Shermaine Desnoes shone in her performance of China Doll. - Winston Sill/Freelance Photographer THE CROSSING, by Orville Hall and performed by students of the Excelsior Education Centre (EXED) won over the audience and judges of the 2003 Tallawah competition.
Tallawah ended at the Philip Sherlock Centre for the Creative Arts on Sunday night.
The Crossing bagged the two most prominent awards, Best Director (Hall) and Best Production, as well as the award for Best New Play. The production shows the final days in the lives of two 16-year-old girls, Paula and Britney. Both come from very different backgrounds with only the feeling that they are victims of their circumstances binding them.
While Paula's mother is constantly buried in a bottle of wine, Britney's informs her "I make the decisions around here." Along with a good script and direction, The Crossing also featured strong performances with Kemesha Bolton (Britney) and Amoy Taylor (Paula) receiving high commendations.
OTHER COMMENDATIONS
Derek Walcott's Malcochon earned EXED awards for Best Set and Best Use of Sound. Thealdra Baker, who had given a remarkable performance snatched the Best Supporting Actress award.
Hall, a teacher and student at EXED, also claimed two of the high commendations for Poetry with 'Double Standard' and acting in Confrontation. Christer Gayle Clarke (Mancholon) and Deandre Salmon (Trini View) also received High Commendations.
The University Dramatic Arts Society (UDAS) was another big winner. Clive Forrester's witty play No Nonsense earned UDAS a significant portion of their winnings. Forrester went home with the award for Best Actor and high commendations for his roles as director and writer.
No Nonsense was also commended for its efforts as an ensemble while Janet Walters was singled out for her portrayal of 'Vitamin S'.
The story 'Montreal 1962' told by Carla Moore earned UDAS two awards (Best Storyteller and Best Use of Props) and a high commendation (Set). The society also received Best Monologue (Male) award for Daniel Townsend's performance of 'Before It Hits Home'. The monologue 'Carla', performed by Natalie Nicholson, was highly commended for its staging.
DESNOES SCORES BIG
Shermaine Desnoes copped the award for Best Monologue (Female). Desnoes gave an impressive run with 'China Doll'. She was one of two persons who entered as individuals and made commendable wins. Desnoes also bagged the award for Best Actress and the production also earned the Best Costume Award. David Tulloch was highly commended for his work in directing the piece.
Oneil Simpson's willingness to experiment with the stage also found success. Simpson, the second individual entry, impressively contributed three pieces to Tallawah. He earned awards for Best Use of Music for 'Kubetu' and Best Make-up for 'Incy Wincy Spider'. His third entry, 'The Closet, Pun Intended' was highly commended for its script while 'Kubetu' received a high commendation for the set.
Poetry proved to be Taylor Hall's strong point this year, earning them three awards. Stacey Ann Robinson received the Best Poetry (Female) award for her performance of 'Garvey'. The poem also earned the award for Best Lighting. Kevin Powell's performance of 'Tomorrow Belongs to the People' brought the hall the Best Poetry (Male) award. Kurleigh Martin earned the hall's sole high commendation with 'The Greatest Treasure of All'.
Irvine Hall earned two awards and two high commendations. Three of these went to the play 'I Got Flowers Today'. Simone Harris was highly commended for her performance in the piece while Julien Neaves was commended for the script. Neaves was also awarded Best Storyteller (Male) with 'The Storyteller'.
Courtney Wilson brought Centre Stage its single award, Best Supporting Actor. Keisha Wright of Northern Caribbean University received a high commendation for If God Was One of Us and Valique Gomes of Rex Nettleford Hall received the final high commendation for the evening.
