best+city+theatre+world/10177957/story.html Betty Mitchell Awards honor the best of city's theatre world], Calgary Herald, September 5, 2014</ref> |- | Kaely Dekker | ''n00b'' |- | Corwin Ferguson | ''You Will Remember Me'' |- | T. Erin Gruber | ''A Bomb in the Heart'' |- |-style="background:#B0C4DE" | '''Jamie Nesbitt''' | '''The Hound of the Baskervilles''' |-style="background:#B0C4DE" | '''Sean Nieuwenhuis''' |'''The Mountaintop''' |- |} *Outstanding Costume Design *Outstanding Sound Design or Composition *Outstanding Choreography or Fight Direction *Outstanding Musical Direction *Outstanding Performance by an Actress in a Comedy or Musical *Outstanding Performance by an Actor in a Comedy or Musical *Outstanding New Play *Outstanding Direction *Outstanding Performance by an Actress in a Drama *'''Outstanding Performance by an Actor in a Drama''' *Outstanding Production of a Musical *Outstanding Production of a Play
===Ceremony=== {| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;" ! colspan= 4 style="background:#DDDDDD;" | Betty Mitchell Award Ceremonies |- ! Ceremony !! Venue !! Date !! Host(s) |- | 1st || Stage West || August 24, 1998 || Lindsay Burns<ref>{{cite news |last1=Boettcher |first1=Shelley |title=Bright Lights |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/485824124/ |access-date=August 25, 2019 |work=Calgary Herald |date=August 30, 1998}}</ref> |- | 2nd || Stage West || August 30, 1999 ||<ref>{{cite news |last1=Morrow |first1=Martin |title=Sage Theatre dominates Betties |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/485963167/ |work=Calgary Herald }}</ref> |- | 3rd || Stage West || August 28, 2000 || |- | 4th || Stage West || August 28, 2001 || Dave Kelly<br/>Elizabeth Stepkowski<ref>{{cite news |last1=Muretich |first1=James |title=Comedy, drama at Betties |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/486235818/ |access-date=August 25, 2019 |work=Calgary Herald |date=July 3, 1999}}</ref> |- | 5th || Stage West || August 26, 2002 || Dave Kelly<br/>Karen Johnson-Diamond<ref>{{cite news |last1=Clark |first1=Bob |title=Calgary's theatre community bestows Bettys |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/486568651/ |access-date=August 25, 2019 |work=Calgary Herald |date=August 27, 2002}}</ref> |- | 6th || Stage West || August 25, 2003 || Mark Bellamy<br/>Kevin Rothery<ref>{{cite news |last1=Clark |first1=Bob |title=Filumena, ATP stage major wins |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/486571370/ |access-date=August 25, 2019 |work=Calgary Herald |date=August 26, 2003}}</ref> |- | 7th || Stage West || August 30, 2004 || |- | 8th || Stage West || August 29, 2005 || Bob White<br/>Laura Parken<ref>{{cite news |last1=Clark |first1=Bob |title=''Pinocchio'', ''Black Rider'' lead way at sold-out Bettys |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/486697580/ |page=D2 |access-date=August 25, 2019 |work=Calgary Herald |date=August 30, 2005}}</ref> |- | 9th || Stage West || August 28, 2006 || Grant Linneberg<ref>{{cite news |last1=Clark |first1=Bob |title=Betty shines on Calgary stars |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/486984487/ |page=C6 |access-date=August 25, 2019 |work=Calgary Herald |date=September 3, 2006}}</ref> |- | 10th || Stage West || 2007 || |- | 11th || Stage West || August 25, 2008 ||Dave Kelly<ref>{{cite news |last1=Clark |first1=Bob |title=Ties the tale at 2008 Betty Mitchell Awards |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/487721518/ |access-date=August 25, 2019 |work=Calgary Herald |date=August 26, 2008}}</ref><ref>[https://www.cbc.ca/news/entertainment/the-drowning-girls-surfaces-with-4-calgary-theatre-awards-1.763735 "The Drowning Girls surfaces with 4 Calgary theatre awards"]. ''CBC Arts'', Aug 26, 2008</ref> |- | 12th || Max Bell Theatre, EPCOR CENTRE for the Performing Arts || August 24, 2009 || |- | 13th || Max Bell Theatre, EPCOR CENTRE for the Performing Arts || August 30, 2010 || AJ Demers <br/> Julie Orton |-
| 14th || Stage West || August 20, 2011 || Karen Johnson-Diamond <br/> Kevin Rothery |- | 15th || Stage West || August 27, 2012 || Russell Bowers |- | 16th || Stage West || August 26, 2013 || Nicole Zylstra <br/> Stafford Perry |- | 17th || Stage West || August 18, 2014 || Stephen Hair<ref>{{cite news |last1=Brooks |first1=Bill |title=Betty Mitchell Awards honour the best of city's theatre world |url=http://www.calgaryherald.com/entertainment/Betty+Mitchell+Awards+honour+best+city+theatre+world/10177957/story.html |access-date=August 25, 2019 |work=Calgary Herald |date=September 5, 2014}}</ref> |- | 18th || Vertigo Theatre || August 24, 2015 || Julie Orton |- | 19th || Vertigo Theatre || 2016 || Josh Bertwistle, Carly McKee <br/> Chris Enright, Nicole Zylstra |- | 20th || Vertigo Theatre || 2017 || Mark Bellamy <br/> Selena Wong |- | 21st || Vertigo Theatre || June 25, 2018 || Katherine Fadum<br/>Michael Tan<ref>{{cite news |last1=Theatre Alberta Staff |title=Interview with Braden Griffiths: 21st Annual Betty Mitchell Awards |url=https://www.theatrealberta.com/2018/06/20/news-calgary-interview-with-braden-griffiths-21st-annual-betty-mitchell-awards/ |access-date=August 25, 2019 |work=Theatre Alberta |date=June 20, 2018}}</ref> |- | 22nd || Vertigo Theatre || June 24, 2019 || Raven Virginia |- |}
==Statue update== The original Betty Mitchell Award statue, designed by local Calgary sculptor, Petronella Overes, was inspired by the geography surrounding Calgary. It was a steel base containing a glass monolith with motifs of mountains and prairies. For the 10th anniversary of the awards in 2007 she redesigned it replacing the steel base with powder coated aluminum and increased the contrast in the tone and texture of the awards metal and glass.<ref>{{Citation | last = Clark | first = B | title = Award gets an update | newspaper = Calgary Herald | pages = C2 | date = 27 August 2014 | url = https://www.newspapers.com/image/487996800 | access-date = 15 June 2019}}</ref>
The Award received its most recent design update in 2014 when the Overes design was replaced with a multi-colour teardrop-shaped glass sculpture created by a local glass blowing collective, Bee Kingdom Glass. Each one is unique, as they are hand-blown.
==See also==
* Black Theatre Workshop * Dora Mavor Moore Award * Elizabeth Sterling Haynes Award * Floyd S. Chalmers Canadian Play Award * Gascon-Thomas Award * Jessie Richardson Theatre Award * Rideau Awards * Robert Merritt Awards
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== *Betty Mitchell Awards [http://www.bettymitchellawards.com Official Website]
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Betty Award}} Category:Awards established in 1998 Category:Canadian theatre awards Category:Theatre in Calgary Category:Awards for projection designers