It is our belief that a strong and inclusive theatre culture contributes to the cultural life of all Hamiltonians. We are committed to creating presentation opportunities for local artists and to supporting the growth of professional theatre in Hamilton. The Gilded Hammer Awards are designed to celebrate the fierce spirit of independent theatre artists, to award innovation and growth, to nurture emerging talent, and to recognize the national achievements of artists from Hamilton.
A celebration of achievement In the Hamilton theatre arts!
The 2020 Gilded Hammer Awards was held on Saturday, November 21st, 2020 at 7:30pm. (The online event premiered on November 21st with the opportunity for live interaction, then accessible as a recording to view on demand until November 28th, 2020.)
Hosted by Donna-Michelle St. Bernard, this fully accessible online event featured The Gilded Hammers awards presentations, local artist performances, a first look at Scroll Down funded by Canada Council for the Arts and community partners, and an interactive community
conversation hosted by theatre collective Femmepire.
Tickets ranged from $5-$40 and 50% of ticket sales from The Gilded Hammer Awards was donated to the Disability Justice Network of Ontario. For new and existing Hamilton Fringe Members, logging in to your account automatically discounts a full price ticket to the special Member price of $10.
Awards Categories
The Cutting Edge: Innovation Award
Celebrating the change-makers, the innovators, the courageous, the revolutionaries. This award recognizes the skills and achievements of a local artist or arts leader who has carved out new pathways for theatre in Hamilton. This award will have a $1,000 cash prize attached.
The Groundbreaker: Emerging Artist Award
Awarded to an artist who is young in craft and shows great promise. The winner exhibits vision, sensitivity, and strength in the art form. Community impact and burgeoning creativity are given greater weight than polish. This award will have a $1,000 cash prize attached.
The Force of Impact: National Achievement Award
An artist from Hamilton who is making a name for themselves and for the city on the National stage and beyond. This award winner will have travel and accommodations paid for to attend the theatre showcase event.
The Dramatic Backer: Community Contribution Award
Awarded to a business, sponsor, or donor who has made a significant impact on the theatre arts through their financial support of artists and arts organizations.
Nomination and Selection Process
An individual or an organization may put forth a nomination in any of the categories listed above. Only one nomination per person/organization per year is permitted. Artists are encouraged to self-nominate. There is no fee to apply.
An independent jury of theatre artists and professionals will evaluate all nominations. The size of each jury will be between 3-5 members, depending on the number of nominees.
Nominations closed September 18, 2020.
How to Apply
Application Details
The Nominees
The Cutting Edge: Innovation Award
VALERI KAY
MICHAEL KRAS
STEPHANIE HOPE LAWLOR
The Groundbreaker: Emerging Artist Award
WILL GILLESPIE
CAMILLE INTSON
KITOKO MAI
MADDIE KRUSTO
CARLYN RHAMEY
CLAUD SPADAFORA
The Force of Impact: National Achievement Award
ANNA CHATTERTON
JUNO RINALDI
The Performance Lineup
Join us at the inaugural Gilded Hammer Awards, streaming on November 21st and available on demand until November 28th. Hosted by Donna-Michelle St. Bernard, this online event and fundraiser includes The Gilded Hammers awards presentations, local artist performances, a first look at Scroll Down, and live interactive community event hosted by theatre collective Femmepire. 50% of ticket sales for The Gilded Hammer Awards will be donated to the Disability Justice Network of Ontario. This event will include ASL interpretation and closed captioning.
Hosted by Donna-Michelle St. Bernard
Writing by Aaron Jan
Original Music by LTtheMonk
Play a game of ‘I spy’ during the Gilded Hammers, try to guess the locations across the city and look for cameos from Amanda De Freitas, Radha Menon, Karen Ancheta, Marilo Nunez, Senjuti Sarker, Josh Taylor and more.
What is Scroll Down? This first look at an original short film was conceived and developed by Fringe Festival Director Christopher Stanton with videography and production by Hamilton Film Festival Director Nathan Fleet, and story by theatre artist Matthew MacFadzean. According to Christopher Stanton, “in the strange ‘new normal’ of the COVID-19 era, many of us have adopted a new daily ritual to keep connected: scrolling endlessly through our social media feeds. Scroll Down takes that idea and tells a new story from a uniquely Hamilton perspective.” Scroll Down features work by over 20 local artists including Sumona Roy, Rex Emerson Jackson, Karma Kameleon, and Antonio Moreno. Scroll Down is supported by the Canadian Council for the Arts and local partners: Donut Monster, Escarpment Kombucha Co., Planted in Hamilton, Relay Coffee Roasters, and Vagabond Saints.
Local theatre collective Femmepire offers a fun, interactive, community conversation: Wheel of Femmepire. A rapid-fire game show about the indie theatre ecology, contestants share their industry toolkit, play games, and answer the ultimate question: can we stay awake through yet another Zoom meeting? Hosted by Femmepire Co-ADs Kit Mai and Claud Spadafora, with panelists Ravi Jain (Why Not Theatre), Kim Collier (Electric Company), and Nikki Shaffeeullah (former AD of The Amy Project), audience members will have the opportunity to play along and ask questions LIVE in real time! (After the live premiere on Nov 21st, viewers will see the original audience’s comments and interactions.)
The 2020 Jury
Aaron Jan
Lisa Pijuan-Nomura
Rick Roberts
The Steering Committee
The Gilded Hammers Steering Committee is composed of theatre artists and professionals from all experience levels dedicated to providing consultation on the development of an awards program that represents the needs of the local theatre industry. Steering Committee members have contributed to the development of The Gilded Hammer Awards beginning in September 2019 and will continue through 2020.
2019-2020 Steering Committee Members
Trevor Copp
Ruth Flynn
Radha Menon
Micaela Morales
Cairine Wilson
Winners' Circle
The Cutting Edge: Innovation Award
Stephanie Hope Lawlor
The Groundbreaker: Emerging Artist Award
KITOKO MAI
The Force of Impact: National Achievement Award
ANNA CHATTERTON
Past Nominees and Winners
The Cutting Edge: Innovation Award
VALERI KAY
MICHAEL KRAS
STEPHANIE HOPE LAWLOR*
The Groundbreaker: Emerging Artist Award
WILL GILLESPIE
CAMILLE INTSON
KITOKO MAI*
MADDIE KRUSTO
CARLYN RHAMEY
CLAUD SPADAFORA
The Force of Impact: National Achievement Award
ANNA CHATTERTON*
JUNO RINALDI
*Indicates winner
