2008 Finley Award Winners

Certificates for Finley awards 2008 For coping with a difficult script - Judith Lauhehr, What Are Little Girls Made Of, Kwinana Theatre Workshop For Comic timing . Susannah Devenish and Robert Whyte, How the Other Half Loves, Harbour For impressive and balletic sock removal skills, Gordon Park for Bedfull of Foreigners Wanneroo Repertory. Make up certificate for Bobby Chapman, Malita Morrison, Judy Sarcia for Edwin Drood , Roleystone. Best Staged Accident : Matt Sheehey , “This is Our Youth” , Blak Yak Most energetic villain performance in a pantomime” Graham Miles for Aladdin, KADS Most impressive prop on stage this year: the Jolly Roger, Peter Pan, Darlington Theatre Players For practical lighting co ordination – Gaslight, John Spurling, Old Mill Theatre For Atmospheric lighting – John Woolrych, “bare” Playlovers For sound coordination – Dan Mitton and Norm Kirton for Peter Pan , Darlington Theatre Players Most sensitive and moving characterisation – Chris Bedding, Amigos, Garrick Theatre. For perfectly timed comedy: the cast of “ How about That” at Garrick Theatre. Best Actor Winner: Alex Jones : This is our Youth – Blak Yak Theatre. Best Actress Winner: Kristen Berry: Deus Ex Quanta: Blak Yak Theatre. David Crewes Award for Excellence in Set Design and Construction Winner: Suddenly at Home: Melville Theatre Company Best Costumes Winner: Venetian Twins: Old Mill Theatre. Best Choreography Winner: Jess Dun, Bullet Betty Vareska: The Directive of Six: UDS Best Other than Lead Male: Winner: Phil Barnett: The Sum of Us: Old Mill Theatre. Best Other than Lead Female: Winner: Barbara Reynolds : Amys View KADS Best Director Winner: Teresa Felvus: Deckchairs: KTW Mary Webb Award for Direction of A Musical Winner: Alex McLennan: Hot Mikado : Wanneroo Rep. Elizabeth Crewes Award: Old Mill Theatre. Sheila Buchanan Award: Stage Left Theatre Troupe, Goldfields for innovation and creation of concept. Brian Maddocks Youth Award: Jono Hopkins, Alive In Wonderland, Stirling Players Best Musical Direction; Winner: John McPherson : Bullet Betty Vareska:The Directive of Six UDS Yvonne Lynch Award for Outstanding Breakthrough Performance: Winner: Michael Abercrombie: Bullet Betty Vareska: The Directive of Six: UDS Best Musical theatre Performer: Winner: Leo Dounsborough: the Mystery of Edwin Drood: Roleystone Top Ten Plays Jake’s Women: Old Mill Much Ado about Nothing: GRADS Venetian Twins: Old Mill Butterflies are Free: Marloo Deckchairs: KTW Wuthering Heights: Harbour theatre The sum of Us: Old Mill This is our Youth . Blak Yak Dangerous Obsession: Old Mill How the Other Half Loves: Harbour Top three Plays in order 1. Deckchairs: KTW 2. The Sum of us: Old Mill Theatre 3. Butterflies are Free: Darlington Theatre Players Top Five Musicals Hot Mikado , Wanneroo Rep The Mystery of Edwin Drood: Roleystone Fame: Wanneroo Rep Bare: Playlovers Bullet Betty Vareska, The Directive of Six: UDS Top three Musicals in Order 1.Bare: Playlovers 2. Fame: Wanneroo Rep 3. Bullet Betty Vareska, The Directive of Six; UDS

Hi Kimberley, Firstly, thankyou to everyone involved for an entertaining evening. Secondly, I'd like to make a couple of suggestions/comments from the point of view of someone who really knows nothing about theatre/awards nights/technical stuff like lighting (I was chorus in a nominated show so went along to support the cast, but haven't been around long enough to know what has been suggested/rejected previously, so apologies if this is all old news). In the programme, I thought it would be a nice idea to be able to dedicate a couple of pages toward a very brief synopsis of every play/musical - as I said, I don't have much to do with theatre so didn't get around to seeing most of what was nominated, and in particular the scene from "This is our Youth" made me wish I'd managed to see it, and I'd liked to have known what it was about. Nothing at all against Katy and Dan Mitton, but I didn't much like the "voiceover" idea, which I read from here was a new addition this year. They did a fantastic job but I'm rather lazy and like something to look at, but I understand it might not flow as nicely, someone walking on just to introduce someone else, then walk off again. With adjudicator's certificates, like "best set" and "best poster", I thought it would be good to use that big screen they flash every play/musical on, to maybe give a photo of some of them so the people who didn't go can appreciate the work put into winning the certificate. And for things like "best staged accident", maybe a description of it? They sounded like fun things to know, so share the joke! As the designated driver of the night, I wanted a soft drink after the show before leaving - but only alcohol was being served. Nothing non-alcoholic, not even water, was available for purchase after the show. I felt that was pretty irresponsible, especially in summer with drivers and young children and people who just plain don't want alcohol attending the show. Is there a reason only alcohol can be bought once the show finishes? And lastly, what was the name of the man who won the lifetime achievement award?

