I am very pleased to announce that the show that I self-produced and performed in as my apprentice project last Summer has been nominated for an award! The Last Five Years is one of the few musicals to be done as part of Pacific Theatre over the years, and both The Last Five Years, and their mainstage musical that season, Godspell, gave garnered nominations at the Ovation Awards. The Ovation Awards are specific to musical theatre in Vancover and the surrounding Lower Mainland.
I'm thrilled about this, not just for myself, though it is great affirmation, but for everyone who was involved in this production. All of them did amazing work for the hefty paycheck of $0 and really deserve to be recognized for their work. So I just wanted to take time here to do that.
Josh McFaul- actor - Jaime
My beloved husband, and the one who introduced me to this show when he sent me home with the soundtrack and insisted I had to listen through with my eyes closed and no distractions. He was an amazing support for this project, long before he agreed to come on board and lend his talents to the project.
Heather Teeter- director
She came into this project assuring me how foreign music and musical theatre was to her, but I believe she was just what we needed. Her natural gift for comedy made the darker side of this story so much easier to take and the lighter sides so much more invigorating.
Jin Kim- lighting designer
Jin joined us only ONE WEEK before opening, but that didn't phase him at all. In his first gig after moving back to Vancouver, he shined. He came up with and executed a beautiful lighting design that was an incredibly important part of this production.
Dave Rosborough- music director - performance pianist
Dave got 100% behind this project and I think one of the strongest testaments to his talent was the talent he brought in with him in the form of high school student musicians.
Joyce Ma - viola
Joyce may have been in high school, but no one could tell by her performance on stage. Wonderfully talented and saving the day by replacing one of the two cello spots called for in the score.
Taylor Caswell - bass
Taylor was our second high school student in the ensemble, but the first musician to jump into the project along side Dave. Taylor's enthusiasm for this show was wonderful and he, as well, was a shock for others to find out he was still in high school. Incredible.
Matt MacArthur - acoustic guitar
Matt came to us from a backround of playing in bands, but oh my he was amazing. He made up for every bit that he lacked in music reading and learned difficult parts by ear at lightening speed. A great musician and so much fun to work with.
Kathleen Nisbet - violin
Kathleen is primarily a fiddler by trade, performing with Bluegrass bands like Viper Central. There are some tricky fiddling sections in this score and did she ever rock them!
Noah James - cello
Noah is an astoundingly gifted musician. I could just listen to him play for ... ever. We were so fortunate that he joined our ensemble and made the final piece of the puzzle.
I am so thankful to each one of these amazing people, and as well to Pacific Theatre for all of their financial, moral, technical and every other kind of support that they could muster.
If any of you out there feel like lending a vote, it is open to public voting at this point and will remain so until Jan. 25th. Voting is here.
