Articles, Blog, Press
LET’S HEAR IT FOR THE RECIPIENTS OF THE 13TH BOH CAMERONIAN ARTS AWARDS (BCAA) TECHNICAL AWARDS & JUNIOR CAMMIES! : aforadio.com
By , 25 April 2016
Kakiseni and BOH Plantations proudly announced the best local stagecraft practitioners and young performing artists in Malaysia
KUALA LUMPUR, 11 APRIL 2016 – It was a whirlwind day of awards as Kakiseni and BOH Plantations honoured the men and women who work tirelessly behind the scenes as well as the aspiring future stars of Malaysian theatre.
Today, Kakiseni and BOH Plantations fêted the recipients of the 13th BCAA Technical Awards at Kakiseni Central Command in recognition of their outstanding effort in categories including light, set, sound as well as costume, styling and make-up for dance, musical theatre and theatre. Without the dedication and hard work of these practitioners, our experience of the performing arts wouldn’t be as immersive or enjoyable.
Zen Tan, recipient of the Best Set Design award in Theatre, for The Dawns Here Are Quiet, said it was a “magical experience” to hear her name called out. Calling it “unexpected”, this is the first time Zen has won this award.
Another first-time recipient, Clarence Chua, who won Best Sound Design in Theatre, for indicinelive! The Revival Show 2015, was “stunned” and “shocked” as it was also his first ever nomination. Freddy Tan and Siti Farrah Abdullah, who co-produced the show under SIFU Production, were very proud of Clarence and his win. They said that Clarence “was easy to work with” and that he was a quick study who “understood non-technical terms”.
It was also a day for celebrating the hugely successful Junior Cammies again. Introduced last year, the awards sought to reward the best musical theatre staged at local secondary schools. This year, it also includes theatre productions providing a bigger impetus for students to stage more plays and improve to stand a chance of winning an award.
The Junior Cammies are an especially exciting and important award because the young people nominated represent the changing of the guard for local performing arts. By encouraging them to strive towards excellence in theatre, Kakiseni and BOH Plantations hope to ensure the continuity of performing arts in Malaysia will not go unbroken.
Junior Cammy recipient, Brendan Tang was awarded Best Principal Role for Theatre, for his performance in “The Ketchup Bottle” in Sri Emas International School’s Student Directed Festival Season 1. Calling his win “surprising” but “nice”, Brendan said performing in front of so many people was “nerve wrecking”.
While Reuben Chow, who was awarded the Junior Cammy for Best Production Design in Theatre, together with Shahrizuan Shaharuddin, for their work in “Fugue” in another Sri Emas production, Student Directed Festival Season 2, said that their win gave him “more drive to continue” and “it was good to receive this as an acknowledgement”.
“So many aspects are involved in the staging of any performing arts. Not only do we have the performers engaging with the audience, we also have our backstage superheroes. These are the people who work tirelessly around the clock to ensure that every little detail that can lend impact to the ambience and setting on stage are looked into. Therefore, the Tech Awards act as a great avenue to pay tribute to the technical teams who have been hard at work,” said Caroline Russell, CEO of BOH Plantations.
“For the second year in a row, the Junior Cammies recognise budding talent among our younger generation. The Junior Cammies is but a stepping stone for them and we applaud their persistence and passion for the arts. Certainly, their engaging performances coupled with their drive and potential, lend a youthful perspective that will orchestrate the further growth of the performing arts in Malaysia,” Russell added.
Low Ngai Yuen, president of Kakiseni, had this to say about the 13th BCAA Technical Awards and Junior Cammies, “Kakiseni and BOH have always been such strong supporters of the arts in Malaysia and even though the nominees for the Technical Awards go unseen, their work does not, and we fully appreciate what goes into making a good show great.”
She added: “We are also adamant that the arts are a crucial component to a well-rounded education, which is why the Junior Cammies gained so much traction last year. Over a hundred schools have participated in a variety of arts programmes from BootcampSENI to the National English Drama Competition 2015 and that contributed to the addition of a theatre category at the Junior Cammies on top of last year’s lone musical theatre category. But there must be continuous engagement with the young, the Ministry of Education, and school administrators and teachers to nurture the seedbed of talent and ensure that the creative industry flourishes in the future. Currently, Kakiseni and BOH are expanding the access of arts to schools and getting a larger number of artists involved in training, speaking to and informing the students about the importance of the arts in their lives.”
The 13BCAA Technical Awards and Junior Cammies were judged by an independent panel of judges comprising reputable practitioners in the performing arts industry. The tabulations and balloting were then conducted by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), the Awards ballot partner.
The recipients of both the 13th BCAA Technical Awards and the Junior Cammies received an award in recognition of their success as well as a RM1,000 prize.
Members of the public can also own a little piece of the awards in the form of a commemorative BOH Cameronian Gold Blend Tea canister, available in 3 limited edition designs. They can redeem ONE Limited Edition BOH Cameronian Gold Blend tea canister when they purchase a copy of “And Oh, These Are My Superpowers” at their nearest MPH bookstore in a single receipt. This promotion is valid from 15 April 2016, while stocks last.
And remember to save the date on 24 April 2016, 8.00pm, when we go all out to celebrate the 13th BOH Cameronian Arts Awards at D’Saji KL Titiwangsa, Lot 143, Seksyen 87, Jalan Kuantan, 53200 Kuala Lumpur.
For a complete list of the recipients of the Technical Awards and the Junior Cammies, please refer to the attached document. For more information on the 13th BOH Cameronian Arts Awards, please visit http://awards.kakiseni.com
See original post and photo gallery here