New Standard Bank Ovation Awards celebrate innovative Fringe productions at National Arts FestivalInnovative and cutting edge productions at this year's Fringe programme of the National Arts Festival, Grahamstown will be recognised by the debut by the Standard Bank Ovation awards
The new Standard Bank Ovation award recognises and celebrates innovation and excellence on the Fringe programme of the National Arts Festival by putting the spotlight on cutting edge-work that is strong, diverse and original. Veteran Johannesburg-based theatre journalist Adrienne Sichel will convene the panel responsible for selecting the winning productions. She is the recipient of the 2009 Alan Kirkland Soga Lifetime Achiever Mondi Shanduka Award presented by the Newspaper Association of South Africa; a 2010 Resident Fellow in the division of Dramatic Art, Wits School of Arts and serves on the National Arts Festival committee.
The nominations for the Standard Bank Ovation will be made by a panel of Cue reviewers and accredited professional media. A select number of knowledgeable and specialist arts professionals appointed by the Festival will comprise an evaluation panel which will function anonymously. The panellists' identities will be revealed only after the final announcement of the Standard Bank Ovation winners which will be released through the Festival newspaper, Cue winners.
The panel will consist of at least one specialist in each of the following genres in which an award will be presented: Theatre; Comedy; Music (excluding Jazz); Dance; Physical Theatre; Performance Poetry/Storytelling; Multi-disciplinary arts.
The following criteria will be considered by the panel when reviewing a production for the Standard Bank Ovation: strength of production (taking into consideration the various creative and technical elements); quality of performances, writing & directing; conceptualisation, innovation & originality (does the work create new directions?); potential longevity? (does the production deserve to have a life beyond the Festival? Will a Standard Bank Ovation place it under the radar of a potential management, funder or festival?), and Overall Impact of the production
Stickers bearing the Standard Bank Ovation will be awarded to each of the winners for display on their poster and inclusion on their marketing material.
On the last day of the National Arts Festival, the winners of the Standard Bank Golden Ovation awards will be announced for five categories. The authorised representative of each production will receive a prize of R 5,000, sponsored by Standard Bank. Each of the five winning companies will be invited to submit a proposal for consideration for the following year’s Arena programme.
During the inaugural year, every Fringe production will be eligible to be considered. As from 2011, only fringe productions which have not been staged for more than two consecutive years will qualify.
Click on the National Arts Festival advert on this page which links to the official website for the full festival programme as well as booking details, etc.
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