Peter Fernandes will host the
45th Anniversary Dora Mavor Moore Awards
presented by the Romano D’Andrea Foundation
Monday, June 30 at Meridian Hall in Toronto
Plus: TAPA Announces Calendar of 2025 Awards and Events
Toronto, ON (March 27, 2025) – The Toronto Alliance for the Performing Arts (TAPA) today announced that the 45th Anniversary Dora Mavor Moore Awards presented by the Romano D’Andrea Foundation will be held Monday, June 30 at Toronto’s Meridian Hall (1 Front Street East). The show will be hosted by one of Canadian theatre’s busiest and beloved actors, Peter Fernandes. A Dora Award-winning artist most recently celebrated for his role as Juicy in James Ijames’s Fat Ham at Canadian Stage, Peter is well known for his broad range of skill across roles and theatrical genres. This will be his first time hosting the Dora Awards.
Says Fernandes: “It’s a huge honour to be hosting the forty-fifth Anniversary Dora Mavor Moore Awards! I was so thrilled when I got the call that I said yes almost immediately—and have spent every second since anxiously pacing around my house, wondering what I’ve gotten myself into. But the truth is, theatre is what gave younger me a community. It gave me space to be big, bold, unsure and joyful, and surrounded me with people doing the same. Hosting a night that celebrates the community that welcomed me feels incredibly special. So, am I terrified? Yes. But mostly, I can’t wait!”
The Dora Awards, Canada’s largest and oldest awards program, celebrates the incredible talent within Toronto’s professional theatre, dance, and opera communities. The 45th anniversary celebration will include 43 gender-inclusive award categories across seven divisions to honour the remarkable artistry of the 2024-2025 season. Learn more at tapa.ca/doras.
“Toronto’s artists are the heartbeat of our city, telling bold stories that inspire, challenge, and unite us,” says annemieke wade, Executive Director of TAPA. “We’re proud to announce our awards venue partnership on World Theatre Day, a day on which we all celebrate the power of theatre to spark conversation, foster empathy, and transform communities—here at home and beyond.”
The 2025 Dora Awards ceremony in June will be produced by multi-Dora Award-winning creator Victor Pokinko, Executive Producer of Bad Hats Theatre, and directed for the third year in row by Herbie Barnes, Artistic Director of Young People’s Theatre. Making her Dora Award debut as this year’s scriptwriter is liza paul: writer and Associate Artistic Director of The Theatre Centre. The team also includes Kelly Read (Production Manager), Anne-Marie Krytiuk (Associate Producer), and David Taylor (Art Director).
“For years, the Dora Mavor Moore Awards have been career-defining landmarks for artists in our city, and I’m honoured to continue the legacy for the forty-fifth anniversary,” shares Victor Pokinko, Producer, Dora Awards. This year is especially exciting as we welcome new artists to the Dora Awards team, infusing new energy into a robust tradition of artistic excellence. This year’s Awards are designed to be the performing arts event of the year and an opportunity for everyone connected to the arts to celebrate together: artists, audiences, and patrons alike. I can’t wait to see the community fill Meridian Hall.”
Nominations for the 45th Anniversary Dora Mavor Moore Awards presented by the Romano D’Andrea Foundation will be announced on May 28, 2025, at 10 a.m. in the Richard Bradshaw Amphitheatre at the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts. This year’s eligible nominated shows and artists will be drawn from over 150 unique productions presented from May 2024 to May 2025. Tickets to the celebration on June 30 will go on sale on May 28 at 11:30 a.m.
The Dora Awards are peer-nominated by respected members of Toronto’s professional performing arts community. Jurors include performers, designers, directors, producers, administrators, arts educators and more, representing a spectrum of ages, gender identities, sexualities, experience, training, cultural and ethnic backgrounds, and company affiliations.
45th Anniversary Dora Mavor Moore Awards presented by the Romano D’Andrea Foundation Events and Dates
May 28, 2025
NOMINATIONS ANNOUNCEMENT
10 a.m. ET at the Richard Bradshaw Amphitheatre
Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts, 145 Queen St. W.
