Young performer awarded UCOL acting scholarship

Media Release

Friday, 17 October 2014

Young performer awarded UCOL acting scholarship

Feilding High School student Cohen Stephens has acted his way into the UCOL Diploma in Performing Arts programme as the recipient of a scholarship announced recently.

The UCOL Performing Arts Scholarship is awarded annually to a promising member of Centrepoint Theatre’s youth ensemble, the Basement Company.

The scholarship enables Cohen to study under UCOL Lecturer and well-known local director and producer Jaime Dorner, in the Diploma programme.

The Basement Company is designed to extend students who show potential in the field of the dramatic arts. Young performers from high schools around the region get professional coaching and direction and experience life as an actor/director during the one year programme.

“All of the students in the Basement Company were extremely hard working and focussed, and I am sure that any of them who choose to pursue a career in the performing arts will do very well,” says the Basement Company 2014 Director Craig Geenty. “Though the standard of the candidates was high, Cohen stood out for his strong work ethic and commitment over the whole year's programme. He’s a great example of the kind of passionate involvement and dedication to the arts we are looking for.”

Notes to reporters:
The Basement Company is Centrepoint Theatre’s youth development programme. It is open to all secondary school students in year 12 and 13 from around the Manawatu. The company has been running for ten years, and functions as an experience of professional theatre for promising young adults involved in all facets of the industry. An audition workshop weekend is held at Centrepoint Theatre and up to 16 students selected for a series of monthly workshops with a variety of theatre professionals. Company members also attend all plays on Centrepoint’s main stage during their tenure. The year culminates in two weeks of full-day rehearsals and a production in The Dark Room during the September-October school holidays.

ENDS

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