The night belonged to Orna Porat, and one could not imagine a more fitting celebration of the Israel Prize laureate, actress and founder of the Orna Porat Theater for Children and Youth and Assitej Israel. Orna’s Magic, an Orna Porat Theater production written by Hagit Rechavi-Nikolayevsky in tribute to Orna Porat, and directed by Rafi Niv, won 9 awards at the ceremony for the 2010 – 2011 Stage Awards for Children and Youth, including Best Author, Best Director and Best Children’s Play.
The entire Orna’s Magic team came up to accept the award for Best Children’s Play, and Orna Porat said, “I have a special love for schools. When I was ten years old our principal took us to see a play at the large opera house of Cologne. I was enchanted. Everyone spoke in hushed tones and the mood was festive. When the red curtain opened I knew: I will be an actress. This is my life.”
The feisty grand lady of Israeli theatre then undercut her own drama with humor, saying, “Then I came to Israel where I could continue to act, but not in the kibbutz of the Shomer HaTzair. They said I could have half a day off each month for acting. Acting is something you live every day, hour by hour. So I couldn’t join the kibbutz.” Porat praised the new generation leading the theater she founded – Artistic Directors, Yaki Mechrez (former) and Gil Chernovitch (current) and General Director Ran Gwetta, and gave special thanks to Micky Yerushalmi for renaming the children’s theater in her honor, on the occasion of the theater’s 40th anniversary last year.
The 2010 – 2011 Stage Awards for Children and Youth were presented on August 22, 2011 at the Givatayim Theatre. The ceremony was written and directed by Dana Dvorin, with musical direction and arrangements by Amir Peri and Ben Zaidman. Israeli Minister of Culture and Sport Limor Livnat commended all those engaged creating quality theatre for young audiences, and Israel Assitej President Razi Amitai delivered his greetings. Host Yuval Stunis opened with a sweetly magical children’s song – “If I Could be a Magician” and accompanied by the cheerful energies of real children onstage, Stunis set the tone for a fun, light-hearted evening. A zippy pace and comic scenes introduced each award, making sure that the audience had a good time.
Awards were presented in the following categories:
Puppet and Prop Design: Einat Schlesinger and Ella Kolsenik for Aladdin and the Magic Lamp, Orna Porat Theater for Children and Youth and Inbal Dance Theatre.
Lighting Design: Ziv Volshin for Orna’s Magic, Orna Porat Theater for Children and Youth.
Set Design: Sasha Lisensky for Orna’s Magic, Orna Porat Theater for Children and Youth.
Costume Design: Liron Gat and Adam Keller for Something Wonderful is Going to Happen, Orna Porat Theater for Children and Youth.
Choreography: Galia Fradkin for Something Wonderful is Going to Happen, Orna Porat Theater for Children and Youth.
Composition/Arrangements: Ran Bagno for Orna’s Magic, Orna Porat Theater for Children and Youth.
Best Actor in a Supporting Role: Emmanuel Hanoun for Orna’s Magic, Orna Porat Theater for Children and Youth.
Best Actress in a Supporting Role: Merav Shirom for Orna’s Magic, Orna Porat Theater for Children and Youth.
Best Actor: Shir Shinar for The World According to Alon, the Israeli Children and Youth Social Theatre and the Haifa International Children’s Theatre Festival.
Best Actress: Noa Biron for Orna’s Magic, Orna Porat Theater for Children and Youth.
Best Author (play or adaptation): Hagit Rechavi-Nikolayevsky for Orna’s Magic, Orna Porat Theater for Children and Youth.
Best Director: Rafi Niv for Orna’s Magic, Orna Porat Theater for Children and Youth.
Best Interdisciplinary Play: Hana’s Suitcase, Nephesh Theatre.
Best Play for Children: Orna’s Magic, Orna Porat Theater for Children and Youth.
Best Play for Youth: Double Ora (Ora Hakfoola) based on Erich Kästner’s classic, Holon Mediatheque and National Theatre for Children and Youth.
Itamar Gourvitch is the Director of the Stage Awards for Children and Youth, members of the Board of the Directors are: Avigail Shemer, Hanoch Reim, Anat Messner and Ran Guetta. Galit Bersky coordinated the judges panel, whose members are: Orly Adiri, Bracha Zemach, Gideon Shirin, Yoav Liphshitz, Michal Bloomenfeld, Nira Paz, Ravid Davra, Rimona Lapin and Rani Sa’ar, with Arieh Hanan as supervisor of the voting process. The ceremony was sponsored by the Ministry of Culture and Sport, the Israeli Council for Culture and Art, Givatayim Theatre and Sal Tarbut Artzi.
