2017 ROB GUES ENDOWMENT SEMI-FINALISTS ANNOUNCED!

The Rob Guest Endowment is thrilled to announce our 2017 Semi Finalists. Congratulations to:

Annie Aitken, Prue Bell, Nicola Bowman, Stefanie Caccamo, Ali Calder, Baylie Carson, Rebecca Cullinan, Jessica Di Costa, Joshua Firman, Bronte Florian, Jayme-Lee Hanekom, Bobbie-Jean Henning, Georgina Hopson, Nigel Huckle, Todd Jacobsson, Julian Kuo, Matthew Manahan, Kieran McGrath, Thomas McGuane, Alessandra Merlo, Imogen Moore, Matilda Moran, Joshua Mulheran, Morgan Palmer, Brittanie Shipway, Alana Tranter, Jack Van Staveren, Sam Ward, Rachael Ward and Lyndon Watts.

Earlier this month, the Rob Guest Endowment held auditions in Melbourne and Sydney to search for this year’s winner of the Rob Guest Endowment Award. The judges saw over 200 applications, and after careful consideration, the 30 Semi-Finalists for the 2017 Rob Guest Endowment Award were chosen to progress within the competition.

On the 16th of October, the Semi-Finalists will commence their Semi Final audition day at Her Majesty’s Theatre in Melbourne, where the judges will determine the six finalists for the 2017 Rob Guest Endowment Award.

We would like to give a special thanks to our judges and accompanists for the 2017 first round auditions. Thank you to Kellie Dickerson, Andrew Pole, Michael Tyack, Geoffrey Castles, Gary Young, James Simpson and Hayden Barltrop.

Well done to everyone who applied and auditioned this year, and congratulations to our 30 Semi-Finalists!

Semi Finalist Headshots

GUEST ARTISTS ANNOUNCED FOR 2016 ROB GUEST ENDOWMENT CONCERT

The 2016 Rob Guest Endowment Grand Final Concert guest artists have been announced! The Concert will be hosted by Lucy Durack and Penny McNamee, guest artists performing will include pop sensation Paulini, principal cast members from Aladdin, the Helpmann Award winning Molly Barwick, Sasha Rose, Georgia Taplin and Bella Thomas who originated the role of Matilda in Australia, past winners Samantha Dodemaide and Blake Bowden, 2015 Rob Guest Endowment winner Daniel Assetta, and cast members from Dream Lover – The Bobby Darin Musical.

Tickets for this year’s Gala Concert are on sale now via Ticketmaster and are selling fast! Get yours for a night of wonderful entertainment celebrating the musical theatre industry in Australia!

2016 ROB GUEST ENDOWMENT AWARD FINALISTS ANNOUNCED!

The six Finalists for the 2016 Rob Guest Endowment Award were announced today. Competing against nearly 300 applicants, six outstanding performers were chosen by an expert panel of judges, which included Andrew Pole, Kellie Dickerson, Christopher Horsey and Lisa O’Dea.

The 2016 finalists are Du Toit Bredenkamp, Hilary Cole, Linden Furnell, Stefanie Jones, Genevieve Kingsford and Matthew Predny. 

 

  • Du Toit Bredenkamp
    Du Toit Bredenkamp
  • Hilary Cole
    Hilary Cole
  • Linden Furnell
    Linden Furnell
  • Stefanie Jones
    Stefanie Jones
  • Genevieve Kingsford
    Genevieve Kingsford
  • Matthew Predny
    Matthew Predny

Now in its 8th year, the Rob Guest Endowment competition continues to grow. The 2016 Rob Guest Endowment Award winner will take home $20,000, intended to help them gain the performance experience, media training, guidance and a public image to help them become a leading artist in the Australian musical theatre industry. Applicants also compete for Melbourne’s East End Theatre District Artist Development Award, a $5,000 prize, and runners up will each take home $1,500. In addition, the Playbill Future Prospect Award, a $1,500 prize, is presented to a Semi Finalist who displays promising talent.

This year also sees the return of two exciting categories open to competitors recognizing further excellence in the field of musical theatre. The Rob Guest Endowment Technical Award in Honour of Sue Nattrass is a $10,000 cash prize intended to help a current member in a technical department of musical theatre fund the tuition and experience needed to help them become a leader in their field. Applicants could be from departments including, but not limited to, stage management, mechanists, sound, lighting, wigs and wardrobe. The Rob Guest Endowment Musician Award, also a $10,000 cash prize, is intended to help a current musician in the musical theatre genre fund the tuition and experience needed to help them become a leader in their field. 

2016 ROB GUEST ENDOWMENT SEMI-FINALISTS ANNOUNCED!

The Rob Guest Endowment is delighted to announce that our 2016 Semi-finalists are: Annie Aitken, Kirrah Amosa, Jordan Barr, Nicola Bowman, Du Toit Bredenkamp, Reece Budin, Olivia Charalambous, Erin Clare, Hilary Cole, Jessica Condon, Sage Douglas, Madeleine Featherby, Bronte Florian, Linden Furnell, Alex Given, Ryan Gonzalez, Sam Hooper, Zoe Ioannou, Todd Jacobsson, Stefanie Jones, Genevieve Kingsford, Megan Kozak, Jenni Little, Kieran McGrath, Lauren McKenna, Madeline Perrone, Matthew Predny, Caitlin Spears, Alana Tranter, Brent Trotter.

