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Centrestage Youth Theatre has won an Excellence In Drama award at the national Junior Theatre Festival held in Auckland recently.
Youth theatre companies from all around Aotearoa presented a portion of a Broadway show to be adjudicated by an international panel of industry professionals from New York and Europe.
Centrestage Youth presented a shortened version of Mary Poppins Jr, which had played to full houses during last month’s school holidays.
The show was directed by Anna Mortlock, along with Annelie Maddock, who directed the singing.
Reflecting on the win, Mortlock said the Coast had a huge pool of youth talent.
“It’s a real privilege to be able to work with these young people and see them develop their skills and confidence on stage,” she said.
There were also individual awards given out on the night by Rebekkah Schoonbeek-Berridge and Stuart Hendricks, from Musical Theatre International Australian, for Outstanding Performers.
Centrestage Youth Theatre again punched above its weight to receive two of these awards.
Outstanding Male Performer went to Asher Whitehead, who played Michael Banks, and Outstanding Female Performer went to Tova Maddock, as Mary Poppins.
Whitehead said the junior theatre festival was “an amazing experience”.
“It gave us all an incredible opportunity to learn from the best directors and make new friends from around the country,” he said.
The Junior Youth Theatre Festival is an annual event, produced by Emma Bishop (StageAntics) and Mark Bradley.
The next junior show will be Madagascar Jr next July, with auditions early next year. The senior show will be Be More Chill, which runs from April 29 to May 7. Again, auditions will be held early in the new year.
Anyone interested in auditioning should join the Centrestage Facebook page for regular updates and audition dates.
