Season 2015 - Oliver!
MUSIC THEATRE GUILD OF VICTORIA AWARDS
Our 2015 production of Oliver! was recognised at the 2015 MTGV awards with nominations
for awards in the categories below. At the awards evening On December 12, we were delighted
to win our first ever Guild Awards in the categories of:
Choreography for a Junior Production
and
Junior Production of the Year
There were 49 competing junior companies from across the state in 2015.
FULL LIST OF NOMINEES:
Junior Production of the Year: Oliver! - Ringwood SC (won category)
Junior Female in a Leading Role: Natalie Leitner (Nancy)
Junior Male in a Leading Role: Matthew Nichol (Fagin)
Choreography for a Junior Production: Kate Tanner & Gaynor Borlase (won category)
Musical Direction of a Junior Production: Lachlan Mackay
Direction of a Junior Production: Ben Moody
Special mention also to theSellers' Quartet, who were invited to perform at the Awards Ceremony and did a spectacular job. Full details of the Guild and its award ceremony can be found on theMTGV website.
LYREBIRD AWARD NOMINATIONS
Best Sound:Corey Lucas-Evans
Best Costume:Denise Rash
Best Set:Kevin Lewis
Best Ensemble: Oliver! - Ringwood SC
Highly Commended Performance:Sam Clarke (Mr Bumble)
Best Supporting Actress: Leah Nichol (Widow Corney)
Best Supporting Actor: Coleman Shook (Dodger)
Best Actress:Tab Killick (Nancy)
Best Actor:Finn O'Shaughnessy (Oliver) and Matthew Nichol (Fagin)
Best Choreographer:Kate Tanner & Gaynor Borlase (won category)
Best Musical Director: Lachlan Mackay
Best Production:Oliver! - Ringwood SC
A Judge's Award was also awarded to the street-sellers quartet in Ringwood SC's Oliver! for an outstanding performance.
Congratulations also to Stage Manager,Kaitlyn Walker, who was awarded the inaugural Rising Star Technical Award.
Winners in each category will be announced at the awards ceremony on Sunday December 13 at the Karralyka Centre. You can see if we were successful in winning any awards by accessing the Lyrebird website.
SEASON REVIEW
For the fifth time in Ringwood’s history, audiences were delighted with our staging of Lionel Bart’s classic musical, Oliver! in August.
By any measure, the season was incredibly successful. We moved a record number of tickets, with all seven performances fully sold prior to opening night. This represented nearly 2200 patrons in total. At the time of writing, we were looking forward to performing an excerpt from the show at the 2015 Awards Ceremony of the Victorian Music Theatre Guild, a testament to the continuing strength of the Production machine at the school.
Indeed, “machine” was the word in 2015, with a unique steampunk-inspired production design that permeated all aspects of the show. In a genuine team effort, the performances of the cast and orchestra were complemented with equal force by stunning design efforts in costume, stage construction, props and makeup. From the thunderous and unexpected opening crunch of the guitar, through to the intricate detail of the face decals on the cast, this was truly a display that subverted expectations.
For the first time, we experimented with two discrete principal casts. As always, this doubled the opportunities for our students to experience a lead role and each actor rose to the occasion with distinction. Beyond the leads, the additional junior chorus increased the total cast size to an imposing 91, complete with both a junior and senior dance troupe.
Continuing the long tradition, student involvement beyond the cast was also extensive, with key roles in orchestra, sound, lighting, staging and makeup being undertaken by students from Years 7 right through to 12.
Higlights were many, but there were a couple of standouts that are worthy of mention. Firstly, the costume design and manufacture, spearheaded once again by our extraordinary team of parent helpers, was innovative and lateral in its conception. Secondly, the centrepiece of the set was an 8 metre, bespoke manufactured revolve that served as the central “cog” that tied the entire design together.
PHOTOS OF OLIVER!
We thank you for joining us in record numbers for another spectaular season of the Ringwood Production. Enjoy some of our photographic highlights below. Credit for photography: Peter King and John Nichol.