A Season of Awards

IT is once again the season of awards in various forms of human endeavours but more so in the arts. It is a time when appreciation is shown and acknowledged for excellence in certain fields – the best books, the best films, the best plays, the best musicals, the best actors, actresses, etc, of the past year.

Some award ceremonies are of such magnitude capturing a worldwide interest and audience (in television). Others, in small niches of this earth, are not given proper coverage in the media but are nonetheless of significance to those involved.

The ‘Night of Stars’ produced by the Theatre Guild of Guyana on Saturday, January 31, 2015, was an occasion when the spotlight was focused both on offstage players and onstage players.

That event was the playhouse annual award ceremony which saw recognition going to non-members also. The original idea was to acknowledge the contribution of members who were involved in production at the Guild. In 2015, in a magnanimous move, one of many in the reinvention of itself, the Guild has included on its honour roll non-members who have made significant contribution to the playhouse.
For theatre to remain relevant in a society it must continuously reinvent itself. Except for some bad patches in its long history since it was founded in 1957, the playhouse was always modifying its role to better serve the community. One such example is the renovation and reopening of the Guild in time for the Caribbean Festival of Arts (Carifesta X) 2008, heralding a new phase in dramaturgy and the performing arts in Guyana.

The Theatre Guild embraced this new phrase with a passion resulting in sustained training and education workshop sessions, playwriting competitions and more importantly, by providing a space to assess this investment in the performing arts. Obviously this new phrase produced new ideas and new players including playwrights, directors, actors, stage managers, makeup artists, lighting and costume designers.

The ‘Night of Stars’ saw over fifty awards in fifteen categories presented to individuals and organisations for varying contribution to the preservation and enhancement of the Guild.

Following is an outline of the various awards:
• Lifetime Award went to Patricia Liverpool, Bert Carter and Ian McDonald;
• Memory of Service Award (posthumous) went to Ulita Anthony and Rosamunde Addo;
• Icon of the Arts Awards went to Hector Stoute, Nitrageet Dance Troupe, Gerry Gittens, the Yoruba Singers, and Dave Martins;
• Starlight Award for Best Non-Guild Musical Production Staged at the Theatre Guild went to Clemsville Orchestra, CARICOM Secretariat, US Embassy – three years of Touring Jazz Band, Embassy of Argentina – guitar duo, Rotary Club of Stabroek – three international Jazz;
• Starlight Award for Best Non-Guild Dance Production Staged at the Theatre Guild went to the Crystallite Dance School and the National Dance Company;
• Starlight Award for Best Children’s Production Staged at the Theatre Guild went to Allied Arts, The American School, and Purple Hearts Productions Productions;
• Starlight Award for Best Guild Production went to Dereck Walcott’s ‘Pantomime’ directed by Ron Robinson and ‘Sauda’ written by Mosa Telford , directed by Tivia Collins;
• Starlight Award for Best Guild Director went to Malcolm De Freitas and Nkosi Layne;
• Starlight Award for Best Guild Producer went to Tashandra Inniss;
• Starlight Award for Best Guild Designer went to Neilson Nurse and Clinton Duncan;
• Spotlight Awards for Consistent Coverage of the Arts in the Media went to Al Creighton, Michelle Gonzalves, Tash Van Domien, Barrington Braithwaithe, Hits and Jams, Alex Wayne, Jairo Rodrigues, MBCTV, GTV, and Petamber Persaud;
• Starlight Award for Best Guild Performer (Female) went to Kimberly Fernandez and Sonia Yarde;
• Starlight Award for Best Guild Performer (Male) went to Mark Luke Edwards, Keon Yearwood, and Sean Thompson;
• Starbright Award for Current Consistent Service to the Guild by a Current Guild Member went to Simoen Dowding, Jennifer Kendall, Tashandra Inniss, Roderick and Rodero Holder;
• Starbright Award for Current Consistent Service to the Guild by a Non- Guild Member went to the Woodside Choir, Michael Smith, Mark Hall, Kenrick Cheeks and Kirk Noel;
• Special Award went to Mr. H Zypher, caretaker of the Guild for the past thirty years.

The above outline gives just a glimpse as to the magnitude, meaning, value and impact of such an award. And this outline does not include the substantial role played by the premier driving force of the Guild, Dr. Paloma Mohamed. The whole story will amount to volumes of writing.
The presentation of awards was seamlessly woven into a top quality performance which included extracts from past and future productions.
One category of the awards was of grave significance since it is a neglected area of recognition – media coverage of the arts. Coverage of the arts is very important for the promotion, for garnering support, and for the sustainability of such an institution. The Theatre Guild of Guyana must be commended for this innovation on the local scene.
Long live the Theatre Guild of Guyana.

Responses to this author telephone (592) 226-0065 or email: oraltradition2002@yahoo.com
by Petamber Persaud