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POY Letter 2021 – 2022
Dear Members,
It seems such a long time since we were able to get together and enjoy our drama. Hopefully we can begin to start new shows whilst being very careful and covid aware.
We are planning to run the Play of the Year Competition again with the culmination of an Awards Dinner on Friday 24rth June 2022 at the Crown Plaza hotel.
Our adjudicator is Howard Whitehurst, whom I’m sure you all remember from previous spells as adjudicator.

Howard entered the world of amateur theatre with the Bonington Players in 1969 and was drawn to directing after acting in a variety of roles.  His first production was A Christmas Carol which he adapted from the original Dickens novel winning the Belper Cup in 1973; subsequently playing a host of roles from Mrs Swabb to Thomas Cromwell.
He is one of the region’s most prolific amateur directors with around 80 shows to his credit. Howard has also helped a number of groups with plays, musicals, operatics and gang shows in later years. Howard has concentrated his creative talents in Group Productions at the Bonington Theatre Arnold and was also a principal member of a team that helped secure the improvement and long term future of the Bonington Theatre. Having announced his retirement from both acting and direction he has undertaken productions in every year since and is in the process of making more comebacks than Frank Sinatra.
Howard is a member of the NANDA Council, and Past Chairman of the Gedling Borough Arts Association.

The usual rules will apply (copy attached).
However to help groups get back into routine we are offering three small changes for this year only.
1      No membership fee this season for existing members.
2      The first POY entry will be free – any other entries will carry the usual fee of £65.
3      Groups may enter 2 or 3 one act plays, performed on the same night and offering an evening’s entertainment of at least 1 and ½ hours. These will be adjudicated as an evening’s entertainment alongside the full length plays.
Please make sure you use the latest entry form which contains space for both Sidney Hopkin nominees and those eligible for the Stephen Godward Award.

If you are entering a play during September please phone or email me as you will not be able to give the usual 4 week notice.
Any other plays must be entered at least 4 weeks before the first night and the script sent early to allow the adjudicator time to read it.

Please remember to pass details of all shows (regardless of the POY Comp) to Howard so that they may be entered on Nanda’s website and facebook page.

I look forward to hearing from you and hope to make this a successful comeback for the Play of the Year Competition.

Yours Sincerely
Joan Wildgust
Play of the Year Coordinator