2015 Rob Guest Endowment Awards Announced

Organisers of The Rob Guest Endowment have today launched the 2015 Rob Guest Endowment Awards. Applications are now open and the winners will be announced at the Rob Guest Endowment Concert to be held in Sydney later in 2015. The 2015 prize package is valued at over $60,000, including the $20,000 major prize, the Rob Guest Endowment Award.

The Rob Guest Endowment Awardis presented annually to an emerging musical theatre performer selected by a panel of industry experts. It seeks out Australia's brightest and most talented young rising stars by putting them through a gruelling audition process. Six finalists will showcase their talent at the Rob Guest Endowment Concert and the winner will take home the highly coveted Rob Guest Endowment Award of $20,000 and a headshot package provided by Blueprint Studios. This year also sees the return of Melbourne's East End Theatre District Artist Development Award, a $5,000 prize and the Playbill Future Prospect Award, a cash prize of $1,500. The four remaining finalists will each take home $1,500.

Past winners and finalists of the Rob Guest Endowment Award are performing in lead roles in musical theatre around Australia, including Samantha Leigh Dodemaide (Anything Goes), Euan Doidge (Marius in Les Miserables), Kirby Burgess (Baby in Dirty Dancing), Angelique Cassimatis (Columbia in The Rocky Horror Show), Joshua Robson (Les Miserables) and Andrew Cook (Matilda - The Musical).

The Rob Guest Endowment Technical Award in Honour of Sue Nattrass and The Rob Guest Endowment Musician Award will again be presented in 2015. Each of these awards, fully funded by the Capitol Theatre and Sydney Lyric, include a $10,000 cash prize intended to help the recipients become leaders in their field. The winners will be announced at the 2015 concert.

NSW Minister for Trade, Tourism and Major Events Stuart Ayres said, "The Rob Guest Endowment Awards recognise outstanding new talent in musical theatre, an industry important to Sydney's positioning as Australia's live performance capital. The NSW Government is proud to have secured the Rob Guest Endowment Concert through our tourism and major events agency Destination NSW, as part of our commitment to fostering the growth of musical theatre in the State."

The Rob Guest Endowment executive committee, Bernadette Hayes and Kellie Dickerson, are thrilled that the total prize pool has increased to over $60,000 this year. Rob Guest Endowment Patron, John Frost, says that the Rob Guest Endowment Awards are an incredible legacy and continue to give back to the industry as it grows. "This is a unique set of awards honouring a much-loved musical theatre star. Rob Guest was an inspiration to all, and a great teacher and mentor to those he worked with," said John Frost. "The Rob Guest Endowment Awards continue to inspire and foster the growth of the musical theatre industry."

More information on guest artists and tickets will be provided at a later date.