News From the Whangarei Theatre Company
Last updated: Sunday June 08, 2008

What a show!  We opened on Saturday 24th May, and had rave reviews from the local radio and newspapers.  The performances have been excellent, with the addition of pyrotechnics to complete the spectacular effects.  The show has sold out, despite the addition of an extra performance on Tuesday 10th June.  

Parents and children from Oromahoe Primary School attended the dress rehearsal on Friday 23rd May, and dressed up as cats for the occasion.  Organised by cast member William Henley (lying at the front), they then joined all the cast on stage after the show for some special photos - reproduced here courtesy of J Baker Photography, Tel: 021 102 9315.

May saw a major article about CATS in Scene Magazine.  You can review it via the following links - p11, p12, p13 and p14 - courtesy of its editor Steve Challis.

The Annual General Meeting of WTC took place on Sunday 30th March in the Riverbank Centre.  Over 60 members attended the meeting, and elected the new Executive Committee.

The 48^th Annual Conference of Musical Theatre New Zealand took place in Timaru from 14-16 March.  6 WTC members attended, and saw Peter Clark (left) receive the Patron's Encouragement Award in recognition of his enthusiasm and commitment to WTC.  The publicity team were awarded second prize in the Origin Theatrical Poster Competition for their poster for Buddy, and were highly commended for their poster for Cabaret.

The 2007 NAPTA Awards Ceremony was held at the Bruce Mason Centre in Takapuna on February 23rd 2008.  30 members of the Whangarei Theatre Company attended to see it receive 3 awards, from 15 nominations. The awards were...

Best Sound Design - Jason Rigger - The Buddy Holly Story
Best Set Design - Jason Rigger, Grant Smith & Neil Lambess - Cabaret
Best Supporting Female in a Musical - Eilean Rawson (right) as "Fraulein Schneider" - Cabaret

Gaining a nomination for a particular category shows that the work was one of the best out of all the amateur productions in the Northern Region (from South Auckland to Whangarei). Ian Page, President of WTC, said he was absolutely delighted by the number of awards received, and also by the number of nominations which reflected the huge amount of effort given by all members of the Whangarei Theatre Company.  That the awards had been won in the face of stiff competition from shows such as South Pacific, Hair and Salute to Broadway – all produced by Auckland companies with access to a much larger pool of actors – showed the talent which lay in Northland, and the ability of WTC and its directors to bring out the best in them.  The recognition of the off-stage talent of Jason Riggir was particularly pleasing, as without the off-stage team there would be no show to see. For more information about NAPTA click here.

After one of the biggest audition turnouts seen by the Whangarei Theatre Company for a number of years, CATS has now been cast. Approximately 150 thespians passed through the door, and a further 40 registered their interest in helping off the stage, making Director Lachie McLean's task of pulling the cast down to 70 a tough one. Lachie was thrilled with the high quality of Northland talent put before him. We are confident that with such a skilled cast, the audience can expect something quite spectacular on opening night.

Rehearsals began on February 3rd, and the hard work will continue through to the opening night on the 24th May. 

Children aged between 8 and 16 joined us at our first Junior Theatre session on February the 14th, from 4pm to 5:15pm. Term fees are $35 per term, plus the annual society membership of $25 ($20 if paid by 20/3/08). Junior Theatre is a great way for young performers to further develop their performance skills. See further details on our dedicated Junior Theatre page.

Our 2007 season of Buddy finally closed after amazing ticket sales, with some performances being sold out before the season even opened. The show was well received by the audiences, with numerous standing ovations and an encore demanded on the final night. Congratulations must be given to everyone involved on such a successful season.

Well done to the Junior Theatre group for their success in the Northland Performing Arts competitions in 2007. The group performed The Birthday of the Infanta, and was placed 2nd in their category, scoring 80 marks! This was a great achievement by the Juniors of our Theatre.

Two public performances of The Birthday of the Infanta were held at the Riverbank Centre on 7th October, at 10am and 12 noon. It was great to see the turnout of family and friends come to support the young yet talented performers. 

For more information, take a look at our Junior Theatre page, which includes information about term four classes, and 2008 registration.

Aladdin ended after a somewhat interesting season. On the opening performance, Melanie Thomas (P.C. Pong) ruptured her Achilles tendon near the end of the first act. Her stage-partner, Sgt Ping (played by Duncan Brown) adapted their joint roles manfully into one of his own. After some minor alterations, the season continued, proving to be a successful one, with audiences willing to take part in the show, as is usual with the pantomime style. 

If you came to see Aladdin, we sure hope you enjoyed the performance. Thank you to everyone involved for your help in making Aladdin successful.