There were 374 in attendance for the dinner and the presentation, and it was really nice to meet other groups and to see the wide range of productions that had been performed across the south west.
Karnon Kidz had received two nominations for this years awards:
Youth Award for Company Characterisation and
Best Youth Production Cup
Understandably (and expectedly) we weren’t successful in either category (the regions stretches a fair way including Bristol, Gloucester, Somerset, Wiltshire and Devon as well as Cornwall; and we were up against a number of other groups with much older casts than ours), but we did come away with a couple of nice certificates, which I will laminate for posterity.
However, all was not lost and, much to our surprise, Karnon Kidz was announced as the winners of the Youth Advisor’s Award!!!
Apparently, NODA’s South West Regional Youth Co-ordinator, Jo Wilson-Hunt, travels around the region seeing as many of the youth productions as she can and, following a visit to present a workshop for Karnon Kidz in early 2023, she came back (with her family) to watch our presentation of The Wizard of Oz – Youth Edition.
Some very kind words (see below) accompanied another certificate (gold this time!) and we also received a trophy in the form of a work of art (apparently it represents two adults teaching a child to fly . . . in the world of amateur dramatics).
“This production not only looked like it had been lifted visually out of a story book, home produced in every way, but the children’s characterisation and vocals were outstanding. The principals made each role their own, delivering with care and realism. A truly magical experience.”
Jo (Wilson-Hunt) also singled us out after the awards to emphasise that the award was truly deserved and that her daughter had told her that this was the best youth show she had seen in 2023, so we were suitably chuffed!!
The cast and crew of The Wizard of Oz can all give themselves a big pat on the back!
Well done all.