Nominations for the 2012 Helpmann Awards were announced on the weekend, with MTC picking up 10 nominations for productions in our 2010, 2011 and 2012 Seasons. We are also pleased to note a further nomination for our new Associate Artistic Director Sam Strong: Best Direction of a Play for The Boys at Griffin Theatre Company. The full list of nominations can be viewed on the Helpmann Awards site, and a list of MTC's nominations is below. The 2012 Helpmann Awards ceremony will take place at the Sydney Opera House on 24 September.

MTC 2012 Helpmann Award nominations:

Red
Best Actor in a Play: Colin Friels

The Importance of Being Earnest
Best Play
Best Supporting Actor in a Play: Bob Hornery
Best Costume: Tony Tripp and Tracy Grant Lord
Best Scenic Design: Tony Tripp 

Clybourne Park
Best Supporting Actor in a Play: Patrick Brammall

Songs For Nobodies
Best Female Actor in a Play: Bernadette Robinson
Best Music Direction: Ian McDonald
Best Direction of a Play: Simon Phillips
Best New Australian Work: Joanna Murray-Smith

Three artists or artistic teams will have the opportunity to develop new work in the MTC Theatre in 2012 - free of charge - thanks to our 2012 Lawler Studio Residencies program. Each artist or team will have access to the Lawler Studio for one of three two-week periods, enabling them to script, design, plot and rehearse new works. They will also have the opportunity to meet with members of MTC's management and artistic teams. 

Applications are now open, and should be made via email by 20 January, 2012. Learn more.

This month two special exhibitions will take place in Melbourne to celebrate men who are very dear to the MTC community. The incredible set and costume designs of Tony Tripp will be celebrated in Tripp of a Lifetime; a display of models and drawings curated by MTC's outgoing Artistic Director Simon Phillips. Simon, in turn, is being honoured in The Play's the Thing - tribute exhibtion including props and costumes from his time at MTC. Both exhibitions are open to the general public, and admission is free. 

Tripp of a Lifetime: 12 November to 14 January, Level One Foyer, The MTC Theatre.

The Play's the Thing: 17 November to 20 February, St Kilda Road Foyer Gallery, The Arts Centre.

Be sure to make time for these wonderful exhibitions on your next visit to the theatre.

Join us for an exclusive Q&A with the cast of Clybourne Park at our annual Sumner Sundowner event, on Tuesday 11 October 2011, 6.30pm at the MTC Theatre, Sumner.

Bruce Norris’s Pulitzer Prize and Laurence Olivier Award-winning social comedy about racial tensions will no doubt beg many questions that the brilliant cast of Clybourne Park -  Alison Whyte,Greg Stone, Patrick Brammall, Bert LaBonté, Luke Ryan, Zahra Newman and Laura Gordon - will be on hand to answer them in a relaxed setting after the performance. Attendees will also be invited to enjoy complimentary snacks and a warm brew of Genovese’s finest coffee.

We are pleased to welcome Mutation Theatre to the MTC Theatre, Lawler Studio for a two week residency in which they will develop a new work: So Blue, So Calm. Written and directed by the company's Artistic Director Patrick McCarthy, and co-devised and performed by Matthew Epps and James Tresise, So Blue, So Calm is a follow up piece to the 2010 production Habitat. The work is an exploration of human happiness in relation to masculinity, the identity of young Australians, and the nature of co-existence. During the two week residency - the first of it's kind in the Lawler Studio - the trio will be undertaking a process of rigorous improvisation and script development, and receiving dramaturgical support from Robert Reid, the author of MTC's upcoming production of The Joy of Text. We wish Mutation Theatre all the best for the development of their new work.

Learn more about the Lawler Studio. 

Our 2011 Season now features not one, but two Pulitzer Prize-winning plays. Following in the footsteps of Next to Normal, which won the 2010 Pulitzer Price for Drama, Clybourne Park by Bruce Norris has just received the same prize for 2011. The play was described by the Pulitzer Board as "a powerful work whose memorable characters speak in witty and perceptive ways to America's sometimes toxic struggle with race and class consciousness." 

The MTC production of Clybourne Park begins at the MTC Theatre, Sumner on 17 September. To learn more about the production, visit the Clybourne Park play page. 

Chairman of the Melbourne Theatre Company Board, Derek Young is proud to announce that the 2012 MTC Season will be created by Robyn Nevin, Pamela Rabe and Aidan Fennessy. 

‘On behalf of the MTC Board I am delighted to announce, that we have appointed Robyn Nevin, Pamela Rabe and MTC Associate Director Aidan Fennessy to program our 2012 MTC Season. This exciting collaboration of such a multitalented and respected group of artists, who are well- known and loved by our Subscribers, bring decades of industry experience in directing, acting, writing and programming to the Company. 

'They are an outstanding group of artists each with their own unique skills and attributes and we are sure that they will continue to bring our audience the very best classic and contemporary Australian and International theatre on offer.  Over the next six months the group will meet regularly to program our 2012 Season which will be officially launched in September,’ said MTC Chairman Derek Young. 

Robyn Nevin, Pamela Rabe and MTC Associate Director Aidan Fennessy will begin to program the MTC 2012 Season immediately. The 2012 Season will be official launched at 9pm on Tuesday 27 September 2011. 

Last month Brett Sheehy was appointed as MTC’s new Artistic Director. Brett starts with the Company on a part-time capacity at the beginning of 2012 to program the 2013 Season and will take up a full-time position with the company on the 1 November 2012. 

For more information about the appointment, please read our Media Release. 

MTC was thrilled to receive five awards at the 2010 Green Room Awards ceremony last night; four of them for our production of Richard III. Ewen Leslie received the Best Male Actor award for his portrayal of the villanous Richard, with fellow cast member Alison Whyte taking home the Best Female Actor award for her performance as Queen Elizabeth. The Direction and Set Design were also recognised, with Simon Phillips and Shaun Gurton both receiving awards for their work
on the production. 

Meanwhile in the Music Theatre category, Geoffrey Rush was presented with the award for Best Male Artist – Leading Role for his role in The Drowsy Chaperone. 

Congratulations to all our award-winners, and a big thank you to all the cast, creatives and crews who worked on these productions for making them such a success! 

Chairman of the Melbourne Theatre Company Board, Derek Young, today announced Brett Sheehy as the new Artistic Director and Chief Executive for Melbourne Theatre Company. 

‘It is with great enthusiasm that I, on behalf of the MTC Board, announce the appointment of Brett Sheehy as the new Artistic Director for Melbourne Theatre Company. Brett Sheehy is one of Australia’s most acclaimed artistic directors, producers and curators. He has directed over eight festivals (three of the five international arts festivals in Australia’s State capital cities) and he is best known for commissioning and co-commissioning scores of new Australian work across every art form. 

'Brett has a strong theatrical background, having worked for the Sydney Theatre Company for ten years (1985 -1995) as their Artistic Associate, Literary Manager and Deputy General Manager. Brett brings over 26 years of experience collaborating with national and international arts communities, and we are delighted that he has accepted this all-important role,’ said MTC Chairman Derek Young. 

The appointment was made after an intense six month international recruitment process following Simon Phillips’ resignation announcement in July last year, after more than 11 years with the Company. Brett Sheehy will commence with MTC in a part-time capacity from the start of 2012 to program the 2013 Season and will take up a full-time position with the company on the 1 November 2012. MTC General Manager Ann Tonks will take over as interim CEO until this time. An Artistic Directorate will be appointed shortly to program the 2012 MTC Season. 

To read more about the appointment please see our official press release.