Hi Brenda, Thanks for your feedback. I'll try and approach every issue. With the synopsis of each show. There were 54 shows entered and to do a fair and accurate synopsis of each would be tricky. Getting this sort of information out of clubs is notoriously difficult. It would also be a lot of pages extra. It is a good idea in theory thouhgh and I'll see what we can do. The only way to see if things like voiceovers work, is to trial them, which is what we were doing. In the past, getting a host on and off each time has literally added at least half an hour to the evening - Most of our feedback on the voice - overs has been positive, but we'll take your suggestions on board. We can definately do something about displaying the best poster. Best set is more difficult. We would need to ask every show to supply a photo of their set. Not every set is photographed, not all photos are "good" or representative and it would be difficult to get every picture - or even all the nominees at this time of year, up to 11 months after shows. (Getting photos of the people nominees was really, really hard - and people look like they do all the time, sets only exist for a short time.) We (the ITA) are not allowed to sell soft-drinks in the venue. That is the privelege of the venue. It was my understanding that they were to be open. It is a difficult issue as we are only hiring the venue.

Please excuse my typos in the above. It was sent unchecked. Sorry.

Last night we went to the Finleys and it was an amazing night,a very entertaining show. With all due respect to the winners and nominees, I think the award for the best show has to go to the Finleys itself. If all the volunteers that worked behind the scenes worked anywhere near as hard as the people in the bar did (as I am sure you did) then you all deserve a trophy. While we are talking about the bar...... $8 dollars for a glass of yellow glen and a corona ...... best bar in town ! By the end of 4 Coronas, I had forgotten which catagory I wasn't nominated in! PS Does anyone what kind of flowers,chocolates or wine the adjudicators like? See you there next year Ray Condy

Just to add my two cents (and having attended past Finley Awards nights which finished closer to 11) I thought the voice overs were a fantastic way of keeping the night flowing and cutting down running time. Finishing at 10:30 was fab as it gave me a chance to catch up with friends afterwards whilst still being able to have a reasonable night's sleep with work the next day! Great job Dan and Katy! And the ITA! Thanks for another great night!

I agree with Schwarzy - the voiceovers were great and kept everything moving along because they were scripted nice and tightly. There's sometimes a tendency for on-stage presenters to feel like they have to build a repore with the audience which leads to them filling time with banter, and it can get a bit much (and long!). Using voiceovers to introduce acts is a great compromise. Also, as the OP mentioned, there are often cases when we're not familiar with the performance/performer/crew member etc winning an award. Perhaps the dead time taken for them to scoot up to the stage could be filled with a short explanatory voiceover? i.e. "John Smith played the romantic lead of Danny in Grease by X Theatre Company, a musical about the lives and loves of several high school seniors." or "This award-winning set from Y Theatre Company was entirely created of cardboard boxes." PS congrats to all the Finley winners! --- Louisa Fitzhardinge University Dramatic Society http://uds.asn.au

Great suggestions Louise, We made a move towards that this year with trying to work out which nominees wouldn't be there and announcing who would be collecting the award for him or her in that time space, we don't have contact details for everyone of course, and have only the two weeks between noms night and Finley night. (You may have noticed our desperate rush to get photos). The trouble with that and your suggestion, is that you need to collect info from EVERY nominee (which we did surreptiously about attendence as far as possible) because if you don't do it for everyone you are alerting people as to the winners are. Having said that, I think you are right, we should try it. Kim

LouisA. Sorry Louisa.

Just wondering who won the poster award? I think I've read everything on this thread twice and I can't find that one. Congrats to all involved it sounds like it was a fun night and one day when I don't have little ones to put to bed I'll be able to attend :-) "In my work I do three things - Good, Cheap and Fast - if you employ me you may choose two" - Cam Ford

I just remember them being from Bunbury. Sorry that's pretty non-specific!

