Cast, crew efforts recognised

Most of the cast and crew of  The Sound of Music, staged by Showbiz Queenstown at the Queenstown...
Most of the cast and crew of The Sound of Music, staged by Showbiz Queenstown at the Queenstown Memorial Hall from May 17 to 26. Photo by Geoff Patterson.
Awards recognising cast and crew contributions to Showbiz Queenstown's production of The Sound of Music were presented after the final show on Saturday and next year's production is already in the works.

Lisa Moore, who lit up the stage as Maria, was selected by director Bryan Aitken to receive the Alan Cheak Memorial Trophy for displaying the most personal development during rehearsals.

Assistant director and stage manager Marty Newell was chosen by Aitken to receive the Scooter Reid Memorial Crew Excellence Award for his technical skill, good spirit, commitment and attitude. Along with the trophy, Newell took home late community stalwart Glenn "Scooter" Reid's tool box for a year.

Chris Parvin, who co-starred as Captain Georg von Trapp, won the Kenny Maurice Memorial Award, awarded to the cast member who made the most positive contribution to the overall good spirit of the show and based on a vote by the cast.

Helen Bird, who played the role of Sister Berthe, was presented with the Showbiz Queenstown Douglas Kamo Scholarship of $500 to help advance her musical theatre career. Bird has performed in every Showbiz production since Chess in 2005.

Head mechanist Jim Gibson was recognised by Showbiz president Alex Derbie with the President's Pick for choreographing set movements.

Jonty Climo, one of two actors who played Kurt von Trapp, was given the Hoofer's Award on Aitken's recommendation for making the most personal growth and contributing the most as a dancer.

Samuel Farr won the Committee Award for his significant contribution to the show, specifically for looking after the children, making sure they had the right costumes on, had the correct props and were in the right places for their entrances.

Derbie told the Queenstown Times the awards recognised those who "excelled even beyond their own expectations and it's a thank you, really, from the society".

The president said The Sound of Music had been one of the Showbiz Queenstown's most successful shows in terms of attendance and staging.

He ranked it as highly as Les Miserables (2009) and Grease (2008).

"I think it's appealed to a very wide cross section of the community.

"It's been popular with children from 5 upwards, but also with older people and the male audience, who may have experienced the film version, but not the story in the more intimate aspect of the theatre."

Patrons praised the quality of the singing and acting, particularly the songs in Latin the "nuns" sang a cappella, he said.

Gibson, his team of scenery shifters and the scaffolding they erected to extend the wing of the hall to accommodate the large abbey cloisters set were all applauded by Derbie.

He also was delighted to see the pleasure on the faces of family and friends of the two sets of von Trapp children, many of whom travelled from around the South to see them perform and attended every show.

An advertisement in The Sound of Music programme revealed the next production by Showbiz Queenstown would be Chicago, to be staged in May 2013.

"We've been chasing the performance rights for Chicago for many years, but we've paid our deposit now and we're seeking expressions of interest for director, musical director and choreographer," Derbie said.

"It's going to be a major challenge, but something the cast of The Sound of Music and others are really looking forward to.

"One girl said she better start training to wear the fishnet tights."

 

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