2026 THA Musical Award Finalists
The 7 Fires: A New Musical
Book by Dillan Meighan Chiblow, Music by Landon Doak, Lyrics by Landon Doak with Dillan Meighan Chiblow (ON)
Laws within the Indian Act are being reinstated. 7 Ancestors conduct a ceremony to put the 7 Fires prophecy to sleep in hopes that, in the future, the Fires will reawaken and light the final fire, the fire of peace. Generations later… Deep in the woods; 7 strangers are on the run. They were at a Rebel gathering that was raided by Indian Agents. It is illegal for them to be off their reservations. It will be dark in a few hours. They decide it’d be safer to stay the night than wander the woods in the dark. As they set up for the night, they share what little knowledge of their Ancestors has survived over the years since the Outlawing. As they sleep, their Ancestors appear to them in dreams. Something in them is starting to awaken. A prophecy of reclamation, resistance, reconnection, and the power of Indigenous peoples.
Dillan Meighan Chiblow (he/they) is an Ojibwe storyteller from Garden River First Nation. He first trained at Sheridan’s Musical Theatre program and holds a Masters degree in Musical Theatre Performance from The Royal Conservatoire of Scotland. Dillan was the Syd & Shirley Banks prize recipient (2020) and a of the recipients of the Musical Stage Company’s Aubry Dan Fund for new musicals for The 7 Fires: A New Musical, where Dillan is the book writer. The 7 Fires was also selected for further development at the National Center For New Musicals. He was nominated for a Dora award for Outstanding performance by an Individual for his portrait of Hummingbird in the world premiere of Bentboy at YPT in Toronto. Dillan has a passion for telling his peoples/Indigenous stories from Turtle Island, whether that be in film/tv or Indigenizing the Musical Theatre industry!
Landon Doak (they/them) is a Dora award-winning actor and composer. Throughout their career, they have been fortunate enough to work with the Stratford Festival, The Blyth Festival, The Shaw Festival, Canadian Stage, Soulpepper, Factory Theatre, Musical Stage, and featured in the DC Superhero film, Shazam! and in Murdoch Mysteries. They are the Artistic Associate of Bad Hats Theatre, and their composition work for Peter Pan, Alice in Wonderland, and Life in a Box have all received Dora awards and nominations. They would like to thank their parents, the Bad Hats, and the Talent House for their ongoing support.
Way Out There
Book by Sara Farb, Music and Lyrics by Anton Lipovetsky
In 1989, White Rock, BC, resident Mitchell Drumel mysteriously disappeared without a trace, leaving his wife and his kids, Megan and Jason, reeling and confused. Seven years later, Jason and Megan hear an obscure radio show that suggests their dad disappeared through a portal in the white rock. Megan is certain this is a baseless conspiracy theory, and though she tries to convince her brother of its absurdity, Jason is committed to proving its truth. Then, he disappears. Overwhelmed with anger, guilt, and grief, Megan makes it her mission to find Jason. As she tries to make sense of the clues her brother left, she starts to realize that maybe this crazy rock portal theory isn’t the conspiracy she thought it was.
Sara Farb‘s original musical Kelly v. Kelly, written with Britta Johnson, made its world premiere in Toronto with Musical Stage and Canadian Stage, where it was nominated for many Dora Awards and won the Tom Hendry award for Outstanding New Musical in 2020. Sara and Britta’s short musical, He Is Coming (Musical Stage/AGO) received a Dora nomination for best new musical. This year, two of her shows will premiere: Way Out There, an original musical with Anton Lipovetsky (music and lyrics) at YES! Theatre in Sudbury, and Love Us Most, a new play, at Here For Now Theatre in Stratford. Her one-woman play R-E-B-E-C-C-A premiered at Theatre Passe Muraille in 2015. She is currently working on a new musical with Aaron Jensen (music and lyrics) called Creature.
Anton Lipovetsky is a Vancouver-based composer, lyricist, sound designer, and performer. From 2020–2023, he was a featured composer at Toronto’s Musical Stage Company as part of their Crescendo Series. His musical Blackout (co-written with Steven Gallagher) premiered at Canadian Stage High Park Amphitheatre and was showcased at the NAMT 2022 Annual Festival of New Musicals in New York City. Other commissioned musicals include Cowboy Tempest Cabaret (Musical Stage Company), This Is It (Nashville Children’s Theatre), Joseph Jacket Multi-Mask (Sheridan), Elbow Room Café (ZeeZee Theatre), and the upcoming Beware the Glunkus (Arts Club Theatre) and Way Out There (Yes Theatre). Anton has been nominated three times by the Playwrights Guild of Canada for his work on new musicals. He has won two Jessie Richardson Awards, four Ovation Awards, and a Vancouver Mayor’s Arts Award for Emerging Theatre Artist.
On Native Land
Book, music & lyrics by Corey Payette (BC)
On Native Land is a contemporary musical set where past and present collide. Guided by Land, a two-spirit trickster, storyteller, and witness, the story follows three interconnected lives: Blood, a rising Indigenous pop star grappling with public scrutiny over his identity; Rielle, a lawyer fighting a high-stakes land claim case; and Chief, a leader whose personal decisions threaten to undermine her Nation’s hard-won victory. As media controversy, courtroom battles, and a cross-cultural love story unfold, each must confront the weight of colonization, community expectation, and the question: How Native are you? Intimate and political, epic and deeply personal, On Native Land is a sweeping story of identity, belonging, and reclamation; reminding us that the land remembers, even when we forget.
Corey Payette is an interdisciplinary storyteller, writer, composer, singer, hand drummer, and director in music, theatre, and film. He is Anishinaabe (Mattagami First Nations), with French Canadian and Irish ancestry. He is the Artistic Director of Urban Ink, founding Artistic Director of Raven Theatre, and past artist-in-residence with English Theatre at the National Arts Centre. His musicals Children of God, Les Filles du Roi, Sedna, and Starwalker have won multiple awards and been shared across Canada and those musical albums are available to stream and purchase online. As a filmmaker, he’s adapted Les Filles du Roi (2023) and Starwalker (2025) into musical feature films that have screened at over 25 film festivals around the world and won multiple awards. His next musical Monarch has been commissioned by the Stratford Festival, he’s adapting Children of God into a feature film, and is composing his first full-length symphony commissioned by the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra. He’s also performed his music in concerts around the world, most notably with the National Arts Centre Orchestra and at Carnegie Hall in New York City. He is the recipient of the John Hirsch Prize for Direction (Canada Council), 3 Ovation Awards, 2 Jessie Awards, a Leo Award, and the inaugural BC Award for Reconciliation. coreypayette.com
Special thanks to the Musical Award Peer Assessment Panelists: Leah Simone Bowen, Allen Cole, Lisa Rubin.