Bravo! Arcadians take a bow in awards debut
Entering the competition for the first time, the Arcadians triumphed against 52 separate theatre companies from across southern NSW
The start of each year is well known in entertainment circles as awards ceremony time. Golden Globes, Oscars, Grammys, and the list goes on.
Treading the red carpet in grand style and taking home a swag of awards at one of the nation’s biggest regional award ceremonies, it’s bravo to the Illawarra’s very own Arcadians.
Entering the Combined Area Theatre (CAT) Awards for the first time, the Arcadians triumphed against 52 separate theatre companies from across southern NSW, in the event at Queanbeyan.
Taking home eight awards in total, the Arcadians were judged the most successful troupe, together with Canberra-based Mockingbird Theatre, across the board. And that success took the large contingent who travelled to the awards by surprise.
“We went there and really we were just totally stoked just to be nominated as a humble little group from Wollongong,“ said Katie Pearce, co-director of the award winning Into The Woods.
“At the beginning of the night, we were just sitting there, not winning anything, and thinking that’s OK, let’s just enjoy the night. Then we had a first win for the evening and everyone was cheering, and from there the whole night just got better.
“It all happened so quickly, it was so unexpected, but we were all absolutely ecstatic. We were super-proud of our youth for their achievements – just fantastic.”
The young Arcadians performers took home four awards in total: best costume design for a school or youth production for Alice in Wonderland; best youth actor in a featured role in a musical, Leon Illades (as Pugsley in The Addams Family); best director of a school or youth musical, Jennifer Bond (The Addams Family); best production of a school or youth musical (The Addams Family).
In the open categories, the Arcadians scored four more awards: best orchestra (Into The Woods), best actress in a leading role in a musical, Talia Sigsworth (as Cinderella in Into The Woods); best musical direction, Rowan Keyes (Into The Woods); best production of a musical (Into The Woods).
“We are so proud of everyone involved and grateful to celebrate the strength of youth in our community,” the Arcadians said in their triumphant Facebook post.
The success of the Arcadians was even more impressive given they were being judged against nearly 100 other productions in the school/youth and open sections.
The next Arcadians show is Well Behaved Women, a musical feast about women through the ages who refused to behave. It stars Jesse Cleal, who starred as Maria in the group's 2024 production of The Sound of Music, and the season at the Lamplight Theatre in Corrimal runs March 6-14.
Tickets are now on sale on The Arcadians' website.
