The Finleys - The Awards??

Sun, 20 Jan 2008, 11:45 am

I was at the Finley's last night, and being my first time I was curious to see the way it was presented, organised and also what actual awards were given. To start with I was appalled at the fact that a thread from this site had been mentioned, and MISQUOTED, at the beginning of the evening. There was no need for it to be brought up, if the Adjudicator's wanted to clear up the matter of their awards and the importance of them it could have been done in a round about way without directly alluding to the post which they obviously haven't read themselves as if they did they would have realised they had misquoted Paul Treasure who was actually defending the ITA, rather than them giving him a slap in the face! I found it completely unprofessional! Secondly I found it strange that there was an award for Best Director of A Play, and Best Musical Director, but NO Best Director of a Musical or Best Choreographer. Now I do realise that you can only have so many awards, but these are IMPORTANT ones! If you didn't have a choreographer for a Musical it would be pretty boring! I certainly don't want to see, for example, 42nd Street without any Tapping! I was told by someone there that apparently it is looked on as 'Musicals already get enough awards'!! What the? A musical is always going to get more than plays as they have more elements!! That is just the way it is! You have to acknowledge people! And a Director and a Musical Director and 2 COMPLETELY DIFFERENT THINGS. You can't put them in the same category as they do different things. Also the fact that Directors of Musicals were not acknowledged even in the 'Best Director' category, I think is insulting. There may be a lot of awards, but these are ones that are important! How do you think it would be received if the Tony's, Helpman's and Olivier Awards dropped these categories?? My other query was the award for 'Best Other than a Lead Actor/Actress' ummm.... hmmm.. shouldn't this be 'Best Supporting Actor/Actress'?? I did have an enjoyable evening and it was great to catch up with people and have a few drinks,and see excerpts from shows I had not seen. Here's to a great 2008 and I must give special mention to Eurobeat! You guys were FANTASTIC! I didn't get to see the show, but from what I saw last night WELL DONE! It was a high energy, polished, fabulous performance with great choreography and such huge talent! You Guys were my definate highlight!!

Thread (7 posts)

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MuSiCaLs_FaNSun, 20 Jan 2008, 11:45 am

Walter PlingeSun, 20 Jan 2008, 06:00 pm

in response.

Hello Musicals Fan. Firstly thank you for your comments about the Finley award night. I am glad you came along and hope that it will not be your last. I would normally not comment on this type of posting, however as you have made this an attack on me, I feel justified in doing so. You said I misquoted Paul Treasure in my comments. I certainly did not. In order to misquote someone, I have to quote them to start with. I did not quote anyone, I referred to the phrase " consolation prize" . That phrase is not owned by Paul or anyone else as far as I am aware. I did not quote Paul Treasure and therefore I cannot be accused of misquoting him. Secondly, you mentioned that there were no directors from musicals that were nominated for Best Director. I would like to draw your attention to Kimberley Shaw who was nominated for her direction of Eurobeat. Your comments about the title of the "Best other than lead" is purely a semantic one. If the award went to someone who was in a play but playing a smaller role, would people still consider them supporting? I think not, hence why the title of the award is what it is. However, I am positive that the ITA committee would be delighted to look at it should you wish to ask them to do so. The AGM is coming up and I hope you will be there to make such a comment. If you were "told by someone" that the musicals have too many awards, then once again, I would suggest you go to the AGM and make that comment. That comment has never been made by the adjudicators or the committee as far as I know. Maybe you were misinformed. Once again, thank you for coming along and I am glad you enjoyed yourself.

Walter PlingeSun, 20 Jan 2008, 07:27 pm

Yes Kimberley Shaw was

Yes Kimberley Shaw was nominated in the Best Director Category -- Congratulations. However, in an unfortunate oversight -- that went uncorrected -- Kimberley's name WAS NOT read out as a nominee on the night! Anyone who attended the evening with no prior knowledge of the nominees, or had not memorised them, could be forgiven for assuming Kimberley or any other director of a musical had not been acknowledged. Further to this, when the nominations were first announced, Kimberley's name was originally placed in the wrong category, which may have prompted further confusion. You did a fantastic job Kimberley, I hope you don't feel as though your efforts were not appreciated! P.S. I had a fabulous night!

MuSiCaLs_FaNSun, 20 Jan 2008, 07:29 pm

Thank you for your reply

Thank you for your reply Kerri. I did not have a program, and having re looked at the Nominees for the 'Best Director' I did see Kimberley's name there, so that was an error on my behalf. I am sorry if I have offended you with my above comments re: the subject involving Paul Treasure. I quite frequently read this site and had seen part of the thread involving Paul's comments. On the evening, my interpretations of what was said, was that it was referring to this specifically. As you have cleared up, it was not meant to be taken in that way, however I still think it probably could have been dealt with better, but we live and learn from our mistakes. Also I don't believe I was the only one who mis-understood this, as it was quite a topic of conversation amongst quite a few people during the interval. As to the title of the 'other award' I do see your point in it could be for everyone but I think it's a terrible name and should be looked at for further awards. I also think 'Supporting' doesn't necessarily have to cover people with the 'next sized part' I believe everyone in the cast is supporting each other despite the size - but that is subject to personal opinion. This will certainly not be my last Finley's, I had an enjoyable evening and look forward to the next one. I just wanted to state my opinion on some matters that irked me - too many people don't speak up and altho my opinion may not be popular, at least I have been upfront about it. I am sorry if I have offended anyone, on re-reading I think I could have phrased myself in a more positive way lol so I will re-read before I click 'submit' next time! Again well done to everyone last night and good luck for 2008 I look forward to aother year of great performances!

SherrySun, 20 Jan 2008, 07:44 pm

Yes! Well done Kimberley! I

Yes! Well done Kimberley! I didn't get the pleasure of seeing 'Eurobeat' but last night the excerpt I saw was FANTASTIC! Definately the highlight of the evening! Congrats to everyone involved in the show! you guys were great:) As to musicals_fan's comments, kudos for speaking out - it's very true that so many people leave their comments unheard and how can we improve if no-one speaks up! Last night was my first Finley's - I have heard them being spoken about for so many years, so it was nice to finally attend one and see how it's all run:) Best wishes for 2008 Sherry *Don't Dream It, Be It*

Walter PlingeMon, 21 Jan 2008, 09:43 am

Can anyone tell me why the

Can anyone tell me why the Finley Awards are called that? Are they named after anyone?

MelzMon, 21 Jan 2008, 11:15 am

Finley

The Robert Finley Awards were first awarded in 1973. They were established by Miss Hetty Finley, in memory of her brother Robert, and allowed an annual award to the Best Production produced by an amateur group in Western Australia. The Robert Finley Fund is controlled by the Finley Trustees through the Perth Theatre Trust. Melz

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