The Butaca Theater Awards of Catalonia (full Catalan name: Premis Butaca de teatre de Catalunya, short form: Butaca Awards, i.e. Premis Butaca) are annual theater awards judged by popular vote existing since 1995 in Catalonia to reward those who have made valuable contributions to Catalan theater.

Butaca Awards
Premis Butaca
Awarded forValuable contributions to Catalan theater.
LocationSeveral cities
CountryCatalonia
First awarded1995
Last awarded2011
Websitehttp://www.premisbutaca.cat

Spirit, Aims and Inner Workings

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They were designed as the first awards granted by popular vote and as such, are exclusively the product of audience votes. The idea was to create awards that were direct and honest, unfettered by manipulation by interested parties. They also aimed to legitimate the audience's opinion.[1] Any productions (in any language) debuting in Catalonia are eligible. These awards are considered very prestigious in Catalonia.[2]

There are currently (in 2016) 19 categories for the award.[3]

The nominations are done by a committee of people who have neither direct nor indirect connections to the world of theater and have to have attended at least 36 productions during the season.[4]

History

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The Butaca Awards were created by initiative of the Radio program called "Des de la butaca" (From the butaca, where butaca refers to a seat in a theater), on Ràdio Premià de Mar, a radio station from the coastal town of Premià de Mar.[5] Every three years, the awards ceremony takes place in Premià de Mar, but is otherwise itinerant.

Until 2010, they were called Premis Butaca de teatre i cinema de Catalunya (Butaca Theater and Film Awards of Catalonia) and, though they were mainly for theater, included awards for cinema as well (three categories, plus an honor award). They have since exclusively focused on theater. Also in 2010, two new categories emerged: Best Theater Production made in Spain and Best Foreign Production (performed in Catalonia during the season)[6][7] but were merged into one (Best Spanish or Foreign Production) in the 2012 edition.[8]

Past Ceremonies

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The following is a listing of a few editions of the Butaca Awards, though only indicating the winner of the Best Theater Production.

Edition Awards Ceremony Date Best Theater Production laureate Host(s) Venue
1st Butaca Awards 1995 Sweeney Todd
2nd Butaca Awards 1996 Pel davant i pel darrere
3rd Butaca Awards 1997 Àngels a Amèrica
4th Butaca Awards 1998 Paraules encadenades
5th Butaca Awards 1999 La reina de bellesa de Leenane
6th Butaca Awards 2000 La vida es sueño
7th Butaca Awards 2001 Titus Andrònic [9] Premià de Mar
8th Butaca Awards 2002 Escenes d'una execució [10] Premià de Mar
9th Butaca Awards 2003 Dissabte, diumenge i dilluns [11] Pavelló d'Esports Premià de Mar
10th Butaca Awards 2004 El mestre i Margarita [12] Pavelló d'Esports Premià de Mar
11th Butaca Awards 2005 Forasters [13] Pavelló d'Esports Premià de Mar
12th Butaca Awards 2006 Antígona [14] Viladecans
13th Butaca Awards 2007 Plataforma [15] Pavelló d'Esports Teresa Maria Roca, Mataró
14th Butaca Awards November 24, 2008 Germanes [16] Premià de Mar
15th Butaca Awards November 2, 2009 La casa de Bernarda Alba [17] Museu Marítim (Barcelona)
16th Butaca Awards November 30, 2010 El Ball [18][19] Glòria Cid, Toni Martin Artèria Paral·lel (Barcelona)
17th Butaca Awards November 22, 2011 Agost [20] Teatre Lliure (Barcelona)
18th Butaca Awards 2012 Incendis [21] Mercat de les Flors (Barcelona)
19th Butaca Awards 2013 Els feréstecs [22] Sala Tallers, Teatre Nacional de Catalunya

(Barcelona)

20th Butaca Awards 2014 L’Orfe del clan dels Zhao [23] Teatre Principal (Barcelona)
21st Butaca Awards 2015 El Rei Lear Espai Lliure, Teatre Lliure (Barcelona)
22nd Butaca Awards 2016 Dansa d’agost Teatre Apol·lo (Barcelona)
23rd Butaca Awards 2017 Mercat de les Flors (Barcelona)

