The 33rd Annual Bruce Awards were presented by the Music Theatre Guild of Victoria at the historic and beautifully restored Her Majesty’s Theatre, Ballarat.

The sparkling, entertaining event was compered by MTV President Ang Cuy, and included first-class selected performances from musical theatre shows presented during the year.

Awards for Excellence included:
Production of the Year (Bruce McBrien Award) Wicked, Bendigo Theatre Company
Direction (Vin Foster Award). Paul Watson, Wicked, Bendigo Theatre Company
Musical Direction (Geoff Tomkins Award)
Tim Verdon, Miss Saigon, Old Scotch Music and Drama (OSMaD)
Matthew Dudfield, Wicked, Bendigo Theatre Company
Choreography (Marie Cumisky Award)
Steven Rostron, Kinky Boots, CLOC Musical Theatre
Settings (Grahame Murphy Award)
Ken Wells, Wicked, Bendigo Theatre Company
Wardrobe (Hazel Rodgers Award)
Liz Young, Wicked, Bendigo Theatre Company
Lighting. Ian Scott, Wicked, Bendigo Theatre Company
Sound. Greg Ginger, Wicked, Bendigo Theatre Company
Technical Achievement (Nigel Wallace Award). Beast Transformation, Disney’s Beauty and the Beast, Windmill Theatre Company
Male Performer in a Leading Role (Harold Burrows Award). Bryn Bowen, Max Bialystock, The Producers, Panorama Theatre Company
Dom Hennequin, The Engineer, Miss Saigon, Old Scotch Music and Drama (OSMaD)
Female Performer in a Leading Role (Doreen Burrows Award). Sophie Collins, Elizabeth, If/Then, Theatre of the Damned
Melissa Harrington, Elphaba, Wicked, Bendigo Theatre Company
Male Performer in a Supporting Role (Rob Constable Award). Paul Congdon, Roger Debris, The Producers, Panorama Theatre Company
Ashley McPherson, Franz Liebkind, The Producers, Babirra Music Theatre
Female Performer in a Supporting Role
Morgan Heynes, Eponine, Les Miserables, Footlight Productions
Junior Performer in an Open Production
Kody Austin, Fiyero, Wicked, Bendigo Theatre Company
First Performance in a Featured Role (Gladys Moncrieff Award)
Daisy-Rose Coppola, Elle Woods, Legally Blonde, UMMTA (University of Melbourne Music Theatre Association)
Kody Austin, Fiyero, Wicked, Bendigo Theatre Company
Dancer’s Award (Tony McShanagh Award) Aaron Taylor, Lola/Simon, Kinky Boots, CLOC Musical Theatre
Cameo Performance
Jess Marshall, Ruth Two Bears, Dogfight, Lightbox Productions
Ensemble Performance
Whole Cast, Wicked, Bendigo Theatre Company
Design Award (Peter Blizzard-Allen Award)
Daniel Gosling, Projection Design, Wicked, Bendigo Theatre Company
Awards of Excellence:
The over 40 member set construction team, Wicked, Bendigo Theatre Company. ammy, Toto the Dog, The Wizard of Oz, NOVA Music Theatre
Ongoing commitment to the encouragement of local talent and the promotion of regional community theatre, Horsham Arts Council, Beast Makeup and Prosthesis Design, Disney’s Beauty and the Beast, Windmill Theatre Company
Junior Section
Production of the Year
Jesus Christ Superstar, Adamson Theatre Company
Direction
Marcus Pinnell and Fiona Atkin, Jesus Christ Superstar, Adamson Theatre Company
Musical Direction
Susie Heggie and Ryan Murphy, Jesus Christ Superstar, Adamson Theatre Company
Choreography
Kristy Pinnell and Montana Slavik, Jesus Christ Superstar, Adamson Theatre Company
Design
Brenton Van Vliet, LED Screen Designs, Wicked, Brentwood Secondary College
Male Performer in a Leading Role
Julian Machin, Jesus, Jesus Christ Superstar, Adamson Theatre Company
Female Performer in a Leading Role
Abbey Wells, Matilda, Matilda the Musical, Eltham College
Male Performer in a Supporting Role
James McFadden, Uncle Fester, The Addams Family, Caulfield Grammar
Female Performer in a Supporting Role
Amy Smedley, Mrs Baskin, Big, ACTion Youth Theatre
Awards of Excellence:
Loyola College’s Addams Family for their front of house display and design.
Keelan Roberts in Adamson Theatre Company’s Jesus Christ Superstar for his dancing ability.
Drew Lane for his composition of original music and lyrics for People’s Playhouse Theatre’s production of The Tree of Life.
To the students of Our Lady of Mercy College’s subject, “Live Production: The Crew”, for bringing their classroom to life behind the scenes and engaging in all technical areas for their production of School Of Rock