WATERFORD NEWS & STAR GREEN ROOM AWARDS

Celebrating Waterford Theatre, Arts & Culture…

Theatre Royal, Sunday, 26th February, 2023 at 8pm – tickets €20

 

Proudly Supported by: Waterford City & County Council and Liberty Blue Estate Agents

 

 

AND THE WINNERS ARE…

The Winners of the Waterford News & Star Green Room Awards 2023 were revealed during a spectacular variety show and awards ceremony at Theatre Royal, Waterford, on Sunday, February 26th.

They can be viewed online via this link: And the Winners are…

 

THE EVENT

Pat McEvoy, Arts correspondent with the Waterford News & Star takes his seat in theatres and auditoriums across Waterford, critiquing and supporting the work of the Déise’s amateur and professional performers.

The Waterford News & Star took Pat’s annual Green Room Awards to Waterford’s Theatre Royal for a special event on Sunday, February 26th, 2023.

The Waterford News & Star Green Room Awards 2023 featured a spectacular variety show by the crème de la crème of Waterford talent, as we honoured those who make it not just alright on the night but send us home with soaring hearts and memories to treasure.

“There is really no substitute for a live performance. It isn’t always good; but when it is, it’s magical” – Pat McEvoy

 

THE AWARDS

The Waterford News & Star Green Room Awards 2023 celebrate the diversity, scale, and quality of Waterford’s theatre, Arts and cultural scene. During this glitzy awards season event in the Theatre Royal, Pat McEvoy’s Green Room Award winners were revealed, alongside a highly entertaining variety show, putting Waterford talent in the spotlight.

Pat reviews more than 100 shows and events annually, with these performances seen by thousands of Waterford people who pack out the Theatre Royal, Garter Lane Theatre, and theatres in Dungarvan, Carrick-on-Suir, Portlaw, and beyond. The scope of the awards encompasses musicals, drama, comedy, choral, panto, and much more, and all the roles therein. They are as much about community as they are about the arts, reflecting how deeply embedded amateur theatre and performance is in Waterford.

There are over 30 awards covering hundreds of performances and roles, with upwards of 130 nominees – including entire drama and musical theatre companies, and large scale performances.

We also present an adjudicated Lifetime Achievement Award, as well as a People’s Choice Award, chosen by the public from an adjudicated Waterford Theatre/ Entertainment/Arts/ Culture Group shortlist (voting form appeared on this web page in February). Our adjudication panel for these two awards are representatives of Waterford theatre and arts, and Waterford media personnel, with in depth knowledge of the vibrant Waterford arts and culture scene in our city and county. In 2023, they included Pat McEvoy, Waterford News & Star Arts Correspondent, Mary Frances Ryan, Editor, Waterford News & Star, Geoff Harris, presenter of WLR FM’s The Lunchbox and On The Fringe arts and culture show, Michael Grant, board member of Garter Lane Arts Centre, and member of the Waterford Cultural Quarter committee, and Sarah Jane Cleary, Creative Spirit Ambassador for the Cultural Quarter.

 

 

PUBLIC VOTING FOR THE PEOPLE’S CHOICE AWARD IS NOW CLOSED

 

 

 

Shortlist for The People’s Choice Award 2023:

Adjudicators’ Shortlist: Imagine Arts Festival; Waterford Youth Arts; Blackwater Valley Opera Festival; Waterford Gallery of Art; Spraoi; Symphony Club of Waterford; Mount Sion Choir; Waterford Walls; Comeragh’s Wild Festival; Music Generation Waterford

WINNER: Mount Sion Choir

THE €1,000 BURSARY

The Waterford News & Star Green Room Awards Bursary 2023 provides grant assistance of up to €1,000 for a person or persons involved in the arts/theatre. The recipient was revealed on the night of the Awards Ceremony. Applications are now closed for this bursary.

‘The bursary will be given to someone who might not otherwise have the funds to achieve his or her potential’

The objective of the Waterford News & Star Green Room Awards Bursary is to support individuals in their endeavours in Arts and Theatre. The bursary is available to people at any stage of their career to develop their practice.

The bursary emphasises the value and benefit to a person’s development derived from an extended process of engagement with their practice, and seeks to provide the successful candidate with the time and resources to think, research, reflect and engage with their practice. The bursary will be given to someone who might not otherwise have the funds to achieve his or her potential.

 Who can apply? The bursary award is open to people with an involvement in the arts and/or theatre at any stage in their career. To be eligible to apply, applicants must be: A person from, or living in, Waterford City or County, or having an association with Waterford, to develop his or her creative talent; and applying with a view to further developing or kick-starting their career in the field of the Arts and Theatre.

Each application will be judged by an adjudication panel. The recipient will be publicly announced and presented with the bursary at the Waterford News & Star Green Room Awards 2023, which will be held in the Theatre Royal on February 26th, 2023 at 8pm.

THE APPLICATION PROCESS

In order to apply, download the application form and bursary guidelines and terms and conditions, and send the completed application form, together with your CV, to the Waterford News & Star. The closing date for applications is Tuesday, February 14, 2023 at 5pm. For further information, email the Editor at [email protected]

Guidelines for applications 🔗are available here as a Word document,
and 🔗the application form can be found here.

