It was one of the most confronting productions seen in the Highlands in years.
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But The Vagina Monologues proved to be yet another winner for Pigs Fly Productions after its cast won Best Ensemble in a Play at the Canberra Area Theatre (CAT) awards on Saturday night.
It was the only Highlands winner on the night.
Pigs Fly Productions president, Lou Vella, said the group was thrilled with the win.
“To have 11 Highlands actors recognised with the Canberra Area Theatre (CAT) awards Best Ensemble in a Play award is just amazing. These 11 women explored serious issues and brought to life, on stage, the stories of the real women who gave Eve Ensler her material in the first place,” he said.
“Being alone on stage and holding the audience’s attention is not an easy task, and these women did it with an almost professional level of skill and talent. Our director, Fiona Jowett, is also to be commended for her vision to bring this fearless piece of theatre to the Southern Highlands and for guiding her cast to such excellence.”
The production also received a CAT commendation for its support of White Ribbon Australia and for successfully presenting a rarely done and challenging piece of theatre, and achieving high production and performance standards.
Over the past few years, the company has had 16 CAT nominations and won three awards across the four shows it has produced.
Mr Vella credited the group’s ongoing success with one simple formula.
“We strive for quality and aim to build a theatre family, a place where people come to share their skills and talents to bring productions of a very high standard to and for the people of the Southern Highlands and beyond.”
He said there were great things planned for 2019 and 2020 and if the team has learnt anything since their first show in 2014, it is that life is full of possibilities”.
The Vagina Monologues was also nominated for Best Director of a Play (Fiona Jowett) and Best Production of a Play.
From the Highlands there were 20 nominations across several different productions.
2017 CAT nominations:
- Best Costumes for a Play: Ron Russell, Blackadder On 4 Young and Old
- Best Costumes for a Musical or Variety Show: Hope Disher, Into the Woods, New and Used Productions
- Best Costumes for a School or Youth Production: Ann Philippe, Joanne Crowe and Denise Hiser, The Mikado, Chevalier College
- John Thomson Magic Moment of Theatre: Wink from Rapunzel’s Prince, Into the Woods, New and Used Productions
- Best Ensemble in a Play: the vocal ensemble, Stories in the Dark, Oxley College and the cast, The Vagina Monologues, Pigs Fly Productions
- Best Youth Actor in a Featured Role in a Play: Cedric Hely as father in The Book of Everything, Oxley College
- Best Youth Actor in a Featured Role in a Musical: Nick Bermingham as The Mikado in The Mikado, Chevalier College
- Best Youth Actress in Featured Role in a Play: Ella Moran as Margot in The Book of Everything, Oxley College and Freya Kenay as Mother in The Book of Everything, Oxley College
- Best Youth Actor in a Leading Role in a Play: Ben Canute as Tomas in Act 2 of Stories in the Dark, Oxley College and Mitchell Latham as Thomas in The Book of Everything, Oxley College
- Best Youth Actress in a Leading Role in a Play: Sienna Knowles as Anna in Act 1 of Stories in the Dark, Oxley College and Eva Mackevicius as Anna in Act 2 of Stories in the Dark, Oxley College
- Best Actor in a Leading Role in a Play: Michael Turczynski as Edmund Blackadder in Blackadder, On 4 Young and Old
- Best Musical Director for a School or Youth Production: Kate Cunich, Stories in the Dark, Oxley College
- Best Director of a School or Youth Play: Phil Cunich for Stories in the Dark and The Book of Everything, Oxley College
- Best Director of a Play: Fiona Jowett, The Vagina Monologues, Pigs Fly Productions
- Best Production of a School or Youth Play: The Book of Everything, Oxley College
- Best Production of a Play: The Vagina Monologues, Pigs Fly Productions