Top opportunity awaits for rising star

The prestigious Rob Guest Endowment is currently accepting submissions for 2010.

After the sudden death of Rob Guest, OBE, in October 2008, and in recognition of his achievements in the musical theatre industry, ANZ Private & ANZ Trustees established a memorial fund to help emerging young performers in musical theatre industry.

The ANZ Trustees Foundation: ANZ Rob Guest Endowment Award will be presented annually to an emerging musical theatre performer to further their knowledge of performing and develop their potential in the industry.

In conjunction with the competition, the Endowment will annually host the Rob Guest Endowment Concert presented by ANZ Private Bank and ANZ Trustees which functions not only as the finals for the national competition but also provided a chance to showcase the leading musical theatre artists in the country.

On Monday, October 4, the 2010 Rob Guest Endowment Concert presented by ANZ Private & ANZ Trustees will be held at Her Majesty’s Theatre, Melbourne.

Hosted by Bert Newton, and featuring some of the country’s finest performers it gives six talented artists the unique opportunity to perform live to some of the countries leading Director’s, Musical Directors & Choreographers with the support of full orchestra under the musical direction of Kellie Dickerson.

The 2010 judging panel, consisting of Jon Nicholls, Guy Simpson, Roger Hodgman and Karen Johnson Mortimer will choose the winner on the night who will walk away with a $1000 Grant, return economy airfares to New York in April 2011, five nights accommodation in New York City, tickets to a Broadway show, vocal, dance and acting tuition by some of the worlds leading tutors in both New York and Australia, a media training package, a head shot package and a guest performance at the finalist concert the subsequent year.

Last year’s winner, Danielle Matthews, speaks of how the Rob Guest Endowment has changed her life.

“It’s difficult to know just where to begin. When people ask me ‘was it wonderful?’, I just smile and say ‘yes, it really was’. But how to convey that kind of wonderful?” she said.

“It’s something that you can only feel when you’ve experienced it. I stepped off the plane a different person to the one that stepped on. Before this trip I, Danielle Matthews was a performer that thought I was pretty good but never quite good enough. Now I know I’m good enough. If that’s not the best thing that an experience of a lifetime can do for you I don’t know what is!”

Applications close on Friday.

Don’t miss out, go to www.robguestendowment.com.au today and download an application form.

This year the Rob Guest Endowment award will launch one artist’s career and potentially transform them into one of Australia’s leading musical theatre performance.

Maybe that someone is you.