The 2009 Finleys awards will be changing to the Kerry Hilton awards as i have the power over theatre in Perth and my opinion is the most important i see fit that the name change to mine will only remind people my glorious self....

Went to Bunbury Repertory Club for print and publicity for The Crucible.

I agree with the other Brenda it would be a good idea to see a picture of the winning set.I'm quite sure theatre groups must take photos of their sets. I know I have every set I have designed recorded in my theatre scrapbooks (along with the many costumes I have made also) What a great feeling to at last be rewarded for all my hard work. Thanks so much to Kerry, Ken, Sue and Graham and to the ITA committee for all their hardwork. Brenda S

Could someone please clarify what the criterea is for a full length play to be entered into the Finley Awards. As far as I am aware "Deck Chairs" is a series of 4 x 1 act plays, the only thing in common is that they are all set in a seaside location and the same actors can be used for each. The story lines are all different and they do not relate to each other. Does this mean that theatre's putting on one act seasons around the Festival times are eligible for the Finley's as well? Your comments are apreciated.....

Obviously this is not Kerri. So, Kerri Hilton Paris's father, who are you? Didn't win when you thought you had it in the bag? Can't find anyone else to blame? Listened to your parents when they told you that you should've won? Just a little too drunk at the time to be allowed to be in charge of a computer? Let's look at this logically. So Kerri successfully impersonated three other adjucators for 365 days last year plus some of this year. She kept them hidden and made sure the general public and their family and friends did not notice their absence. Or maybe she gagged and bound them at an adjudicators meeting and has kept them that way or hypnotically compliant since then. Yes, she decided all the awards at the Finleys; no one else had any say in it at all! Come on!!!! Mr. KHPF, do you think you should rethink your stand in light of the awards and the spread of major catagories? Me thinks so. What didn't you win champ, or did you win something and think you should have got more, or even all? Where's the evidence of your claims? Is there a point or did you just need to lash out in some sort of angst driven frenzy? Maybe you could answer these questions or state how you think her plan worked, or better still, maybe just keep your conspiracy theories to yourself. Well done ITA ... a good night and great spread of awards.

Congrats to all that won .... i must say in response to the kerry hilton comment i must say there is alot of rumour going around that the voting was very one sided and she was not happy when overruled .... whether this is just a rumour or not i think that mayne there should be more adjudicators and that the ITA should set up some guidelines for each show that they watch and have a mark from 1-10 for each category eg set costume ... at least that way for each show its a matter adding up each adjudicators scores for each category and thats how the show wins ... at least that way the results are fair and pressure free....

Deckchairs was written as a full length piece by the same author, designed for two actresses to play the different characters in each scene. The point is, it was written as a full length piece. A season of One act plays by different authors would therefore not qualify. I would think you should be asking why an excerpt from a full length play should be allowed in a drama festival, (which was the case with two scenes from Deckchairs entered last year.)as opposed to it being entered as a full length piece, which was the author's intention.

Sam, in response to your first comment...I don't think I'd be listening to those rumours. I've got no doubt that every adjudicator would have disagreed with at least some of the final results. Theatre is always going to be subjective! Your comment about having marks is 100% spot on - indeed, this is pretty much how the system works already. The problem is that with so many shows on each year, the number of points separating the winner from the chasing pack is always going to be negligible - especially when scores are averaged between four adjudicators.

