2008 Finley Award Winners

Hello from Stage Left Theatre Troupe Goldfields WA Inc. Firstly, congratulations to Kimberley, Danni, Tracee, Tyler, Felicity, Alan, Claudette, Paul, Kristen and David - for another awesome Finleys night. Thank you for all the work that went into making it a great evening - you are all amazing - and thank you also to Damon for helping back stage, to Zyg for the gorgeous photography and to Dan and Katy for the voice overs, which were done extremely well. The whole night ran very smoothly and finished early - and as we had young children travelling with us - it enabled us to still have time to see everyone, pass on the congrats and say our farewells. Thank you everyone. Last night - after the long drive home from Perth to Kal (!) - I emailed all our members, friends and other interested community theatre supporters to share the excitement of Stage Left's win - bringing home the Sheila Buchanan Memorial Trophy Adjudicators' Achievement Award has been a humbling experience and has really enthused, excited and inspired our community here in the Goldfields. We are so grateful to be acknowledged for our hard work in our inaugural year. Those of you out there who have set up a new theatre company from scratch know exactly how hard it can be and how much work and effort it takes. We've had an amazing time, culminating in the "theatre in the bush" project featuring "Pirates of Penzance" which was the first production Stage Left has entered in the Finleys. Whilst we know that we are not spoilt for choice as you often can be in Perth with a much vaster talent pool to pull from, we will always be struggling to find amazing singers, musicians and performers here in the Goldfields (all the really brilliant ones inevitably leave us for bigger and better things in the big smoke - either in Perth or on the east coast!) So we never anticipated winning anything - going up against some amazing shows from 2008 with some truly sensational talent (much of which we saw on stage on Saturday night - and again - CONGRATS to those performers and those shows which won the accolades). The 2008 Finley adjudicators chose to recognise our effort for what it was - an amazing and unique theatre experience. We had SO many people come on board to assist us - work with us - encourage us - provide hands-on construction help or advice. Check out the photos some time on Facebook in the Stage Left Theatre Troupe Goldfields WA Inc. group. You will see what we did with a humble sheep station! As the very proud director of this production and the club's vice president, I am constantly amazed and inspired by the group of people around us. They are not only talented and generous, they are selfless and inspirational. Three of the four adjudicators attended our theatre in the bush extravaganza - Ken, Kerri and Graeme. Sue was unfortunately unable to travel at the time, which was a shame. I could not be in more AWE of the Finley adjudicators - both past and present. Over the years I have seen them all give heart and soul to the adjudication process. They clock up countless miles of travel - countless shows to watch and then write critiques about - and give up so many other things just to be there for community theatre in WA. They get very little recognition, thanks or recompense for this - they do it because they love it and are passionate about the growth of community theatre. These are real people with real lives and real opinions. As they have all freely said, today and previously, they don't always see eye to eye - and sometimes they have to back down on their opinion. That's called being human! And when all is said and done, they get over it and move on. So should the critics!!! I concur with what has already been said today on this site and elsewhere - theatre is subjective. What one person loves, another will not. That's the way it is. And that's life. Grab a cup of concrete and harden up :) I haven't always agreed with Kerri's opinions - and with those of some of the other adjudicators too! But they are there to do a job and they do it very well. It's not meant to be a popularity contest! We invite their critique, so we need to be prepared to listen to it, and learn from it. If anyone thinks they can do it better, then by all means, put your hand up and become a volunteer. Do the adjudicator's courses, and then apply. Stop sitting back and hiding behind anonymous posts to throw nasty comments out there. What on earth does that achieve? Kerri Hilton has our utmost respect for all that she has done - and for her dedication to her role. It is tireless and it's thankless. We've loved hosting her in Kalgoorlie and are well aware that at times it has been inconvenient and expensive for her to make the trip(s) yet, she hasn't shirked from doing so. Kerri, I don't blame you for resigning on the spot today, yet I am very sad to hear it. And community theatre in WA will be far poorer for it. I will still always invite your opinions, advice and ideas. In the meantime, don't forget that any time you want to visit Kalgoorlie again, you know you will be made very welcome - and we'll even find jobs for you to do while you are here!! lol (Graeme, Ken and Sue - that invitation goes for you guys also!) To those out there who seem to find it easier to be nasty than nice, remember this: "He who flings mud, loses a lot of ground" Lisa van Oyen Vice President (Little Quack) Stage Left Theatre Troupe Goldfields WA Inc.