Market Theatre to host magical night for talent showcase

Internationally renowned Market Theatre is set to host the 7th annual ACT | DALRO | Nedbank Performing Arts Scholarships awards for the first time this year.

The Newtown-based theatre will play home to the arts tuition competition’s finale for the next three years and promises to deliver a spectacular night when the top six finalists showcase their talents in the John Kani Theatre on 12 October 2015.
“We as the Market Theatre are very delighted to host the Performing Arts Scholarships for the first time this year. This initiative supports youth development ideals that are in line with our vision as an organization – and part of it is to provide the highest level of artistic excellence in all aspects of the performing and visual arts by contributing to the education and development of a new generation of arts talent in South Africa,” says Market Theatre CEO Annabell Lebethe.

“We are proud to be part of Magic in the Making and believe that this year’s production will be more than spectacular!”
To make the event an ever bigger success the Arts & Culture Trust urges all performing arts aspirants, who will be put through the paces in the hope of qualifying for the final round, to continue registering for the upcoming auditions which will take place in their respective regions.

The Scholarships Programme is open to 2015 Grade 12 learners and individuals between the ages of 18 and 25 who are not considered professionals and wish to pursue undergraduate studies in the performing arts at any accredited South African tertiary institution.

These individuals will be assessed on their acting, dancing and singing potential with the process culminating in a final showcase before an independent panel of industry judges. For the auditions, participants are required to prepare a prescribed monologue, song and dance which will be made available on the ACT website and in addition to that they will get an opportunity to perform a monologue of their choice.

During the same period, auditions for a dynamic emcee to present the final showcase will also take place.

“This new exciting partnership with the Market Theatre sets to take full advantage of the learning and development opportunities the Scholarships Programme offers. An exciting addition to this already dynamic process is the integration of Market Theatre Laboratory apprentices as Assistant Director and Crew. While the winners will go on to study performing arts, the finalists would have gained valuable experience working with the programme’s creative team. Comprising of professional performing artists, this group of experts also guides a young emcee making their presenting debut during the final round of the programme. As part of the Scholarships’ alumni programme, previous winners will also be given an opportunity to join the creative team as choreographers this year,” says Chief Executive Officer of the Arts & Culture Trust, Pieter Jacobs.

Following the successful audition process last year, the Arts & Culture Trust (ACT) in partnership with DALRO and Nedbank Arts Affinity have made the opportunity in 2015 accessible to more participants by holding try-outs in all nine provinces. Auditions will take place in the following regions and venues:

30 June and 1 July: Durban (KwaZulu-Natal)
3 and 4 July: Cape Town (Western Cape)
6, 7 and 8 July: Port Elizabeth (Eastern Cape)
15 July: Pretoria (Gauteng)
16 and 17 July: Johannesburg (Gauteng), Market Theatre in Newtown
24 July: Kimberley (Northern Cape)
25 July: Bloemfontein (Free State)
28 July: Potchefstroom (North West)
30 July: Witbank (Mpumalanga)
01 August: Polokwane (Limpopo)

For the final round, the top six candidates must be available for rehearsals and training with industry professionals from 6 to 12 October in Johannesburg. Winners will be announced and awarded the scholarships at the finale.

2014 first-place winner Katlego Nche reflects: “I would like thank ACT, DALRO and Nedbank for the wonderful opportunities that they have put before me. Because of them, a part of my dream is fulfilled and it keeps expanding. Believe me when I say that there’s actually more to it than just the main prize.” “My words of encouragement to those who have applied to be part of this programme is that they should work hard on their craft and they will receive more than they bargained for,” he adds.

Nedbank Arts Affinity and DALRO will provide three more scholarships this year totalling the value of R315 000, adding to the current number of 12 scholarships that have been awarded since the programme’s inception six years ago. To date, the value of scholarships that have been granted stands at R1 260 000.

Registrations for the Scholarships Programme are open until 31 May 2015.

For more information on previous winners, finalists, guidelines and registration visit www.act.org.za; email scholarships@act.org.za or contact the ACT office on 011 712 8403.

NOTES TO EDITORS

The Arts & Culture Trust (ACT) is South Africa’s premier independent arts funding and development agency. For more information visit www.act.org.za. Follow ACT on Twitter at https://twitter.com/#!/actorgza or like the Trust’s Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Arts-Culture-Trust-ACT/162339817162875

The Dramatic, Artistic and Literary Rights Organisation (DALRO) is a multi-purpose copyright society that collects royalties for the use of copyright-protected works on behalf of authors and publishers, which it then distributes back to the correct copyright-owner. As a custodian of copyright and the protection of rightsholders’ works, DALRO’s main areas of administration are reprographic reproduction rights (photocopying from published editions), public performance rights (including stage rights for book musicals and dramas) and reproduction rights (whether for publishing or copying) in works of visual art. For more information please visit www.dalro.co.za

The Nedbank Arts Affinity is a proud supporter of the Arts & Culture Trust (ACT). Since the inception of ACT in 1994, Nedbank has raised and distributed nearly R15 million through our Arts Affinity Programme, in support of more than 800 South African arts, culture and heritage development projects, at no cost to our clients. To open a Nedbank Arts Affinity account please visit any Nedbank branch or call 0860 DO GOOD (36 4663). For more information please visit www.nedbankarts.co.za.

ACT acknowledges support from the following organisations as regional partners: University of Kwazulu-Natal (UKZN), Port Elizabeth Opera House (PEOH), The Market Theatre Foundation, Mayibuye Arts Centre, University of the Free State’s Scaena Theatre, Witbank Civic Theatre, Artéma Instituut vir Kunstebestuur en Ontwikkeling, Limpopo Youth Orchestra and Tshwane University of Technology (TUT).

Author: Gilly Hemphill from The Famous Idea.
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ACT DALRO Nedbank Performing Arts Scholarships 2015

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