Abbotsford – The CLEO Awards bill themselves as a new and slightly unconventional way to award outstanding achievements of Fraser Valley based theatre companies.
For this past season, Gallery 7 nominees and winners (Courtesy Ken Hildebrandt – Managing and Artistic Director – Gallery 7)
- “Cream of the Crop” (Best Production): The Sound of Music
- “Take Me to Your Leader” (Outstanding Performance by Lead Actor: Delayney Davis – Miss Bennet: Christmas at Pemberley
- “Kneeslapper” (Best Comedy): Miss Bennet: Christmas at Pemberley
- “The Scenic Route” (Outstanding Set Design: Andrew Potts (Snowbound) and Hayley Bamford (The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time)
- “Made You Look” (Outstanding Performance in a Smaller Role): Derek Ward-Hall (The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time)
- “So Fabulous” (Outstanding Costume Design): Dani Dejong (A Tale of Two Cities – WINNER); Sarah Green & Audrey Boschmann (Miss Bennet: Christmas at Pemberley)
- “Don’t Be Dramatic” (Outstanding Drama)- The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time
- “Glass Breaker” (Outstanding Vocal Performance) – Bethany Caldwell (The Sound of Music – WINNER), Elizabeth Seaman (The Sound of Music)
- “Props to You” (Best Props) – Becki Cormier (A Tale of Two Cities) and Reed Seale (Snowbound)
- “The Hills are Alive” (Best Musical) – The Sound of Music (WINNER)
- “Light Up the Night” (Best Lighting Design) – Ken Hildebrandt (A Tale of Two Cities) and Nigel Brooke (The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time – WINNER)
The Cleo Awards celebrates excellence in the local theatre community and recognizes outstanding productions and individuals who contribute to the art form. To ensure fairness and consistency in the selection process, the following criteria must be met for a production to be eligible for consideration:
- LIVE THEATRICAL PERFORMANCE: The production must be a live, theatrical performance that can be viewed in its entirety within one date. Productions should not exceed 3.5 hours. This includes, but is not limited to, musicals, plays, original works, and devised pieces. At this time, staged readings will not be considered.
- ELIGIBLE SEASON: The production must be performed within the dates specified by the Cleo Awards board. This period will be communicated to all participating theatre companies and may vary from year to year.
- COMMUNITY FOCUSED: The production must be produced and performed by members of the local community, including amateur or non-professional theatre companies. Productions by professional or touring companies and educational productions are not eligible. Actors may be members of professional unions, but may not be compensated at a professional (Equity) rate.
- GEOGRAPHICAL AREA: The production must be performed within the designated geographic area as defined in the image below:
- LEGAL AND ETHICAL REQUIREMENTS: The production must have obtained all necessary performance licenses and permissions, and must adhere to all relevant copyright laws and legal requirements. Productions found to be in violation of any legal or ethical requirements will be disqualified.
The Cleo Awards board reserves the right to interpret and apply these criteria as necessary, and their decision on eligibility and selection of award recipients is final.
Each member theatre company may submit as many shows from their season as they would like. The Cleo Awards requires 5 complimentary tickets for panelists to attend each show. Thank you for your participation in this celebration of local theatre.
