Awards in Theatre
There are three awards for theatre productions in Australia with the Helpmann Awards the Green Room Awards and the Matilda Awards.
The Helpmann Awards are named in honour of Sir Robert Helpmann and were established in 2001 by Live Performance Australia (LPA). They are similar to the American Tony Awards and the Olivier Awards held in London.
The Helpmann Awards reward and acknowledge contributions and performances by productions and the perrformers within the theatre production industry in Australia.
The Helpmann Awards recognise different aspects of the theatre including musical theatre, contemporary music, comedy, opera, classical music, dance and physical theatre.
The full name of the Australian Awards is the Helpmann Awards for Performing Arts in Australia. The significance of the Helpmann Awards has seen them finally broadcast on television with Pay television provider FOXTEL carrying the 2006 Awards.
Local awards are also given to performers and productions in each state. Two examples are listed below with the Matilda Awards in Queensland and the Green Room Awards in Victoria.
The Matilda Awards in Brisbane recognise local excellence in cabaret, dance, drama, fringe theatre, musical theatre and opera in Brisbane. The voting panel can nominate up to three people in each category with the primary objective to reward those who have contributed to Queensland theatre.
The Green Room Awards Association in Melbourne is similar to the Queensland based awards, (Matilda Awards), in that they reward local performing arts. Categories that the Green Room Awards are given for include Cabaret, Dance, Drama, Fringe, Music Theatre and Opera in Melbourne.