The tiny hamlet of Rosebud is abuzz with excitement after two of its veteran actors received a Betty Mitchell Award Nomination for Outstanding Choreography or Fight Direction.
The Betty Mitchell Awards, named for a pioneer of Calgary’s theatrical community, Dr. Mitchell, were started in 1998 to celebrate and honour outstanding achievement in Calgary’s professional theatre community.
Each year the Betty Mitchell Awards provide the opportunity for theatre artists to come together and recognize the excellent work that takes place on Calgary stages.
This is the first Betty Mitchell nomination for both Sine and Schmidt, who have also done fight direction for Rosebud Theatre (Oliver!, Man of La Mancha and Fiddler on the Roof) and The Canadian Badlands Passion Play.
Karl Sine most recently appeared on the Rosebud stage as Charlie in Mary’s Wedding and the terrifying Bill Sykes in Oliver!, and also has two Rosebud Theatre directing credits to his name, We Won’t Pay! We Won’t Pay! and this summer’s W.O. Mitchell’s Jake and the Kid: Prairie Seasons. Sine also stars as Edward VIII, Duke of Windsor in Rosebud’s fall production Queen Milli of Galt.
Rosebud Theatre patrons will remember Nathan Schmidt from numerous memorable roles including The Fiddler in Fiddler on the Roof, Father Damien in Damien, and Fagin in Oliver! He is currently in two Rosebud Theatre productions, appearing as Jake in W.O. Mitchell’s Jake and the Kid: Prairie Seasons, and Adam in The Diary of Adam and Eve.
Sine on being nominated for a Betty Mitchell Award: “I am so thrilled to be nominated alongside Nathan for our work on Macbeth. I have been working with The Shakespeare Company for a few years now and every time I get a chance to work with them it is really a joy. Iam Coulter, the Artistic Director of The Shakespeare Company, gave us great direction and the creative freedom to do what we thought worked for the play.
“Receiving a nomination for Fight Direction is really flattering and it means so much to be nominated alongside my dearest friend Nathan. We have been creating fight scenes together right from the first time I picked up a sword. You could say we caught the Stage Combat bug together.”
The recipients of the 2011 Betty Mitchell Awards will be announced at the gala ceremony on Monday, August 8, 2011 at Stage West Theatre in Calgary. www.bettymitchellawards.com