A complete list of the 2025 nominations will be available at www.tapa.ca/doras immediately following the announcement. The 2025 press conference will also announce recipients of the following:
- The Pauline McGibbon Award, for an Ontario resident professional artist (in 2025, a craftsperson will be honoured) in the early stages of their career.
- The Leonard McHardy and John Harvey Award, a bi-annual award recognizing the important work of theatre, dance and opera administrators, and its protégé prize the Victor C. Polley Award.
- The Christine Karcza Disability Leadership Award, a bi-annual award administered by TAPA and presented to an individual who identifies as d/Deaf, Mad or d/Disabled and has demonstrated the advancement of accessibility initiatives in the arts.
- The Ray Ferris Innovation and Sustainability Grant, a $25,000 annual grant to recognize advances in theatrical design and the promotion of environmental sustainability in live theatre.
Voting will also open for the Jon Kaplan Audience Choice Award sponsored by Now Toronto, here. Voting starts at 11:30 a.m. ET on May 28, and will be open until Monday, June 23.
Monday, June 30, 2025
The 45th Anniversary Dora Mavor Moore Awards presented by the Romano D’Andrea Foundation CEREMONY AND AWARD PRESENTATION Hosted by Peter Fernandes, featuring special guests and VIP presenters, the event will start at 7:30 p.m. ET and will acknowledge the recipients of 43 award categories across seven distinct divisions, as well as the Jon Kaplan Audience Choice Award winner, and the Silver Ticket Award for an individual who has made an outstanding contribution to the stage in the Toronto area. The Dora Awards After-Party will be held at Meridian Hall immediately after the awards ceremony, with live music, entertainment, food, and a cash bar.
For additional information on the 45th Anniversary Dora Mavor Moore Awards presented by the Romano D’Andrea Foundation, please visit tapa.ca/doras.
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About Peter Fernandes: Peter Fernandes was born in Bahrain, raised in Edmonton, and now calls Toronto home. Recent Credits include: FAT HAM (Canadian Stage), One Man Two Guvnors, The Importance of Being Earnest, Damn Yankees, Charley’s Aunt, A Christmas Carol, The Russian Play, Brigadoon (Shaw Festival); The Bidding War, The Master Plan and Fifteen Dogs (Crow’s Theatre); Almost a Full Moon, Peter and the Starcatcher (Citadel); Rose, Father Comes Home From the Wars, Alligator Pie (Canadian Tour), Incident at Vichy, The Just, Marat/Sade, The Dybbuk, Spoon River, Tartuffe, The Crucible, Idiot’s Delight (Soulpepper); Vietgone (RMTC); Romeo and Juliet, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Love and Information, Twelfth Night, King Lear (Canadian Stage); Jerusalem (Outside the March/Company Theatre); You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown! (MTYP); Onegin (NAC/Musical Stage); Passing Strange (Musical Stage/Obsidian); Evil Dead: The Musical (Hit & Myth/Ground Zero). FILM/TV: God of Frogs, 21 Black Futures, Pretty Hard Cases, Odd Squad. TRAINING: BFA, University of Alberta; Soulpepper Academy. AWARDS: Dora Award – Outstanding Performer in a Featured Role for Rose (2019 – Soulpepper Theatre).
About the Dora Mavor Moore Awards
The Doras are named for Dora Mavor Moore (1888-1979), a well-loved teacher and director who helped establish Canadian professional theatre in the 1930s and 1940s. Recognizing the outstanding achievements in Toronto’s performing arts industry, the Doras honour the creators of numerous theatre, dance and opera productions annually in the following divisions: General Theatre, Independent Theatre, Musical Theatre, Dance, Opera, Theatre for Young Audiences, Touring and Innovation.
The Dora Awards are administered by the Toronto Alliance for the Performing Arts (TAPA). In addition to the Doras, other programs and services provided by TAPA include: Annual Arts Week at the City, hipTIX (offering $10 tickets to students between the ages of 14 and 29), TAPA RBC Emerging Artists Mentorship Program (TREAM), and the professional development TAPA Trade Series.
For images of past Dora Awards, please click here.
For Media Requests:
Katie Saunoris | KSPR
To request media credentials for Dora events, please email Katie Saunoris.