Spotlight » Showcase 2011

Spotlight

Spotlight Showcase 2011

The winner of this year's Spotlight Prize is Kurt Egyiawan, from Guildhall. Kirsty Oswald, from Rose Bruford, won the Highly Commended award.

(This video is interactive - click on a performer for more info and links to their Spotlight CV)

Competing for the Spotlight Prize, the young performers had just three minutes each to impress an exclusive industry audience at the Spotlight Showcase, which took place at the Bloomsbury Ballroom on 19th July. The VIP audience comprised over 250 leading casting directors, agents, producers, directors and successful actors, giving the performers a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to launch their acting careers.

The performers needed to impress a highly-respected panel of actors including BAFTA-nominated actress Sylvia Syms OBE (Case Histories; Ice Cold In Alex; The Queen); Joanna Page (Gavin and Stacey; Love Actually; Fat Pig); successful TV actor Stephen Tompkinson (Wild at Heart; Prime Suspect; Brassed Off); Oliver Award-nominated Rachael Stirling (Women in Love; An Ideal Husband; The Priory); and Oliver Award-winning actor Julian Glover (Game of Thrones, Silent Witness, Oliver!)

Other industry experts on the judging panel included Neil Rutherford, Head of Casting for the Ambassador Theatre Group (The Misanthrope; Legally Blonde; Into the Woods); Amy Ball, Head of Casting at The Royal Court Theatre (Chicken Soup with Barley; Posh; The Priory); Julia Crampsie, Casting Executive for BBC Drama (EastEnders, Holby City, The Night Watch, Lark Rise to Candleford; and Nigel Seale, Head of Spotlight.

Ben Seale, Managing Partner at Spotlight, said: "Another fantastic night of performances from the best students from the world's best drama schools! I had the honour of sitting on the judges table, and they agreed that the future is very bright for all of the talented students who performed. Kurt and Kirsty were truly fantastic - spine tingling stuff - and they have huge careers ahead of them. We look forward to following the careers of all the nominees very closely. Even for those who didn't win, the Spotlight Showcase was an amazing and exclusive opportunity to perform in front of some of the industry's most influential figures and potential employers. One highlight of the evening for me was that a performer was asked to attend a casting at the Royal Court Theatre the next morning, simply on the back of her performance on the night! This is exactly what it is all about."