Seeing as I am apparently the adjudicator who is causing so many problems let me clarify a few points now. The judging system for the finley awards is very clear and concise. It is a marking system and all of the adjudicators mark and we meet and discuss our marks. Theatre is subjective and if you are passionate about your theatre, you will of course end up having heated discussions. I have had many heated discussions with my friends over theatre, good and bad. I make no apology for my being passionate about something I love. Secondly , yes I was overruled on a number of plays this year, and I wasnt happy about it, but I wasnt the only one. If you ask any of the adjudicators over the past few years you will know that we are over ruled all the time. We were all over ruled by each other at some time and we get over it. That is part of the adjudicators system, we sit down, we listen and we continue on. it is surely a better system to have your marks on the table and to discuss the marks ( in front of an ITA representative at each meeting!) than to hide your marks away and not have to justify them. Two years ago I told the ITA that I had had enough of adjudicating and that I wanted to stop. I was asked to stay on in 2007 and I said I would however it would be my last year. I made that very clear to everyone. Last year we held three training courses in order to find new adjudicators. We found four and I was delighted to be able to resign. One of the new adjudicators pulled out at the last minute and I was asked to stay on. I thought about it for a long time as I had already said I was leaving. I decided to stay because I didn't want to see the system that we started fail. The adjudicators job is not an easy one. It requires many hours of your own time and it requires you to sit back and evaluate every show you see rather than just going for the enjoyment of seeing a show. However, it is very clear that there are a number of people who are not happy that I am passionate about my job and that I take my job seriously. With that in mind, the ITA has my resignation immediately. For those of you who know that you can do a better job, feel free to take the vacant spot, I am sure the ITA will thank you for it. I am sure you will do a fantastic job, and that you will agree with everything that every other adjudicator says about every play that you see and every performance. It must be nice to be perfect. May I also take this oppportunity to thank you for giving me my life back, and for allowing me the opportunity to do so many things this year now that I would have been unable to do. Kerri Hilton

Sigh. And I thought that we had survived a Finley Awards without the nasty, ridiculous, petty backlash. Shame on me for jumping to the conclusion too quickly that the W.A. theatre community had grown and matured over the past year. Sad sad sad.

Fair dinkum, I have spent a few years ignoring all the twaddle on this website (sorry Grant, no offence mate)but this is too much for a man to bear. Does this idiot who can't even spell Kerri's name seriously believe theatre adjudicators aren't going to have heated discussions? You moron! Grow up (or at least grow some male reproductive thingys and sign your posts). The amount of time and effort put in by all the adjudicators is astonishing. Very few people are dedicated enough. We should all be celebrating the fact that they do, not minimizing the chances they will continue on. It's a simple equation dimwit :- No adjudicators = no Findley awards. Get your head out of your rectum and recognize that the world does not revolve around you. If a decision does not go your way, move on. So dry your eyes princess and build a bridge. I will not be responding so feel free to denigrate what I have said in any childish way you please.

Well said Dean!! There are a number of small minded, petty people out there. Unfortunately in seems to be growing! Kerri Hilton is a BIG loss to the Finley's system. A lady with a wealth of knowledge and person who I would have absolute faith in making well judged decisions. No adjudicator deserves this sort of treatment. Good Luck to the adjudicators in 2009 . . . . you'll definitely need a thick skin!

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.

What a terrible shame. I recall a comment from Graeme Johnson on Finley Night about what we do not being called amature anymore. Unfortunately some of the posts on this site prove otherwise. Whinges about people based on body size, based on medical problems and such critical reviews as this show was crap evryone was crap without any argument as to why something was crap. Bitching about shows because you did not get into them, bitching about people because they did not cast you. Then the pearler of them all - bitching and complaining about how bad something is and then not becoming involved to make changes. Bitching about processes that they have no idea about. Throwing accusations around the site about peoples honesty or credibility without any evidence to back it up. It is a shame to me that this site cannot be used as a forum for critical response, praise, support, education and advertisement. To those of you out there in cyber critic land there is a difference between a critical review and a derogatory one. In the case of Kerri Hilton what a shame that a great talent and body of knowledge ans skill has been lost as an adjudicator. Mr KHPF I hope you are happy. You have accused Kerri of bias and subjectiveness when indeed your whole post is about that. You did not agree with her and so you must be right and no one else is. Your view of the situation is that this bias occurred and so it is true. Discussion over marks happen everywhere. In TEE courses for Dram at schools teachers get together to discuss marks and moderate them. In sport I am sure not all selectors get together and agree on every choice. In politics well caucus meetings are just big arguments. People are people all of those adjudicators would have had different opinions and all would have marked differently. Having not done a show this year it was great to see the Finleys and I was impressed by the spread of awards and it not being dominated by one club. I hope the ITA realise what they will be missing and try to convince her to stay, she has my support in fact all of the adjudicators this year and others have my support but I do feel that Kerri will be a loss.

