The Adelaide Critics Circle has announced the finalists for its 2012 annual awards. The nominees for awards in the performing arts are:
Individual Award
Robert Macfarlane, singer, St John Passion (Adelaide Chamber Singers)
Amber McMahon, actor, School Dance (Windmill Theatre)
Alirio Zavarce, writer, director, and actor, Sons and Mothers (No Strings Attached)
Group Award
No Strings Attached Theatre of Disability, Sons and Mothers
Restless Dance Theatre, Howling Like A Wolf
Windmill Theatre, School Dance
Emerging Artist of the Year
Kate Cheel, actor, The Glass Menagerie (State Theatre Company of SA)
Guy O’Grady, actor, The Call (Junglebean)
Tim Overton, actor, The Call (Junglebean)
Independent Arts Foundation Award for Innovation
Adam Synnott, composer and media artist, Pari passu (Leigh Warren & Dancers)
The Border Project, I Am Not An Animal
Awards for Amateur Theatre
In recognition of the importance of amateur theatre in the community, the Adelaide Critics Circle continues its long-standing support of unpaid workers in the performing arts with the Awards for Amateur Theatre. The finalists in 2012 are:
Individual Award – Amateur Theatre
Michael Baldwin, actor, Antigone (University of Adelaide Theatre Guild)
David Gauci, actor, Hairspray (Matt Byrne Media)
Ben Saunders, director/musical director, Forbidden Broadway (Marie Clark Musical Theatre)
Group Award – Amateur Theatre
Hills Musical Company, Kiss of the Spider Woman
Marie Clark Musical Theatre, Forbidden Broadway
Matt Byrne Media, Hairspray
Awards for Visual Arts
The Award for Visual Arts will also be announced. There are no finalists, with a single winner, decided by the visual arts critics.
Lifetime Achievement Awards
Finally, the ceremony will also see the announcement of the coveted Lifetime Achievement Award. The identity of the recipient is a closely guarded secret - revealed only on the night.
Awards Ceremony 2012
The 2012 Awards Ceremony, which is a free event, open to the public, will be held at the Higher Ground, 9 Light Square, Adelaide, on Monday, December 3 at 6pm.
Award winners receive a cash prize and a trophy featuring the ACC’s unique design. The ACColades are unique in Australia for including a cash prize. The main funding for the awards is from Arts SA, and the Independent Arts Foundation funds a special Innovation award which recognises and encourages ground-breaking developments and exciting experimentation.
The Adelaide Critics Circle awards are South Australia’s leading annual awards for achievement in the performing and visual art, and are the only awards of their type in Australia to include a cash prize that directly benefits the winners, their careers, and their reputations.
The ACColades, now in their 15th year, are the annual awards of the Adelaide Critics Circle, a group of 25 Adelaide-based critics, writing for the mainstream and alternative print and electronic media.
