Dalintober Drama Club wins excellence award

The term “break a leg” is meant figuratively, as a way of wishing good luck, but it was taken literally by one of the Dalintober Drama Club cast who set off to perform at last week's Scottish Community Drama Association (SCDA) West of Scotland regional final with a broken limb.

 

It was an arm, rather than a leg, that suffered the break on this occasion, but even that didn't stop the youngster and the rest of the drama club from putting on an outstanding performance in Dunoon.

 

And although they did not progress on to the next round, they were awarded the prestigious Sadie Miller Award for Excellence for their performance of time-travelling musical extravaganza Back to the Summer by Wade Bradford.

 

Before the award was presented, an SCDA spokesperson said: “This award is being presented in memory of our SCDA colleague and, more importantly, our friend Sadie Miller. When we think of Sadie, we think of a lady who did all things with style and perfection and nothing she did was ever less than excellent.

 

“To this end, this award should be awarded to any aspect of a production which, in your opinion, represents excellence.

 

“It could be anything that you feel merits the award, a piece of theatre, a costume, a prop, excellence in direction, anything at all that to you feel stands out from the rest.”

 

Adjudicator Paul Dougall praised the Dalintober youngsters' “really entertaining production” and described their acting as “excellent in every way”, adding that he was “delighted to see such young people perform with such confidence and skills”.

 

“All concerned with the production should be warmly congratulated,” he said. “It was FAB!!”

 

The drama club is run by Tracy Brogan, Claire Mitchell and Fraser Cosgrove, Dalintober Primary School's youth work team, as an extra-curricular activity.

 

A spokesperson for the club said: “I know you will share our joy and pride in being presented this very fitting award celebrating teamwork, collaboration and community.

 

“Our thanks to local SCDA member Martha Rennie for collecting the award and for taking the time to announce and present it to the team.

 

“Thank you also to the Rotary Club of Campbeltown and Campbeltown Common Good Fund for their donations towards the cost of the trip.”

 

The youngsters' success in Dunoon follows another brilliant performance of the play at Kintyre Drama Festival, where they won four trophies: the Dunaverty Trophy for third place overall, the Galbraith Cup for being youth winners, the Campbeltown Drama Club Trophy for best stage presentation and, new this year, the Robert Black Memorial Prize for “doing their bit” and adding something special to the festival.