Theatre father, son nominated for Winnipeg Arts Council Awards

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This article was published 31/05/2012 (5237 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A father and son with a long track record of teaching theatre and staging stunts are jointly in the running for a 2012 Winnipeg Arts Council Award.

The Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre has nominated Reg Skene, an influential retired University of Winnipeg theatre professor and critic, and his son Rick, the city’s go-to expert for movie and stage stunts, for this year’s Making a Difference award.

“Reg and Rick Skene have transformed the face of theatre and film in Winnipeg, excelling in performance, fight direction, stunt co-ordination, playwrighting, theatre history, criticism, teaching, mime and commedia dell’arte,” the nomination says.

The juried awards will be presented at the sixth annual Mayor’s Luncheon for the Arts, June 15 at the Fairmont Winnipeg.

Besides the Skene duo, nominees for the $2,500 Making a Difference award, celebrating the contribution of an artist or administrator to the growth and development of the arts locally, are Manitoba Opera general director/fringe festival pioneer Larry Desrochers, longtime co-directors of the School of Contemporary Dancers Odette Heyn and Faye Thomson, baker/activist artist Karen Schlichting and former Winnipeg Folk Festival executive director Trudy Schroeder.

Contenders for the $2,500 Making a Mark award, which goes to an established mid-career artist, are theatre artist Columpa Bobb, visual artist Michael Dumontier, playwright/artistic director Michael Nathanson, composer John Racaru, visual artist Dominique Rey, novelist Joan Thomas and violin teacher Marion Williams.

Nominees for the $2,500 On the Rise award recognizing an emerging professional are playwright Joseph Aragon, visual artist Scott Benesiinaabandan, artist/illustrator Ben Clarkson, painter Derek Dunlop, theatre artist Krista Jackson, choir director Michael McKay, jazz drummer Curtis Nowosad, filmmaker Adam Smoluk and filmmaker Leslie Supnet.

Manitoba Lotteries and McNally Robinson Booksellers are up for the Arts Champion award, which salutes an individual or business for sustained support.

Nominated for the Outstanding Volunteer award are José Koes, who has assisted the Winnipeg Art Gallery for more than 30 years, and volunteer Janet Taylor, nominated by theatre group Sarasvati Productions.

Tickets for the Mayor’s Luncheon for the Arts are available through the Winnipeg Arts Council website, www.winnipegarts.ca.