May 6 2015

Crash Test Drama 2015 Round Two started off rather nicely, with the exact number of actors (19) auditioning for the available roles (19). Go team!

Starting the night was Nikita Jones’ “Thai The Knot”, directed by last-minute stand-in Brandon Lacey (get well Georgie!). This clever comedy starred Best Actor winner Ryan Bown as John and Best Actress Runner Up winner Cerise Kofoed as Rachel. They also won Popular Vote Runner Up. Go team!

Next up was “The Motel”, written by Brian Haydon and directed by Wayne Mitchell. Graham Yates, Leilani Loau, Wendy Morton and Davo Hardy got their affairs in order in this one.

Third up was Robert Renshaw’s “Wiped Out”, directed by Anna Potter and featuring a wonderful performance from James Cameron. Robert was awarded Playwright’s Encouragement Award for an engaging and well-constructed script.

Wrapping up act one was “Quintessence” by Robert Salisbury. Leon Joseph directed Silky Sachdeva, Richard Littlehales, Warren Glover, Reich Webber-Montenegro and Penelope Berkemeier in quite possibly the dirtiest Crash Test play ever. Sorry folks – you had to be there!

The fifth play for the night was “Have You Accepted Science Into Your Heart”, written by Matt Friedman and directed by James Gallaway. This spoof on evangelism starred Matt Lausch as Randy and Daryl Hood as Ben.

Sixth was “The Piece Keeper”, written by Pheona Mulligan and directed by Best Director Felicity Burke. This monologue featured Best Actress Nicki James and took out the judge’s award for Best Play. We’ll be seeing it again in the Crash Test Finals on Mon 6 July 2015.

And finally, we had “Artoo And Threepio Are Lead”, a fun play by Seamus McAlary, directed by Ann Elbourne. It starred Best Actor Runner Up Dudley Levell as Artoo, Nick Sujak as Threepio, Shu Torng Heiw as Leia, Isabella Jessup as the SFX, and the Artoo’s helmet as the Best Prop Ever. Taking out the Popular Vote award, this play will also be back in the Crash Test Finals on 6 July.

Results

Con Nats once again had the unenviable task of judging. Here were his picks:

Best Actor: Ryan Bown

Best Actor Runner Up: Dudley Levell

Best Actress: Nicki James

Best Actress Runner Up: Cerise Kofoed

Best Director: Felicity Burke

Popular Vote Runner Up: Thai The Knot

Popular Vote Winner: Artoo And Theepio Are Lead

Best Play: The Piece Keeper

Playwright’s Encouragement Award: Robert Renshaw for “Wiped Out”

Thanks to everyone for their participation and we're looking forward to seeing "The Piece Keeper" and "Artoo And Threepio Are Lead" again in the Finals on July 6.