The annualÂ
Dora Mavor Moore Awards celebrate the enormous talent on Toronto stages each year. Produced by theÂ
Toronto Alliance for the Performing Arts (TAPA), the awards recognize outstanding achievements in theatre, dance and opera in a variety of categories. It’s similar to the Tony Awards in New York, but on a smaller scale.
I’ve been working with the Dora’s since 2000 (this year is my 10 year anniversary with them!). Since my time with them, I have been responsible for producing the multimedia portion of the show – a visual presentation of all the nominees during the award ceremony. Since 2005, I have had the privilege of working with the production team as the Art Director, responsible for creating the printed material and overall look of the branding each year.
In 2009, the Dora Awards celebrated their 30th Anniversary. In celebration, TAPA created a limited edition 30th Anniversary poster highlighting some of the most memorable Dora-winning shows from the past 30 years.
Blair Francey is a brilliant designer. He is an absolute pleasure to work with and understands client requirements. His original designs for TAPA and the Dora Mavor Moore Awards have always been delivered on time and on budget, an important factor for many not-for-profit companies. In a highly competitive marketplace Blair's work is exemplary.
Jacoba Knaapen , Executive Director, 
Toronto Alliance for the Performing Arts
In 2009 I had the pleasure of working with Artistic Producer Mitchell Marcus and Acting Up Stage company to design the marketing material for their upcoming production of The Light in the Piazza. Mitchell and I have worked together before on the Dora Awards and I’ve seen some of the past productions from Acting Up Stage and have always enjoyed the choices the company makes about which musicals they will bring to the stage here in Toronto. The show takes place in Florence and we wanted to create an image that evoked the sensual side of Italy, the old-world, the artistic and breathtaking beauty of the country. The texture for the background was our starting point. Once we had found that, the rest fell into place. I did a quick photo shoot one day to capture Jacquelyn in character to use as part of the imagery (unfortunately there was no budget to fly us all out for a photo shoot on location in Florence). The resulting marketing material turned out to be huge success.
Since then, Mitchell and I have collaborated on a variety of projects for Acting Up Stage including creating a company profile video, various fundraiser material and a company profile package for sponsors. It's always a pleasure working with Acting Up Stage.
Centre for Social Innovation