References

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  1. ^ "Els Butaca" Archived 2016-04-06 at the Wayback Machine, blurb explaining the awards' history on the official website (in Catalan). Accessed 19 May 2016.
  2. ^ "Sinopsi de XV Premis Butaca de Teatre i Cinema de Catalunya" (Synopsis of the 15th Butaca Theater and Cinema Awards of Catalonia) Archived 2017-10-07 at the Wayback Machine, by Glòria Cid and Toni Martín, Teatral.net, revista digital d'arts escèniques, 2009 (in Catalan). Accessed 19 May 2016.
  3. ^ See official website.
  4. ^ "Vota" (Vote), official website (in Catalan). Accessed 19 May 2016.
  5. ^ "10è aniversari dels Premis Butaca de Teatre i Cinema de Catalunya" (10th Anniversary of the Butaca Theater and Cinema Awards of Catalonia), Premià de Mar City Council, 2 Nov. 2004 (in Catalan). Accessed 19 May 2016.
  6. ^ "16th Butaca Awards" (PDF) (in Catalan).
  7. ^ "Els XIV premis Butaca de teatre i cinema assoleixen un rècord de participació amb més de 7.000 votants" (The 14th Butaca Theater and Cinema Awards attain record participation with over 7000 voters), Corporació Catalana de Mitjans Audiovisuals, 17 Nov. 2008 (in Catalan). Accessed 19 May 2016.
  8. ^ "Edicions anteriors" (Previous Editions) Archived 2016-06-04 at the Wayback Machine, official website (in Catalan). Accessed 19 May 2016.
  9. ^ associats, Partal, Maresma i. "VilaWeb". VilaWeb.cat (in Catalan). Retrieved 2018-08-27.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  10. ^ associats, Partal, Maresma i. "VilaWeb". VilaWeb.cat (in Catalan). Retrieved 2018-08-27.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  11. ^ "Belbel arrasa als premis Butaca 2003". www.laxarxa.com. Retrieved 2018-08-27.
  12. ^ 324cat. "Rosa Maria Sardà i Ramon Madaula, escollits pel públic com els millors actors". CCMA (in Catalan). Retrieved 2018-08-27.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  13. ^ 324cat. ""Forasters", de Sergi Belbel, el gran triomfador dels Premis Butaca de Teatre i Cinema". CCMA (in Catalan). Retrieved 2018-08-27.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  14. ^ associats, Partal, Maresma i. "'Antígona', d'Oriol Broggi, millor muntatge i millor direcció dels Premis Butaca". VilaWeb.cat (in Catalan). Retrieved 2018-08-27.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  15. ^ associats, Partal, Maresma i. "'Plataforma', de Calixte Bieito, triomfadora dels Premis Butaca". VilaWeb.cat (in Catalan). Retrieved 2018-08-27.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  16. ^ "L'obra "Germanes" rep el Premi Butaca al millor muntatge teatral" (in Catalan). 324.cat.
  17. ^ "'La casa de Bernarda Alba', premi Butaca al millor espectacle teatral" (in Catalan). Archived from the original on 2012-08-04.
  18. ^ "16th Butaca Awards" (PDF) (in Catalan).
  19. ^ "16th Butaca Awards winners" (PDF) (in Catalan).
  20. ^ "Els Premis Butaca de Teatre premien 'Agost' i 'Coses que dèiem avui'" (in Catalan). Ara. 22 November 2011.
  21. ^ "'Incendis' i 'La vampira del Raval', estrelles dels Premis Butaca". Ara.cat (in Catalan). Retrieved 2018-08-27.
  22. ^ "'Els feréstecs', triomfadora dels Premis Butaca amb 5 guardons". Ara.cat (in Catalan). Retrieved 2018-08-27.
  23. ^ "'L'orfe del clan dels Zhao' fa el ple i s'endú sis estatuetes dels Premis Butaca". Ara.cat (in Catalan). Retrieved 2018-08-27.
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