It was the song that caught the judges’ attention.
A St. Albert brother-sister musical theatre duo scooped up two prestigious awards at K-Days Talent Search.
Lauren Boyd, dressed in bowler hat and figure-hugging costume singing and soft shoeing through Cabaret, was the recipient of the $1,000 Colin Forbes Memorial Scholarship.
Following in her footsteps, younger brother Andrew, was awarded a $500 Marcella Merrigan Memorial Scholarship for his robust Latin lover performance of I Am Adolpho from The Drowsy Chaperone.
Both have been accepted to Sheridan College’s musical theatre program and will use the scholarship to pay for the school’s $8,000 tuition fee.
“I was so extremely grateful. I wasn’t expecting it, but I had hopes,” says Lauren, founder of No Tomatoes Theatre Company.
The awards were delivered last Thursday night at K-Days Talent Search finale, an apples and oranges variety show of artistry that showcased nine finalists in musical theatre, instrumental guitar, hip hop street dance, opera and highland dance.
Three other St. Albert connected artists performed at the Talent Search Finale.
Hailey Benedict, 11, sang and danced her way through Shy as Princess Winifred from the musical theatre extravaganza Once Upon a Mattress. Stephanie Savage, a former St. Albert Children’s Theatre alum belted out a bluesy version of House of the Rising Sun, and pop singer Yasmeen Najmeddine opened the evening with Demi Lovato’s Heart Attack.
Steffni Ault, one of the three finale judges and the driving force at Edmonton Musical Theatre, was impressed with the quality of performances.
“These are the people to watch out for and the calibre keeps getting stronger every year,” Ault says.
She had positive comments for each performer starting with Andrew Boyd.
“He was good. I thought he had a better voice than his song choice showed. His song choice showed a definite acting ability and great stage presence. But it didn’t show off his vocal technique. I wish he would have chosen a different song.”
Of Benedict, Ault says, “She was adorable. She has huge potential.”
And the first thing that Ault notes about Savage’s performance is her killer voice.
“I gave her top marks for vocal ability, but she needs to train in stage technique and how to be comfortable on stage and sell a song.”
As for Najmeddine, a YTV Next Star competitor, Ault says, “She’s got good pop potential. She’s just started out. She just needs more experience.”
Andrew, as well as Najmeddine, Savage and Benedict also were awarded a Talent Search finalist award of $100.
A full list of winners will be available shortly at www.k-days.com.