On behalf of the Independent Theatre Association, I would like to re-iterate that the ITA puts a great deal of thought into the Finley system, the adjudication and selection of adjudicators. The purely numeric system was abandoned and collaborative meetings introduced so that individual adjudicators can not rort the system, and so that they are accountable for each and every mark. (Briefly, a purely numeric system is difficult, because a 7/10 or a 76/100 means different things to different people.) Further to this an independent observer from the ITA oversees every adjudication session to ensure that the process remains collaborative and fair and that proceedings are not being dominated by an overzealous or overpassionate adjudicator. As such we can re-state that we have complete confidence in the 2008 adjudication and all four of the 2009 adjudicators. Our request for Kerri Hilton to remain on the panel for 2009 is a testament to our confidence in Kerri's ability and justice while adjudicating and we hope that she will reconsider her resignation. As always, we are happy to respond to serious and signed correspondence about the adjudication process. Please send to our postal address. Kimberley Shaw President Independent Theatre Association

As an adjudicator during 2008, and having spied the Finleys disappointment factor surface in years past through this website, the following is relevant: One adjudicator has no control of all the rest; and in fact some of my scores / awards choices were put into sharp focus as being at odds at our meetings, but as an exercise in achieving a list of winners, it is what we worked with and the results are there for all to see. If the system needs changing, so be it, may the brains of WA community theatre can get together and change it. I enjoyed my year , exhausting as it was, being an adjudicator , and thanks to Kimberley and her committee for selecting me. I did not agree with all that was decided but accepted on the grounds that I am one adjudicator , not four. There are as I pointed out on the Awards night , thousands of people involved in Community theatre , but only 4 (maybe 3) adjudicators could found!!!! Plus, for the record , character attacks on this website lower its tone as many have said before. I strongly disapprove of them being aired on this forum. Contact the person and sort it out if you like. ..and finally, if you are doing community theatre just to get awards, you need to question your motivation in this regard. Load up and fire if you wish.Im all ears! Regards, Ken .

I would prefer Kerri to give me a negative adjudication than many others to give me a postive critique. In the world of insincerity that is theatre, I am glad there are people like Kerri, who are willing to give me honest feedback. Kerri has adjudicated for the ITA for many years now and deserves a break. It is a very strenuous job and very time consuming. I am happy that she has her life back to pursue any hobbies or past times that interest her. Thanks Kerri. Have fun in 2009.

What about two seperate judging panels! One for musicals and one for plays! Maybe more people might be interested in adjudicating on 15 musicals rather than having to see 60 shows for the year! Just a thought which has probably been looked at before! Well done too, had fun on Saturday night! Some people talk to much but i spose they think they need to! Few more excerpts would have been good! Someone should write a musical about the Finleys!

"Finleys - The Musical" Craig Williams, I hear your name being called! "In my work I do three things - Good, Cheap and Fast - if you employ me you may choose two" - Cam Ford

Very remiss of me not to also mention the amazing Lorna for her very thorough and organised coordination of back stage on Saturday night and on stage presence (yes, complete with NON-American accent JB!) - and also to Barbara for yet another top notch job as stage manager. To Graeme and the other lads (I don't know your names, sorry!) who facilitated lighting and sound and juggled a number of different cues for the various excerpts brilliantly, a further vote of thanks and appreciation. When you consider how fluidly everything went with just one day of tech-ing it again speaks volumes of how professional everyone is.

On behalf on the ITA Committee I am pleased to announce that Kerri Hilton has reconsidered her decision and that the ITA Adjudicators in 2009 will continue to be Andrew Wong, Karen Woodcock, Kerri Hilton and Olga Ward. We are very pleased with the panel, who bring broad and varied experience to the task. Kimberley Shaw \iTA President

That is excellent news, however the whole issue still reflects badly on all of us in the wider theatre community. Kerri Hilton should never have been subjected to the insulting innuendos she suffered. If just one of the Winging Walters contributed 1% of what she does for theatre in the West, it would stun me. What surely must happen now, is that the Theatre Australia site should have a separate Members Only section for reviews, comments and debates, that is private (only accessible to registered members) and will only accept contributions under members names, no more aliases. By all means have a public forum post where anonymous posters can vent their spleen and demonstrate their obvious personality defects / personal issues, that way it’s separated from serious discussions and debates and the rest of us are not tainted with odour of these peasants. If somebody is too ashamed or scared to write under their own name, the public forum section will serve their purpose.. There is nothing wrong with healthy debate and argument, as Kerri pointed out in her reply, but the time has come for reasoned debate, not the mud-slinging invectives and veiled threats that have become common-place on this website. If people are genuine, believe in their views and want to contribute, they will have no objection to signing in and being identified. Those that don’t simply should not be allowed to contribute, or be a part of the community, other than the public posting forum. I think this should happen as a matter of urgency, we have new people who have volunteered their time to adjudicate for 2009 and Kerri has agreed to stay on, we owe it to them and ourselves to move on these Wallies Cheers Greg Ross

Kerri, I applaud you and your decision to stay on. Having just shared last year's adjudicating burden with you, I know first hand the load you have carried, and your passion and sincerity has inspired and humbled me. I know how reluctant you were to spend yet another year racing around doing what we have all come to take for granted from you - giving so much of your time and energy serving our Theatre Community. We simply cannot allow the venom of one sad, pissed-off little pipsqueak the power to manipulate the Theatre community. Thank you for making the decision you have. :flowers: Sue Hayward.

