Author: PHIL Mackenzie (not verified)
Date: 17/01/2008 - 08:40
As all three productions in which I appeared in 2007 are among the nominations for ‘Best Play’, ‘Best Director’ and sundry other categories and, as a newcomer to the community/amateur scene in WA, I am very curious to know the relationship between these two categories. It boggles my mind that there are over 40 nominations for ‘Best Play’ (were any productions not nominated?), but considerably fewer for ’Best Director’: on the basis of the titles of these categories alone, I would have expected a close correlation, if not an exact replication, between the two sets of nominations.
Since this is not the case, I wonder at the different criteria for these categories. The Best Director category doesn’t worry me very much, but what constitutes ‘Best Play’? Is this a text-based category, in which case the adjudicators must judge between, say, R&J, the world’s most popular and longest-running juvenile weepy, ‘The Club’, a satirical and iconic 1970s comedy by Australia’s leading playwright, and ‘The Birthday Party’, Pinter’s 1950s important, but apparently not very popular, landmark warning of the activities of the Secret State (of direct relevance to the trials and tribulations of Dr Haneef et al under the Howard mis-Government last year)?
I mention those titles because I know them best from my involvement in the productions. Similar questions could be asked of other titles.
Perhaps, however, the ‘Best Play’ award is intended to recognise something other than the play-as-text – e.g. setting aside the role of the Director, already acknowledged under ‘Best Director’ category, is this award intended to recognise the way in which the producing organisation has made best use of available artistic, technical and managerial resources in presenting the text? If so, might the category more accurately be titled ‘Best (Overall) Production’? Or might, as I have alluded to at the beginning, these two categories be rolled into one?
I’m only asking. Perhaps I’ll learn the answer on Saturday night.
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Date: 17/01/2008 - 08:40
As all three productions in which I appeared in 2007 are among the nominations for ‘Best Play’, ‘Best Director’ and sundry other categories and, as a newcomer to the community/amateur scene in WA, I am very curious to know the relationship between these two categories. It boggles my mind that there are over 40 nominations for ‘Best Play’ (were any productions not nominated?), but considerably fewer for ’Best Director’: on the basis of the titles of these categories alone, I would have expected a close correlation, if not an exact replication, between the two sets of nominations.
Since this is not the case, I wonder at the different criteria for these categories. The Best Director category doesn’t worry me very much, but what constitutes ‘Best Play’? Is this a text-based category, in which case the adjudicators must judge between, say, R&J, the world’s most popular and longest-running juvenile weepy, ‘The Club’, a satirical and iconic 1970s comedy by Australia’s leading playwright, and ‘The Birthday Party’, Pinter’s 1950s important, but apparently not very popular, landmark warning of the activities of the Secret State (of direct relevance to the trials and tribulations of Dr Haneef et al under the Howard mis-Government last year)?
I mention those titles because I know them best from my involvement in the productions. Similar questions could be asked of other titles.
Perhaps, however, the ‘Best Play’ award is intended to recognise something other than the play-as-text – e.g. setting aside the role of the Director, already acknowledged under ‘Best Director’ category, is this award intended to recognise the way in which the producing organisation has made best use of available artistic, technical and managerial resources in presenting the text? If so, might the category more accurately be titled ‘Best (Overall) Production’? Or might, as I have alluded to at the beginning, these two categories be rolled into one?
I’m only asking. Perhaps I’ll learn the answer on Saturday night.