Results of the SANCTA AGM and its festival awards

The Chairman, Noel McDonald, reported on the successes of the past year, which included the ACT, North West Province Festival, the workshops done in Mpumalanga, the fact that there were 45 new SA scripts for the forthcoming Sancta 34th Festival in Mpumalanga, of which 12 were chosen, and in the GP and Mpumalanga Festivals there were/ are 18 new groups and brand new plays. Many mentoring sessions were done by our patrons Dorothy Ann Gould, Michael Maxwell and professional helpers for both festivals.

Finances were discussed and found to be in order and audited and the future of SANCTA for the coming year was discussed as Noel McDonald may be leaving Joburg and the SANCTA Head Office move to our SANCTA rep, Henning Botha, in Secunda. This will all be discussed in detail during the festival. McDonald has been at the helm of SANCTA for 15 years.

There were some notable VIPs - among them ET Zulu and Z Gqawa, new Director of Arts Culture, Sports and Recreation, and Z Qwawa, Assistant Director and head of the Johannes Stegmann Theatre in Secunda, both from The Govan Mbeki Region. Many VIP apologies were noted.

The committee remained basically unchanged, except Henning Botha became Vice-Chairman and Noel McDonald remained as National Chairman in the meantime.

The awards

The awards were hosted by Alice Davies and Noel McDonald. There were a lot fewer productions than normal, because groups are finding it financially more difficult to fund and, sadly, a number of groups had to find new venues to perform in, which has restricted the type of play they would normally do. Things look brighter for 2015, though.

The results were:

Best Production:

• Musical: Cameron Lawry of Keyboard Magic - Jack and the Beanstalk.
• Dance: Manuel Norambuena of National School of the Arts - Dance Spectrum 2014.
• Song: Elise van Heerden and Susan Swart of National School of the Arts - Freedom Songs.

Best Director:

• Musical: Cameron Lawry of Keyboard Magic - Jack and the Beanstalk.
• Dance: Manuel Norambuena of National School of the Arts - Dance Spectrum 2014.
• Song: Elise van Heerden and Susan Swart of National School of the Arts - Freedom Songs.

Best Actor:

• Musical: Garth Davies as Doris Deloris Dumpling of Keyboard Magic - Jack and the Beanstalk.
• Dance: Lwazi Mzimase for various dance roles of National School of the Arts - Dance Spectrum 2014.
• Song: The Lead Singer of 'Homeless' of National School of the Arts - Freedom Songs.

Runner-up to Best Actor:

• Musical: Bradley van Zyl for Jack Dumpling of Keyboard Magic - Jack and the Beanstalk.

Best Supporting Actor:

• Musical: Keeanu Jardim for Kenickie of De la Salle Holy Cross Convent - Grease.

Best Actress:

• Musical: Kiruna-Lind Devar as Charity Hope Valentine of National School of the Arts - Sweet Charity.
• Song: Pamela Hlabangwana for various songs - of National School of the Arts - Freedom Songs Kearebetswe Mogotsi for two dance roles - 'The man I love' and Pas de troix ballet - National School of the Arts - Dance Spectrum 2014.

Best Supporting Actress:

• Musical: Nina Chase for Jan Sweet of De la Salle Holy Cross Convent - Grease.

Best Ensemble:

• Dance: Gillian Bonegio - for Caracoule - for best Traditional Ensemble - National School of the Arts - Dance Spectrum 2014.

Best Cameo:

• Musical: Siba Qoba for Daddy Brubeck 'Rhythm of Life' of National School of the Arts - Sweet Charity.

Best Choreographer:

• Musical: Shannon Hancock of Keyboard Magic - Jack and the Beanstalk.
• Dance: Manuel Norambuena for 'The man I love' - Dance Spectrum 2014 - National School of the Arts.

Best technical:

• Musical: Riaan Kruger, Coenraad Theron, Brian Koen, Coenraad van den Berg for lighting, sound and follow spot of Keyboard Magic - Jack and the Beanstalk.
• Song: Kallin Damon, Mpathi Mputi, Ndu Hubeka, Koketso Motlhamme, Timothy Ntombale as The Orchestra - Freedom Songs - National School of the Arts.

The Margaret Wray Trophy for Special Technical Excellence:

• Musical: Christi van den Berg for Musical Direction of Keyboard Magic - Jack and the Beanstalk.
• Dance: Cassandra Parsons for Ballet Costumes for Dance Spectrum2014 - National School of the Arts.

For any information on SANCTA, its one-act and full-length festivals, its annual new SA playwriting Competition, its membership of Assitej SA and Pansa KZN, The International Amateur Theatre Association (IATA), contact Noel McDonald on +27 (0)83 309 4315.