Stage Door News
Stage Door News
[Mississauga ON, September 2013] The new Theatre Erindale season launched on Friday September 20th at the Erindale Studio Theatre with Awards for the top achievers of 2012-2013. The theme of this year’s play selection is “Uppity Women”: from the hysterical girls of Salem Massachusetts to Canadian feminist Doris Anderson to the authors of the three great comedies lined up for the winter, they’re all women who one way or another stepped ‘out of line’. And what could be more suitable for the students of the joint Sheridan-UTM actor-training program known as Theatre and Drama Studies?
Theatre students spend so much time working on productions and perfecting their craft that earning the money to get through the year financially is a challenge. Fortunately the Program has generous benefactors. These include the late Arthur Lindsay Fernie – responsible for a whole series of bursaries and scholarships; Professor Emeritus Roger Beck and Janet Beck – donors of three annual endowed awards; the Faculty of the program from both UTM and Sheridan; and the generous patrons of Theatre Erindale itself, whose donations to the scholarship fund provided a record number of bursaries this year.
The evening included a sumptuous pot luck dinner and exciting entertainment from some of the winners, including Mark Palinski, Brian Postalian, Chiamaka Ugwu, Courtney Keir, Kaitlyn Alexander, Victor Pokinko, Mercedes Morris, and Wes Payne, with Michael Barber at the piano.
Presented by UTM Chair Holger Syme, the Fernie Entrance Scholarships for top audition scores combined with the highest high school marks went to Emily Thorne of Timmins, Rachel VanDuzer of Hamilton, and Lauren Wolanski of Richmond Hill. Kyra Weichert of Ottawa and Nathaniel Voll of Kitchener won the Fernie Scholarships for first year, while Madeleine Brown of Peterborough and Jovan Kocic of Scarborough won for second year. Tops in both Acting and Academic work during the intensive third year of the program were three outstanding young artists: Bailey Green of Montreal, Victor Pokinko of Ottawa, and Brian Postalian of Scarborough.
Three Memorial Awards addressed unique achievements. The David Séguin Award for “a passion for the theatre” went to Sam Turner of Fergus; the Gina Smith Award for “a quirky and playful creative spirit and an understanding of the true nature of love” went to Jaime Hernandez Lujan of Brampton, and the Meg Young Award for “progress and personal growth” was split between Courtney Keir of Markham and Mark Palinski of Mississauga.
The Beck Awards are special recognitions of achievement both inside and outside the program, endowed and presented by Roger and Janet Beck. Two Janet Beck Awards went to U of T “best actor” winner Stuart Hefford of Hamilton and enchanting blues-singer Mercedes Morris of Scarborough, the Natasha Afrosimoff Award for all-round promise went to Hannah Vanden Boomen of London, and the Roger Beck prize for achievement both inside the program and beyond went to Toronto Fringe attention-getter Kaitlyn Alexander of Nepean.
Brittany Miranda’s rafter-shaking rendition of “Don’t Rain on My Parade” closed the evening with a suitably inspiring message!
All of the winners will be working on or appearing in Theatre Erindale’s “Uppity Women” season, which opens with Arthur Miller’s blockbuster classic The Crucible on Friday October 25th. Both memberships (get one show free!) and single tickets are now on sale. For tickets and further information, call the box office at 905-569-4369 or visit www.theatreerindale.com .
Photo: Winners and Donors of the Beck Awards: Mercedes Morris, Kaitlyn Alexander,
Professor Emeritus Roger Beck, Janet Beck, Stuart Hefford and Hannah Vanden Boomen. ©2013 Joe Taylor.
2013-09-24
Mississauga: Awards launch Theatre Erindale's new season