MEMBERS of Ballarat National Theatre are celebrating this year\u2019s program with centre stage wins in the 2023 Victorian Drama League Awards.<\/p>\n
During a presentation event earlier this month, the team walked away with five wins and eight nominations.<\/p>\n
Despite being Ballarat\u2019s longest-running theatre company, president Liana Emmerson said it\u2019s the greatest number of accolades the group has received in a single year.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t think this has ever happened before, certainly not with the VDLs which have been around for 26 years,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve gotten some really good results with nominations before but this was 13 categories for us which is pretty incredible.\u201d<\/p>\n
Emmerson said the awards were a recognition of the quality of Ballarat\u2019s amateur theatre output.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe had other companies coming up to us after the show saying, \u2018We\u2019ll have to get out to Ballarat\u2019 which I felt was really exciting,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe visibility it gave us was pretty incredible.\u201d<\/p>\n
The basis of BNT\u2019s accolades was around their rendition of Terry Pratchett’s Wyrd Sisters, which ran eight times at Woodmans Hill Performing Arts Centre in September and October.<\/p>\n
The play was tied with Torquay Theatre\u2019s production of Tartuffe for Best Production (Comedy), while Emmerson received the gold and silver nods for Best Director (Comedy), Best Set Design for a Drama or Comedy respectively.<\/p>\n
BNT member Charlie Hughes earned a silver for their sound design while Mathew Heenan and Tayla Harbour were nominated for best lighting, and Shell Pryor was acknowledged for prop design.<\/p>\n
Acting nominees included Ruby Penhall and Reuben Morgan for their supporting roles, as well as Joe Appleton who had a lead part.<\/p>\n
Jack Brown and James Wait were both nominated for Best Actor Minor Role (Comedy), with company colleague Barry Kay taking the win.<\/p>\n
Kay\u2019s role in the production as Vitoller and Death marked his major return to staged theatre productions after 25 years as an actor at Sovereign Hill.<\/p>\n
A performer for about four decades, he said his achievement is due to the troupe\u2019s combined efforts.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was just great to be part of a team again after being away for so long, and the cast were fantastic,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s what drew me to theatre in the first place. It\u2019s this collaborative artform where a bunch of people come together to tell one story.<\/p>\n
\u201cEveryone has their part to play and hopefully you\u2019re pulling in the same direction.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
MEMBERS of Ballarat National Theatre are celebrating this year\u2019s program with centre stage wins in the 2023 Victorian Drama League Awards. During a presentation event earlier this month, the team walked away with five wins and eight nominations. Despite being Ballarat\u2019s longest-running theatre company, president Liana Emmerson said it\u2019s the greatest number of accolades the […]<\/p>\n