In 2015, Boston theatre pulled no punches. Historical legacies were questioned, minority voices cried louder, the talent of female theatre artists was not in question, and plenty of performers strutted their stuff in drag, across football fields, through time and space and gender, and over lines of chalk.

Don’t miss our 2015 Nominee Interview Series, featuring more than 75 exclusive interviews with our nominees and be sure to check out Awards Headquarters for the full list of this year’s winners, including the MyTV Awards, MyCinema Awards, and MyTheatre Awards in Toronto, London, and New York.

And now, we are proud to announce the winners of the 2015 MyTheatre (Boston) Awards:

Best Dramaturgical Notes

Kirsten Bowen, notes reprinted with permission for appropriate (SpeakEasy Stage Company)

Branden Jacobs-Jenkins plays shock and stimulate us, but they do so by drawing deeply from the theatre canon. Bowen’s notes on how appropriate’s legacy can be found in Miller, Williams, O’Neill, and other giants of American theatre really impacted my perception of the play and its staging.

Best Lighting Design

Stephen Petrilli, for Julius Caesar (Bridge Repertory Theatre)

The lighting in Bride Rep’s Julius Caesar is a character in its own right. Judicious spotlights and other tactics obviated the need for corpses left on stage, and allowed for swift scene changes on an uncluttered stage.

Best Scenic Design

Courtney Nelson, for Dry Land (Company One Theatre)

I could have sworn I smelled the faint scent of chlorine in the swimming pool locker room set of C1’s Dry Land. The Plaza Theatre black box was convincingly transformed into a Florida high school building, with tile floors, scuffed lockers, and painful fluorescent lighting.

Best Sound Design

Darby Smotherman, for Colossal (Company One Theatre)

Sound design for Colossal gave us football game buzzers, live crowds, a dance number, a live drumline, and a convincing sound mix conveying a video tape being rewound and played multiple times. Excellent.

Best Costume Design

Tyler Kinney, for appropriate (SpeakEasy Stage)

While there were many beautiful period costumes in several 2015 Boston plays, not many conveyed as much character as the modern-day choices in appropriate, full of type-A female workout clothes, skinny jeans, tennis shoes, and hippie garb.

Best Ensemble

Orlando (Bad Habit Productions)

The three gentlemen in Orlando (William Bowry, Tom Rash, and Noah Simes) played a variety of different characters (including Queen Elizabeth I) with as much elegance and power as the heeled boots they strode the stage in.

Best Actor

Alex Molina, for Colossal (Company One Theatre)

Molina’s performance as Young Mike in Colossal was gorgeous in his portrayal of athletic prowess and the joy of physical movement, and heart-breaking in his fall from future football fame and loss of possible private love.

Best Actress

Obehi Janice, for Fufu and Oreos (Bridge Repertory Theatre)

Obehi Janice revives the one-woman-show in Fufu and Oreos, portraying not only herself but everyone she encounters as a young Nigerian girl growing up in Lowell, Massachusetts.

Best Director

Jake Scaltreto, for Terra Nova (Flat Earth Theatre)

Scaltreto was the driving force behind this fabulous production. Everything came together beautifully in Terra Nova, and Scaltreto’s keen eye and clear understanding of and trust in his team paid off.

Best Production

Terra Nova (Flat Earth Theatre)

An affecting story, astonishing lighting and sound, strong cast performances, elegantly simple set and costumes…if there’s a flaw in Flat Earth’s Terra Nova, someone needs to point it out to me.