The University Players, the resident theatre company at the Philip Sherlock Centre, The University of the West Indies Mona campus won Actor Boy awards in five of their nominated categories at a ceremony held at the Jamaica Pegasus Hotel on Monday, April 14. 
 
Dr Brian Heap, Head of the Centre received the award for Best Director for his staging of Samuel Hillary’s engaging play ‘Departure in the Dark’ marking the sixth time he has won in this particular category. Nadean Rawlins also received the award for Best Actress in a Leading Role for her vivid portrayal of Mrs Lilian Martin in the same production, which also won the award for Best Drama.
 
Michael Holgate, Tutor Coordinator at the Philip Sherlock Centre also picked up two awards for his staging of Aston Cooke’s musical, ‘Jonkannoo Jamboree’. These were namely, Best Original Musical Score with student Jon Joseph Nepaul and the Adjudicators’ Special Award for Best Ensemble Performance. The ensemble cast is made up of outstanding student performers and alumni of the various performing arts clubs. Technical Manager at the Philip Sherlock Centre, Nadia Roxburgh, received the award for Best Lighting for Backstory’s production ‘Taboo’.
 
The awards were presented in a glittering ceremony at the International Theatre Institute’s Annual Actor Boy Awards held at the Talk of the Town, Jamaica Pegasus. Dr Heap expressed his delight at the results. “Although we had a large number of nominations in several categories, it has been our experience in the past that it doesn’t necessarily guarantee that you are going to win anything. This time around we were able to celebrate our multiple wins in grand style.”
 
New University Players productions are scheduled for May, August and October 2014.