Tanya Batson-Savage, Freelance Writer 
Members of the cast of the Little Theatre Movement (LTM) National Pantomime 2005/06, 'Zu-Zu Macca', in song. The pantomime is up for three Actor Boy Awards, but is not nominated in the 'Best Original Song Category', which it has sometimes dominated in the past. - Winston Sill/Freelance Photographer
NOMINATIONS ARE not necessarily indicative of popularity with the masses. Even so, the recently announced Actor Boy Awards nominations for 2005 is at least whispering, if not actually yelling, that the current fare of plays may have failed to be all they could be.
Boxing Day may easily be viewed as the start of Jamaica's theatre season as there is a growing tradition of the highest number of plays opening on or around that day. Yet, the productions which opened in December of 2005 were able to garner only a few of the nominations. Instead most of the awards were gobbled up by mid-season productions.
Of the four productions which opened last December, Basil Dawkins' Hot Spot earned the most nominations, copping five nods. Two of these came from the acting category, with Marguerite Newland being nominated for Best Actress in a Lead Role and Zandrian Maye is nominated for Best Actress in a Supporting Role.
The play is also nominated in the Best New Jamaican Play and Best Drama categories. This year, the National Pantomime managed only three nominations and Jambiz International's Class of 73 shared the same fate. Though The National Pantomime has sometimes dominated the Best Original Song category in the past, Zu Zu Macca only scored nominations in the categories Best Original Score, Best Set Design and Best Costume Design.
On the other hand, The Jamaica Musical Theatre Company's version of the Broadway musical The Wiz, directed by Robin Baston, and Aston Cooke's satirical revue Jamaica to Rahtid, directed by Michael Nicholson, both of which opened last summer, earned just under 1/3 of the nominations. With 65 nominees in 19 categories announced, The Wiz and Jamaica to Rahtid each copped 10 nominations, the highest number going to any production.
Not surprisingly, both productions are also vying for the Best Production trophy. They compete against two additional mid-season productions, The Black That I Am and Who Will Sing for Lena. With six nominations under its belt, The Black That I Am is the third most nominated production. Who Will Sing for Lena garnered four.
Interestingly, the spread of the nominations shows that the judges favoured both commercial and non-commercial theatre. On the commercial side are Jamaica 2 Rahtid and Hot Spot,while The Black That I Am and The Wiz were from the other side of the fence. It seems, then, that rampant commercialism cannot be blamed for calibre.
Having run for over 100 performances, Jamaica 2 Rahtid manages to sit in the cross roads where popular interest and awards meet. The production is already guaranteed at least one trophy, as it is the sole nominee in The Best Revue category. Green tinged magic from the land of Oz worked well for The Wiz, as it too has already copped an award as the sole nominee in the Best Special Effects category.
As such, The Wiz is also the sole production that was able to seduce the judges with both its technical and creative merits, as it received nominations in the Best Supporting Actor category (Maurice Bryan and Rory Frankson), costume design, lighting design, choreography and direction.
Despite The Wiz' exploits, the Actor Boy judges seemed generally unimpressed with lighting and costuming throughout the year, as Best Lighting Design and Best Costume design categories had only two nominees each.
On the other hand direction, lead actresses and set design each had six nominees. Interestingly, the rarity of a female director was added to this year's list of nominees, as Fae Ellington's directorial debut with Who Will Sing for Lena earned her a nod. The production is also up for the Best Production award.
Jambiz International's summer production, Vibes , also pleased the palates of the Actor Boy judges, earning four nominations. Camille Davis and Courtney Wilson both received nods and the play was also nominated for Best Direction (Trevor Nairne) and Best Comedy.
The Best New Jamaican Play category also received paltry three nominees, though just under one dozen of the productions are new Jamaican plays. More than any other category, that may be the sign that Jamaican theatre practitioners should ask themselves: "What the hell is happening to us dear?"
