Director Derek wins major AIMS award
NEW ROSS MUSICAL SOCIETY (NRMS), were confirmed as one of the best musical groups in the country at the AIMS awards held in Killarney on Saturday night, winning two awards including best director.
More than 20 members of NRMS travelled to the annual AIMS Awards weekend in Killarney. NRMS were nominated for three awards Best Director, Best Technical and Best Comedienne.
The only nomination left to be announced was the big one, Best Overall Show which the group were delighted to have been nominated for.
NRMS spokesperson Sarah Collins said: ‘ This was a huge honour as there are hundreds of shows produced in Ireland each year and to be acknowledged as one of the top five in the country is an outstanding.’
The group received the runner-up award in the Best Technical category and the production manager Paul Malone of NRMS represented the society for this award. Following this was Best Comedienne, which saw Caroline O’ Connell take her place on the podium to await the announcement. Caroline played the dramatic and hilarious Lina Lamont in Singin in the Rain. This year marked Caroline’s first time on stage with NRMS. She is no stranger to the musical and drama circuit in Wexford. She has worked with many different groups including Opera Ireland, Oyster Lane, Enniscorthy Musical Society, and Grove Theatre Group. The place erupted when Caroline was announced as the winner.
Then came the Best Director award presentation which Derek Shannon accepted. This is Derek’s second year as director for NRMS, but he has been involved with the society for many years having first joined 1991 and since then has been everything from a leading man to chairperson. ‘Derek has given so much to the society and there is no one who deserves this award more than him.’
Finally came Best Overall Show, NRMS were overjoyed to have been named as runner-up.
‘When NRMS staged Singin in the Rain we had no idea that this would be the response to our show. To be considered one of the top five shows in the country is a huge boost to our cast, crew and production team. It is a privilege to have received this accolade and the excitement will continue into our 50th year production in 2018.’