11 award nominations for Rosebud actors and alumni

Laureen F. Guenther
Times Contributor

 

Rosebud resident actors and graduates received nearly a dozen nominations for the 2016 Calgary Theatre Critics’ Awards. This year’s so-called Critter Awards are chosen by Stephen Hunt, Louis B. Hobson, Rodrigo Flores and Jenna Shummoogum, from Calgary area theatre productions between June 2015 and May 2016.
Rosebud Theatre’s Outside Mullingar, currently playing in the Opera House, earned four nominations: Paul F. Muir for Best Actor, Heather Pattengale for Best Actress, Morris Ertman for Best Director, and Best Production.
Wizard of Oz, Rosebud’s Opera House summer 2015 musical, earned five nominations: Best Actress (Cassia Schramm), Best Supporting Actor (Andrew Legg), Best Supporting Actress (Laura Gillespie), Best Director (Morris Ertman), and Best Production.
Two Rosebud School of the Arts (RSA) graduates earned nominations for their work in Calgary shows: Amy Burks as Best Supporting Actress in Romeo and Juliet, and Karl H. Sine for Best Supporting Actor in The Boy’s Own Jedi Handbook.
David LeReaney, a Calgary-based actor currently performing in Valley Song on the BMO Studio Stage, was also nominated Best Supporting Actor for his role in Spirit Fire Theatre’s Of Mice and Men.
“I just want to say a great big huge congratulations to all my fellow nominees and especially, of course, the Rosebud folk that have been nominated. I’m thrilled for them,” said Paul Muir, playing Anthony in Outside Mullingar.
“Any of us are always grateful when something comes along that is that kind of affirmation, and it’s nice to be acknowledged by what is largely the Calgary theatre community,” said Muir, who’s also education director of RSA. “The fact that some of our grads were nominated as well, for shows that they’ve done in Calgary … that really means something too, for Rosebud School of the Arts.”
“It’s such a wonderful honour to be nominated and I’m so excited that Rosebud got so many nominations and that we’re being included in that (Calgary) theatre community,” said Heather Pattengale, playing Outside Mullingar’s Rosemary. “I’m really excited for Paul (Muir) too … he’s doing such a wonderful job in this show.”
Though they welcome the recognition, nominations and awards aren’t their motivation for what they do.
“We do it for the story, for wanting to offer up that story to the audience,” Muir said.
“We’re just working hard and doing what we love,” said Pattengale.
And they’ve especially loved doing that work on the story of Outside Mullingar.
“Outside Mullingar has been just a treat, a complete delight of a show,” Pattengale said. “This one has been extra special because it’s written so well. It’s so funny. And the audiences have so much fun.”
“To be in this incredible show and to go for this incredible story journey … it means so much to me and at the same time it means so much to a lot of people,” Muir said. “People have said with a glint of laughter and the remnants of tears in their eyes, ‘that was our story.’”
Audience members have also said they found it healing to watch the final scene between Anthony and his father.
“How cool that it’s been just recognized as a great story and a great show by the Critter Awards people as well,” he said.
Winners of the Critter Awards will be announced June 6. Outside Mullingar runs til June 11.