The ’50s are known for Hollywood glamour, rock ’n’ roll and the golden era of television. This is what Trumptown Productions, a group of six radio and television arts (RTA) students at Ryerson, is trying to bring back for the 35th annual Television And Radio Awards (TARAs).

The awards ceremony mimics Hollywood’s best awards shows, including the well renowned Academy Awards and the Golden Globes, which was last hosted by comedians Tina Fey and Amy Poehler.

The RTA students have brought in comedian Megan MacKay, who is inspired by Fey, to host the event alongside Alex Tomaszewski, who counters MacKay like Poehler did Fey.

“One of (MacKay’s) largest inspirations is Tina Fey,” says Jacob Morris, co-executive producer and financial director. “We were joking throughout the process of picking a co-host that we were looking for her Amy Poehler, and we found Amy Poehler in Alex Tomaszewski. We’re really excited about how the pair is going to come off on stage.”

But as Kyle Anderson, the group’s executive set designer and art director, says, even with all of the similarities to the award shows we see on TV, the TARAs will still be original.

“Even though we are modelling it after the Academy Awards ... we’re still going to put our own creative and unique spin on it,” he says. “This is RTA’s special night and we want to make sure that it’s one that they’ve never seen before and they never will forget.”

 It’s the 35th year of the TARAs and it’s also the 65th anniversary of the RTA program at Ryerson.

“The program started in 1948,” says Char Loro, co-executive producer and project manager for the TARAs. The program became popular a few years later, “So we wanted to commemorate the ’50s, the decade in which (the program) started (to grow).”

The awards night will also feature special celebrity guests, including CTV’s Marilyn Denis, CBC’s Dwight Drummond, Degrassi star Shannon Kook, and Kenny vs. Spenny star Kenny Hotz. Some other guests will include former RTA students.  

The TARAs entries are judged by a panel made up of RTA professors and instructors.
Entries are rated on a scale of 1 (poor) to 5 (exceptional) and only those that receive 3.5 or higher are nominated. From there, the project with the highest score wins the category. Categories include Best First-Year Production, Best Documentary, Best Art Direction and Best Music Recording.

The show will take place Friday, April 5 at the St. Lawrence Centre for the Arts.