Rob Guest Endowment Committee Announces Finalists for 2016 Award

The Rob Guest Endowment Committee is delighted to announce the 2016 Rob Guest Endowment Grand Final Concert will take place on Monday 14 November at the Sydney Lyric Theatre. The concert will be a night of exhilarating musical entertainment as six young musical theatre artist perform live and compete to win the $20,000 cash prize in this grand final event. Supported by a live professional orchestra, they will perform alongside some of Australia's most loved stars as the industry come together for an incredible night not to be missed.

Presented with the support of the NSW Government's tourism and major events agency, Destination NSW, the night promises to once again be a highlight on the musical theatre calendar.

NSW Minister for Trade, Tourism and Major Events Start Ayres said, "Now in its eighth year, the Rob Guest Endowment Award celebrates Australia's brightest young stars by recognising and nurturing outstanding talent in musical theatre and I congratulate all of this year's finalists."

The six Finalists for the 2016 Rob Guest Endowment Award were announced today. Competing against nearly 300 applicants, six outstanding performers were chosen by an expert panel of judges, which included Andrew Pole, Kellie Dickerson, Christopher Horsey and Lisa O'Dea.

The 2016 finalists are Du Toit Brendenkamp (currently performing in The Sound of Music), Hilary Cole (soon to open in Kinky Boots), Linden Furnell (Kinky Boots), Stephanie Jones (The Sound of Music), Genevieve Kingsford (The Light In The Piazza) and Matthew Predny (Kinky Boots).

Now in its 8th year, the Rob Guest Endowment competition continues to grow. The 2016 Rob Guest Endowment Award winner will take home $20,000, intended to help them gain the performance experience, media training, guidance and a public image to help them become a leading artist in the Australian musical theatre industry. Applicants also compete for Melbourne's East End Theatre District Artist Development Award, a $5,000 prize, and runners up will each take home $1,500. In addition, the Playbill Future Prospect Award, a $1,500 prize, is presented to a Semi Finalist who displays promising talent.

This year also sees the return of two exciting categories open to competitors recognizing further excellence in the field of musical theatre. The Rob Guest Endowment Technical Award in Honour of Sue Nattrass is a $10,000 cash prize intended to help a current member in a technical department of musical theatre fund the tuition and experience needed to help them become a leader in their field. Applicants could be from departments including, but not limited to, stage management, mechanists, sound, lighting, wigs and wardrobe. The Rob Guest Endowment Musician Award, also a $10,000 cash prize, is intended to help a current musician in the musical theatre genre fund the tuition and experience needed to help them become a leader in their field.

Tickets for this year's Gala Concert will go on sale on Tuesday 4 October via Ticketmaster.

Guest Artists performing at the concert will be announced soon.

www.robguestendowment.com.au

ROB GUEST ENDOWMENT CONCERT - BOOKING DETAILS

Venue Sydney Lyric Theatre, The Star

Date 14 November 2016

Performance Time 7:30pm

Price $59.00 - $99.00

Bookings www.ticketmaster.com.au or 1300 558 878

*An additional transaction fee and/or a credit/debit payment processing fee may apply

Media Enquiries: Please contact IP Publicity, Ian Phipps, at ian@ippublicity.com.au or 0419 977 649 or Sharonne Lipman at sharonne@ippublicity.com.au or 0466 896 650

NOTES TO EDITORS

The late Rob Guest, had a career that spanned over 40 years, making him a much loved Musical Theatre star and a household name to audiences throughout Australia New Zealand and overseas. Perhaps best known for his role as the Phantom of the Opera, he appeared and starred in over 40 productions including Les Miserables, Jesus Christ Superstar, Grease, Jolson, The Sound of Music and WICKED. Less well known to audiences was his role as mentor and adviser to many young performers he worked with over the years, helping them through rough spots and guiding them in their career development. Following his sudden and unexpected death in 2008 while performing the role of the Wizard of Oz in WICKED, the Rob Guest Endowment was set up as a tribute to this outstanding performer to continue his work in nurturing and progressing young developing talent in the Musical Theatre industry.