Kanata Theatre: the 41st season (2009-2010)

Kanata Theatre director
wins award for The Underpants

By TIFFANY WILLIAMS-LEPACK

EMC Staff Writer

EMC Lifestyle - It's time for Jim Holmes from Kanata Theatre to take a bow after being named the best community theatre director in Ottawa.

The Capital Critics Circle awards were handed out on Nov. 15 and Holmes was recognized for his work in Kanata Theatre's production of The Underpants earlier this spring.

Holmes was overwhelmed after winning the award and thought it was a great honour to have been recognized for his work. However, he notes that the credit really belongs to his cast.

"We had a terrific cast! This was the first time to my knowledge (The Underpants) had ever been done in Ottawa," said Holmes. "It's quite a brilliant little play and I was very pleased to have won it with this play." This is not the first time that Holmes' work has been recognized.

Two years ago he directed the play The Seagull and it was chosen as the best community theatre production by the Capital Critics Circle.

Holmes has been involved in Kanata Theatre since 1972.

Sitting in his basement it's like taking a step back in time with a wide array of memorabilia from his past productions.

Hanging on the walls is a pair of the underpants that were made for Louise in the play, fashioned in the colours of the German flag. The play was written in 1910 by Carl Sternheim and was adapted into a 90-minute version by Steve Martin, someone for whom Holmes says he has great respect.

He describes winning the award like a scene one would see at the Academy Awards.

"The ceremony was held in the lobby of Ottawa Little Theatre," he said.

"I was happy because quite a large group of Kanata Theatre members came down and they all gave a little cheer when the award was announced."

Holmes says it was thrilling and encouraging to be nominated with Joan Sullivan Eady for Present Laughter by Noel Coward, Ottawa Little Theatre and Sarah Hearn for Enchanted April, Ottawa Little Theatre.
 


Seasoned critics

The Capital Critics Circle is a group of seasoned critics who review local plays on their website to help promote local theatre.

Iris Winston is one of the critics on the site and has been a theatre reviewer for more than 30 years, she was quite impressed with Holmes' work on The Underpants.

"The Underpants was one of the best directed community productions I had seen, not just in this last year, but several years," said Winston.

"It was a well-deserved award for Jim Holmes." Also nominated from the Kanata Theatre was Beverley Brooks for best actor (community) as Lily in Six Dance Lessons in Six Weeks by Richard Alfieri, directed by Susan Monaghan, Kanata Theatre.

This article and the photo below are reproduced by kind permission of the author, Tiffany Williams-Lepack. These appeared in the EMC issue of 25 November, 2010

EMC photo by Tiffany Williams-Lepack, Kanata EMC

Jim Holmes recently took home the Capital Critics Circle award for best comnity theatre director for The Underpants. Here he poses with his award with one of the garments from the play.