‘A shared win’: trio earns Best Lead Actress award at TheatreFest

“The next day we met Gordon and Tiffany, our adjudicators, for our information as to how they felt it went. Gordon talked about our passion and energy on the stage from the actors and the production group and gave us a few pointers.”

When awards were handed out later that weekend, the three women were collectively presented with the Best Lead Actress award, something the adjudicator said he couldn’t divide.

“He said he couldn’t imagine separating us because we’re a tight ensemble, which is true. We were rarely off stage at the same time and often finished each other’s sentences.”

‘Bittergirl’ performance during TheatreFest in Regina. (Image Credit: Battlefords Community Players/ Facebook)

This experience taught her to listen to her fellow cast members during challenging times.

“When you put so many passionate people in a room, they want to do their very best. But they also all come with some ideas. Sometimes we didn’t listen as much as we maybe should have and could have. At times, we need to just take a breathe and listen.”

For Briant and Milne, the recognition reflected months of hard work.

“I had total strangers in the drama community coming up to me, telling me how much they enjoyed the performance, how much they enjoyed specific scenes of mine,” said Briant. “That was really amazing for me to hear.”

This role pushed her further than any production before.

“It was so difficult, because it pushed the boundaries of what I thought I was capable of doing, especially the music. The music was so difficult,” she said.

“This adjudicator is very well educated and very well experienced and for him to look at what we did together and say, ‘you girls knew what you were doing. You are good actresses.’ That validation meant something to me.”

Milne agreed, calling the award a huge honor.

“Honestly, I was going just for the experience of performing at Theatrefest. I didn’t think I was going to win a major award,” she laughed.

She got the exciting and overwhelming news through a text while travelling home from the event.

“I had a few happy tears. It was quite nice to be recognized for all our effort and all the months of preparation that it took so that was nice to see.”

The award, shared by the trio, will be hung in the clubhouse where the Battlefords Community Players practice and perform.

“We can’t all share one plaque because that’s an insane thing to think,” Milne laughed. “Hopefully it’ll draw more people to the clubhouse for future plays and future shows.”

—

Alyssa.rudolph@pattisonmedia.com

by Alyssa Rudolph

‘A shared win’: trio earns Best Lead Actress award at TheatreFest

What's Trending