Author: Helen Steed

Miller Redpath Memorial Award for Most Memorable Moment

This award in presented in memory of one of our founder members, Miller Redpath, who sadly died in 2013. Miller’s personality, unique singing voice and head-banging style of dancing are always the first things we remember when thinking of that initial show.

The Memorable Moment Award is given to a person or group of people involved in an event or incident which springs instantly to mind when recalling a production in the last 12 months.

AND THE WINNER IS….. The entire cast of That’s Life!

The cast of That’s Life! was something special. From the very first rehearsal, they bonded as a team, supported each other and worked extremely hard to develop the show from it’s lowly beginnings to our usual high standards.

The Most Memorable Moment occurred during the opening number of the Saturday performance. An electrical storm earlier in the day had already caused power fluctuations and outages in the area. A sudden surge caused the sound desk to go haywire, leaving our sound engineer with no option but to kill the backing track and restart the system.

Technical problems like these usually spell disaster but not for our cast. Without hesitation they finished the song completely unaccompanied, including humming the music for the dance break. It turned out to be an absolute show-stopper, with rapturous applause from the appreciative audience who acknowledged their skill and bravery.

Thank you to the entire cast for a marvellous memory.

The Outstanding Personal Contribution award is given to a Rising Stars member who has made the biggest personal contribution to the success of Rising Stars in the previous 12 months. In a nutshell, someone who has gone above and beyond what is ordinarily expected of a member.

AND THE WINNER IS….. Rosie

Rosie was recognised for all the support they have given to the production teams over the last 12 months. Mirroring her role as Mrs Darling in Peter Pan, she became the ‘Mum’ of the cast, supporting the younger members with everything from developing their performance skills to quick changes. She even formed part of the stage crew!

Thank you for all your hard work, Rosie.

Rising Stars held their annual awards ceremony after the last performance of Peter Pan – a Musical Adventure on Saturday 23rd March 2024.
The first two awards were for the Most Improved Members.

It was very obvious to us right from the start that being in Rising Stars was more than just singing, dancing and putting on a show. We noticed that members grew in confidence, made new friends and developed all sorts of essential life skills, such as teamwork, interpersonal skills and management.

The Most Improved Member award is not given to the most talented cast member – although many of our previous winners have developed into great performers and taken principal roles. The award is given to the member who has shown the most improvement in some aspect of their performance skills or personality in the previous 12 months as a direct result of their involvement with Rising Stars.

There are two awards in this category – Under 13 Years & 13 years and over.

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Most Improved Member – Under 13 years

AND THE WINNER IS….. Zara

When Zara first joined Rising Stars for ‘The Addams Family’, she only wanted to part of the ensemble. She sang as part of a small group in That’s Life, but then went on to audition for (and get) the role of Tootles in Peter Pan – a role that required great characterisation and solo singing.

Over the last 12 months, we have had great pleasure in watching her improve in confidence and performance. Well done, Zara!

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Most Improved Member – 13 years and over

AND THE WINNER IS….. Kai

Kai first joined us for School’s Out but was initially very shy and kept very much to themselves during rehearsals. Over the last 12 months, Kai has not only performed two comedy character roles brilliantly, but has become a fully integrated and popular member of the group.

We have watched him grow in confidence and ability throughout the last 12 months and the production team particularly like the way he is the first member of the cast to learn all of his lines.

Congratulations to you both. We look forward to seeing you perform in many more shows with us.