A PROUD DÉISE HISTORY

The history of theatre in Waterford is widely respected – from the Tops of the Town and the Waterford International Festival of Light Opera, to highly acclaimed Red Kettle and Spraoi. At one stage all the major companies in Waterford participated in the Tops of the Town, with Bausch & Lomb, Rayban and Waterford Crystal synonymous with Waterford entertainment and performance.

We draw upon this heritage in the Waterford News & Star Green Room Awards and through an exhibition on the night of the awards in the foyer of the Theatre Royal, featuring photos from the Waterford News & Star archives and the participation of Spraoi.

While the Tops of the Town might be long gone, the love of theatre is alive and thriving in Waterford. Hundreds of Waterford people continue to participate in local theatre and the arts, supported by their families and friends. They come from all walks of life and business.

 

THANKS TO OUR SUPPORTERS

The Waterford News & Star is delighted to acknowledge its hugely valued supporters for their backing of the Waterford News & Star Green Room Awards. Our lead sponsors are Waterford City & County Council and Liberty Blue Estate Agents

Waterford City & County Council are supporting the Green Room Awards 2023 as a way of celebrating the theatre, arts and culture in Waterford city and county and highlighting the quality and diversity of talent in our city and county.

Liberty Blue Estate Agents is a multi-award winning company, which provides a complete property service in Waterford City and County and in South Kilkenny. Liberty Blue Estate Agents was founded in 1997 as Bookaroom and has been trading as Liberty Blue Estate Agents since 2015 to provide a complete property service. Regina Mangan, Managing Director, comments: “I’m very proud of my team who collectively have 71 years of experience with our company.” Liberty Blue Estate Agents pride ourselves on being smarter, faster and better than the rest. They are proud to support the Green Room Awards 2023.

The Theatre Royal is delighted to be part of the Waterford News & Star Green Room Awards 2023. Located in the heart of the Viking Triangle, the Theatre Royal is the premier venue in the South East region and plays a key role in the cultural life of Waterford City and County. Theatre Royal is recognised for nurturing community theatre.

Thin Gin, a multi-award winning gin from a Waterford company. The only Irish gin to have won three consecutive medals in the gin category of the Irish Whiskey Awards, this Waterford-based botanical liquor from Anchor Spirits holds 10 national and international medals for taste and quality.

WLRfm is Ireland’s Local Station for the Year for 2022. WLR broadcasts from state of the art studios in Waterford City and Dungarvan to the people of Waterford City and County. WLR provides a lively mix of news, sport, current affairs, arts, music and community updates 24/7. WLR is very much a part of the fabric of everyday life in Waterford and is a trusted media source for the people of Waterford.

Waterford Chamber Waterford’s largest business representative organisation is proud to support the Green Room Awards. The cultural offering in our city is exceptional and as a chamber, we endeavour to promote Waterford as a great place to live, work, invest in and do business. The magnificent Theatre Royal is steeped in history and the nominees follow in the footsteps of some of the world’s greatest performers. They truly are an asset to our city and we commend them for their commitment and professionalism to the arts. It is an integral part of the lifestyle offering in Waterford, which we at the Chamber are so proud to promote nationally and internationally.

Sure Valley Ventures is delighted to support the Green Room Awards. Sure Valley Ventures is an entrepreneur-led venture capital fund focused on helping software entrepreneurs grow and scale businesses that will have a global impact. We support our start-ups from inception to IPO and bring the right types of supports to our companies at every stage in their development. We are team players and place a huge emphasis on collaboration across the team, portfolio and with other investors. We love leading deals but see the value in co-investing with other investors that bring different insights and value add to a company. How do we live up to this? We have strong networks across Europe and the US into leading investors, companies, universities, research institutions and accelerator programmes. [email protected]

ArcLabs South East Technological University’s Research and Innovation Centre, is delighted to support the Green Room Awards, celebrating the Arts in Waterford. In 2019, the Art at ArcLabs initiative was launched, using this innovation space on SETU’s West Campus at Carriganore to showcase the work of local artists. ArcLabs is currently running an exhibition featuring the work of well-known Waterford artist Berna Lawton. The public are welcome to view Berna’s work at ArcLabs until the end of March.

The idea back in 1993 was simply to have some fun and perhaps a little madness on a Summer Sunday. This initial idea materialised as a one-day event held on the streets of Waterford City. It was so successful that an idea grew; perhaps it could become an annual summer festival in Waterford? Thus began it all. And what has since developed is one of Ireland’s leading street arts companies: Spraoi The August Bank Holiday Spraoi Festival attracts an over 100,000 people to Waterford City.

The Art Hand is a family run business, with classes and events run by professional artists Miranda and Sean Corcoran. They also produce and sell their own paintings, mosaics, stained glass and sand art prints. The Art Hand is a custom-built art school located near Bunmahon on the Waterford coast in Ireland. They are situated in an area of great natural beauty called The Copper Coast that is designated by UNESCO as a Global Geopark.