Nicole Brown (left), chair of the Actor Boy Awards Committee, Dorothy Cunningham (centre), president of the Jamaica Association of Dramatic Artists and judge Valerie Chuck at the Actor Boy Awards press launch, held at Jamaica Trade and Invest, Trafalgar Road, St Andrew, on Monday night. - Winston Sill/Freelance Photographer
After the compact nomination show for the 19th Actor Boy Awards was finished on Monday evening, chair of the Actor Boy Awards management committee L. Nicole Brown was a happy woman.
"I love that there is a fair mix. We have a good mix of persons who are first-time nominees and long-time nominees," Brown told The Gleaner.
Among those first-timers is John DaCosta, nominated for lighting design on CATS, and Symone Coombs, who is up for a special effects award for her work on Runner Boy. And among this year's numerous nominees who have made the Actor Boy journey before are the University Players.
The awards show takes place on Wednesday, March 31, at the Courtleigh Auditorium, New Kingston, starting at 6:30 p.m. This year's special awardee is Wycliffe Bennett, whom Brown describes as "that man who has made such an impact on the cultural landscape of Jamaica in stage and television".
There were 22 shows eligible for judging in the 19 categories of the 2008 Actor Boy Awards, the eight-member adjudication panel's members being Hugh Martin, Valerie Chuck, Lorna Down, Eunice Lorde, Michael Reckord, Tony Patel, Jeanette Campbell and Sydney Bartley.
A Tempest
In terms of numbers of nominations, A Tempest by The University Players leads the way with 10, followed by Father Richard Ho Lung and Friends' YES and Which Way is Out by Basil Dawkins' Productions, with nine each. Aston Cooke's Pupalick earned eight nominations, with the Little Theatre Movement's Runner Boy and CATS by the Jamaica Junior Theatre earning six apiece.
One winner is certain, as CATS is the only nominee in the Children's Theatre category.
The 2008 Actor Boy Awards ceremony will be a blend of entertainment and announcements, as songs that have been nominated in the music categories will be performed. In addition, Brown said, "there will be special entertainment by some of the biggest stars".
She said there will also be a blend of presenters, with nominees, music personalities, athletes and sponsors handling the announcements and presentations.
"It brings out happiness. It gives the recipients pride to say they have got an Actor Boy," Brown said.
And for the landmark 20th Actor Boy Awards next year, Brown said "we look forward to an even bigger celebration of International Theatre Day and Actor Boy".