These semi-finalists were chosen out more than 250 young performers who auditioned for the award around Australia.

The semi-finalists will now have a gruelling day of Auditions at The Capitol Theatre Sydney, on Monday 19th September, before the judges will have the difficult task of choosing just 6 to be the 2016 Rob Guest Endowment Award finalists, perform at the Rob Guest Endowment Concert and go in the chance to win the $20,000 cash prize!

We would like to thank our phenomenal 2016 judges for their time, expertise and advice:

Martin Croft, Kellie Dickerson, Matthew Frank, Kirsten King, Lisa O’Dea, Andrew Pole and David Piper.

Well done to everyone who applied, and congratulations to our Top 30!

More information on our 2016 concert coming soon!

  • Annie AitkenAnnie Aitken
  • Kirrah AmosaKirrah Amosa
  • Jordan BarrJordan Barr
  • Nicola-BowmanNicola Bowman
  • Du Toit BredenkampDu Toit Bredenkamp
  • Reece BudinReece Budin
  • Olivia CharalambourOlivia Charalambous
  • Erin ClareErin Clare
  • Hilary ColeHilary Cole
  • Jessica CondonJessica Condon
  • Sage DouglasSage Douglas
  • Madeleine-FeatherbyMadeleine Featherby
  • Bronte FlorianBronte Florian
  • Linden FurnellLinden Furnell
  • Alex GivenAlex Given
  • Ryan GonzalezRyan Gonzalez
  • Sam HooperSam Hooper
  • Zoe IoannouZoe Ioannou
  • Todd JacobssonTodd Jacobsson
  • Stefanie JonesStefanie Jones
  • Genevieve KingsfordGenevieve Kingsford
  • Megan KozakMegan Kozak
  • Jenni LittleJenni Little
  • Kieran McGrathKieran McGrath
  • Lauren McKennaLauren McKenna
  • Madeline PerroneMadeline Perrone
  • Matthew PrednyMatthew Predny
  • Caitlin SpearsCaitlin Spears
  • Alana TranterAlana Tranter
  • Brent TrotterBrent Trotter

 

2016 Awards

Auditions opening soon, watch this space for more information.

2015 WINNER!

After a spectacular concert, our winners for 2015 were announced!

CONGRATULATIONS TO:

The 2015 Rob Guest Endowment Award
Daniel Assetta

The East End Theatre District Artist Development Award
Robert McDougall

The Playbill Future Prospect Award
Rubin Matters

The Rob Guest Endowment Technical Award in Honour of Sue Nattrass
Drew Cipollone

The Rob Guest Endowment Musician Award
Jack Earle

GUEST ARTISTS ANNOUNCED FOR 2015 ROB GUEST ENDOWMENT CONCERT

The 2015 Rob Guest Endowment Grand Final Concert will be held on Monday 9 November at the Sydney Lyric Theatre. Hosted by David Campbell and Lucy Durack, guest artists performing at the concert will include musical theatre performers Rob Mills, Caroline O’Connor and Jemma Rix, Dirty Dancing star Mark Vincent, 2014 Rob Guest Endowment winner Josh Robson, and cast members from CATS and Matilda the Musical.

It will be a night of exhilarating Musical Entertainment as the six Rob Guest Endowment Award finalists will showcase their talent in the hope of taking home the highly coveted Award of $20,000 and a headshot package provided by Blueprint Studios. The six finalists for the 2015 Rob Guest Endowment are Blake Appelqvist (West Side Story, new VCA Graduate), Daniel Assetta (Cats, Wicked), Hilary Cole (Carrie, Dogfight), Georgina Hopson (Into The Woods, The Pirates of Penzance), Rob McDougall (Les Miserables, Phantom of the Opera) and Ashleigh Rubenach (Anything Goes, The Sound of Music).

The competition will be judged by three of Australian musical theatre’s finest creatives, Kelly Abbey, Peter Casey and Gale Edwards.

Tickets from $59.00 – $120.00. On Sale Now!

Musician Award Winner Update!

Isaac Hayward, our 2014 Musician Award winner will travel to New York and London to shadow some of Broadway’s and the West End’s most prominent conductors and musical directors!

In New York, Isaac will observe some of Broadway’s best musical directors that have worked on shows such as Book of Mormon, Kinky Boots, Wicked, Spring Awakening, Next to Normal and In The Heights.

On the West End in London, Isaac will experience the London Philharmonic, as well as the rehearsals for the Olivier Awards.

All the best for your trip Isaac!

 

Technical Award Winner Update!

Our 2014 Technical Award winner, Isabella Stadler is travelling to New York to learn about stage technologies from some of the best in the world! Isabella will partake in a 4 month Automation Traineeship at PRG Scenic Technologies, a leader in stage and production technologies.

She will study the application and implementation of Stage Technologies, focusing on automation systems and studying how these can be applied to musical theatre in Australia.

All the best for your trip Isabella!

2014 WINNER!

The Winner of the 2014 Rob Guest Endowment Award is Joshua Robson!

 

CONGRATULATIONS TO:

The 2014 Rob Guest Endowment Award
Joshua Robson

The inaugural East End Theatre District Artist Development Award
Andrew Cook

The Playbill Future Prospect Award
Daniel Assetta

The Rob Guest Endowment Technical Award in Honour of Sue Nattrass
Isabella Stadler

The Rob Guest Endowment Musician Award
Isaac Hayward