I agree with Jeff, it's terrific to have Kerri back on board but my goodness woman you've got to be close to burn out. I'm happy that you're able to rise above the insults and slurs upon your good name in a field that is, after all, AMATEUR theatre, a thing by definition that you do for the LOVE of it but I'm also sad because it means that all your free time will be taken up with critiquing rather than gracing us with your terrific acting abilities on stage. Hats off to you, Kerri, I hope you finish this year still absolutely loving community theatre and not just hanging in there because you feel a responsibility to it. Hugs (to Kerri for strength) "In my work I do three things - Good, Cheap and Fast - if you employ me you may choose two" - Cam Ford

If there were a rash of reactionary anonymous postings, they seem to have disappeared before I could read them. In any case, weren't we all expecting something of the kind anyway? And whatever happened to 'DFT'? It seems to me that we are all treating the 'Finleys' like a sporting event. If our team wins, they are the best and the rest are consequently a bunch of losers. If our team should have won but didn't, blame the coach, or better still, the umpire. I suggest we all lighten up a bit, accept the 'Finleys' simply as peer acknowledgement for effort and ignore the trolls while keeping the website free and open to all. Ssstinger>>>

Hear hear. freddie the rocking jedi badger

Amateur - not amature (sorry, can't help it)

Why aren't professionals used to judge, like with DramaFest? It would stop all this sniping.

So then why are professional adjudicators needed for DramaFest? Surely the ITA can spend the money better elsewhere, if the money's that tight and non-professionals who are obviously capable of adjudicating full length plays can more than likely turn their hands to one act plays?

Just because one gets paid to do something doesn't mean that they have the credentials to critique that something. Example - Just because a guy has played professional football doesn't mean that they will be a good commentator, just look at Drew Banfield and Dermott Brereton!! So just because they act professionally, to me, doesn't mean that they will adjudicate the Finleys any better or worse than an amateur adjudicator! And those of you out there who think that just because they are professionals and getting paid to adjudicate the Finleys that they won't argue or have disagreements then you are sadly mistaken. They are still only four people who all have their own opinions and likes and dislikes. And I bet that it still won't stop the bitching and moaning about the Finley Award decisions. Lets all get a grip here and have faith in the ITA adjudicator selection process. And that these four people will adjudicate to the best of their ability in a fair and professional manner.

I had a great time at the Finleys, even though Im not really a 'theatre person'. (I went with a friend who had a spare ticket at the last minute}. Thanks for a great night out to all involved. The most enjoyable parts for me obviously were the excerpts from some of the productions, even though I didnt see many of the actual shows during the year. Im just wondering though, and I asked my friend the same question cause I didnt understand, why did the guy who one the best musical director not have live music when they did the songs from his show? The other live music was good...were they the people that played for the actual ahows or just played at the Finleys? Anyway, I just thought it was a little strange. But thanks for a great night!

So by that logic, as pointed out above, why have paid adjudicators for DramaFest?

Ok - music for the Finleys can be a little tricky. Like actors, it can be difficult to reassemble the same musicians months after the show (they are away or going to a 21st or being a bridesmaid at a cousin's wedding or have a professional gig etc), so sometimes they will use a pre-recorded backing track or borrow musicians from other shows etc. I know that there was a lots of negotiation between the clubs to share keyboards etc as well as people. So like we mentioned with actors on the night it is as "close as they could get" to the original bands.

Hiya, I know this is off track from the majority of the responses here but the bar should have had water free of charge as part of its Responsible Service of Alcohol (RSA) requirements. If the police had done a random check you (the licensee... and anyone associated ie. on that committee, serving, applicant for the license etc.) would have been in serious trouble. It is the law that when serving alcohol you must provide water free of charge (tap water is fine)and part of RSA to have non-alcoholic beverage options. I read the response that said it was assumed the kiosk would be open but that responsibility comes down to the licensee of the bar. You definately don't want that to happen again!!