Total Theatre Awards Shortlist Announced

Today the shortlist for the Total Theatre Awards 2018 was announced. From the shortlist announced today, a total of seven awards will be awarded across five categories: "Physical & Visual Theatre"; "Innovation, Experimentation & Playing with Form"; "Emerging"; "Circus"; and "Dance".

Speaking about the awards, Awards Co-Directors Jo Crowley and Becki Haines said,

'This year's shortlist highlights the power theatre and performance have as vehicles for communicating lived experience. Including exploration of political protest, consent, disability and power, this list celebrates the vital space theatre offers. These independent artists are navigating complex and personal conversations with exceptional care and rigour, and their process-led practices plant the seeds for how the sector can grow and develop to be more inclusive and accessible.'

The Total Theatre Awards are a peer-to-peer assessment process of dialogue and debate to recognise excellence and artists pushing the boundaries of independent performance. In order to produce this shortlist, a total of 461 eligible shows have been assessed over the first 11 days of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. These shows have been viewed between two and four times by a curated panel of 29 peer assessors from 9 countries, comprising artists, producers, programmers, curators, critics and academics, alongside a number of senior industry supporters and advisors. Meeting every two days, the Total Theatre Awards Producing and Assessment team have engaged in 35 hours of collective discussion of all eligible productions in depth, across specialism and across discipline.

Following a Shortlisting meeting on 15 August, a total of 22 productions from 11 countries have been selected as the 2018 Shortlist for the Awards across five categories.

Following the Shortlisting process, the shortlisted shows will now move to a judging panel where shows are seen by leading arts industry figures from seven countries including critics, academics, artists and programmers. Seven awards will be given across five categories and the judging panel will announce their decisions at an awards ceremony on Thursday 23rd August. The judges for the Total Theatre Awards reserve the right to award further productions that open at the festival after the shortlisting has taken place.

The full shortlist for the 2018 awards is below:

by Total Theatre Network

Championing Contemporary Theatre

Shows by an Emerging Company / Artist

This Award is supported by Theatre Deli

Cock, Cock... Who's There?
Samira Elagoz in association with From Start to Finnish (Finland)
Summerhall

dressed.
ThisEgg in collaboration with Made My Wardrobe (England)
Underbelly

Katie & Pip
Tin Can People (England)
Summerhall

Can't Stop Can't Stop
Sam Does Theatre (England)
C Venues

Total Theatre & Jacksons Lane Award for Circus

Casting Off
Sharon Burgess Productions and A Good Catch (Australia)
Assembly

My Land
Recirquel Company (Hungary)
Assembly

Casus: You & I
Casus Circus (Australia)
Assembly

Sediment
Company 2 (Australia)
Assembly

Total Theatre & The Place Award for Dance

Brocade
Roberta Jean (Scotland)
dancebase

Gibbon
Gandini Juggling (England)
Assembly

Void
V / DA and MHz, in association with Feral (Scotland)
Summerhall

The Spinners
Limosani Projekts and Al Seed Productions (Australia & Scotland)
dancebase

Taiwan Season: Varhung - Heart to Heart
Tjimur Dance Theatre (Taiwan)
dancebase

Innovation, Experimentation & Playing with Form

Pussy Riot: Riot Days
One Inch Badge (England/Russia)
Summerhall

Natalie Palamides: NATE
Soho Theatre (United States)
Pleasance

Underground Railroad Game
Soho Theatre presents the Ars Nova production (United States)
Traverse Theatre

Drive-By Shooting
Dumbworld (Northern Ireland)
Summerhall

The Flop
A Hijinx production in association with Spymonkey (Wales)
Summerhall

Physical / Visual Theatre

Another One
Vooruit, Arenbergschouwburg, Big in Belgium, Richard Jordan Productions, TRP, Summerhall (Belgium)
Summerhall

Backup
Chaliwaté Company and Focus Company (Belgium)
Summerhall

The Artist
Circo Aereo and Thom Monckton (Finland)
Assembly

Century Song
Volcano (Canada), Richard Jordan Productions in association with CanadaHub (Canada)
ZOO

Press Enquiries:

Elin Morgan 07984 816 948 elin@mobiusindustries.com
Rosie Bauer 07963 513 891 rosie@mobiusindustries.com

Industry Enquiries

Jo Crowley, Co-Director, on 07843 274684 / crowley.jo@gmail.com

Becki Haines, Co-Director on 07732 818401/ haines.becki@gmail.com

Notes to editors

The Assessment panel for the 2018 Total Theatre Awards are;

Adam Smith, Alex Brenner, Alex Curtis-Rodriguez, Alice Massey, Alister Lownie, Anne Mulleners, Barra Collins, Beth Jerpersen, Ceriann Williams, Cheryl Martin, Daniel Kok, Ellice Stevens, Hannah McPake, Jess Mable Jones, Jo Mackie, Julia Croft, Kamaal Hussain, Kate Kavanagh, Kirsten McPake, Leo Burtin, Lizzie Jenkins, Matt Rogers, Melanie Purdie, Michael Norton, Paul Evans, Philippa Hamley, Roxanne Carney, Sally Marie and Sarah Colson.

The Judging panel for the 2018 Total Theatre Awards years awards is;

Nick Anderson (Independent Producer, Founder of Amplifier), Adrian Berry (Artistic Director, Jacksons Lane), Emma Blackman (Producer, Theatre Deli), Jessica Bowles (Course Leader MA/MFA Creative Producing Royal Central School of Speech & Drama), Matt Burman (Director, Cambridge Junction) Paul Burns (Interim Head of Dance, Creative Scotland), Christina Elliot (Senior Producer, The Place), Laura Elliot (Programme Director, Oxford Playhouse), Helen Freshwater (Reader in Theatre & Performance, University Newcastle), Simon Hart (Artistic Director, Puppet Annimation Scotland), Donald Hutera (Critic, The Times), Kevin Jamieson (Senior Producer Theatre, HOME Manchester), Sacha Lee (Artistic Director, The Point & The Berry Theatre), Jaine Lumdson (Theatre Officer, Creative Scotland), Dorothy Max Prior (Editor, Total Theatre Magazine), Aislinn Mulligan (Artist & Co-Director, Circumference), Shona Reppe (Artist & Previous TTA winner), Mary Reoder (Programming Manager, UMS, Ann Arbour Michigan - USA), Andy Roberts (Programme Director, The ShowRoom Chichester & Co-Artistic Director Bootworks Theatre & Previous TTA winner), Layla Rosa (Artist, Shunt & Previous TTA winner), Kei Saito (Independent Producer), Roland Smith (Co-Artistic Director, Theatre Deli), Degna Stone (Independent Producer), Filip Teilins (Independent Writer & Critic). Natalie Querol, (Director, Empty Space), chair of Judging Meeting.

About the Total Theatre Awards / Total Theatre Network

Honouring work by professional artists and companies at various stages in their professional development, the Total Theatre Awards have an international reputation for rigour and excellence. Cherished by artists and programmers alike, the Total Theatre Awards involve a rigorous two-stage peer to peer assessment and Judging process, bringing together artists, critics, presenters, producers and academics to debate and award excellence.

The Total Theatre Awards are produced by Total Theatre Network, an independent charity (Mime Action Group) committed to supporting independent artists and artistic process, Total Theatre Networks ambition is to create the conditions for the UKs' independent theatre sector to be recognised, sustainable & to thrive by: Identifying, celebrating & giving visibility to exceptionally talented artists; Providing networking & professional development activities for independent practitioners; Playing a critical role in exploring artistic excellence, evolving form & developing understanding of an ever-changing contemporary performance landscape.

Please note Total Theatre Awards and Total Theatre Network have operated independently to Total Theatre Magazine for over a decade.

www.totaltheatrenetwork.org | @TotalTheatreAwd | #totaltheatreaward

Jo Crowley & Becki Haines

The Total Theatre Awards and Total Theatre Network is led by Co-Directors Jo Crowley & Becki Haines. Becki and Jo are 2 independent Producers, Jo Crowley is Executive Producer for 1927 and Kazuko Hohki and Becki Haines is Executive Producer | JCEO for Coney. Jo & Becki have had a long association with the Total Theatre Awards, having prior to taking on the leadership of Total Theatre in 2013, produced the work of a number of previous Total Theatre Award Winning and nominated Artists including Jo: 1927, Kazuko Hohki, Ridiculusmus, The Suitcase Royale & Kristin Fredrikkson; Becki: Bootworks, The Paper Birds and Theatre Ad Infinitum. @crowleyjo @heckibaines

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