Wales Final Festival of One-Act Plays 2012
This years Wales Final will be held at the Congress Theatre on 8th and 9th June
Adjudicator: Ben Humphrey GoDA
Ben trained as an actor at the prestigious Bristol Old Vic Theatre School. After successful touring jobs and seasons in both Stratford-Upon-Avon and London Ben moved back to his home city of Worcester where he now works as an actor, writer, director and producer and is also Artistic Director of Youth Theatre at the Swan Theatre. The majority of Ben's acting work now comes from voice over, theatre and comedy. He has appeared in various radio dramas for BBC Radio 3 and BBC Radio 4 as well as other independent stations.
Ben is one half of the comedy duo 'Humphrey & Renshaw' who last year completed the recording of their radio pilot. He is also a regular cast member in the Swan Theatre's annual professional pantomime having starred in Aladdin, Robin Hood & The Babes in the Wood, Dick Whittington and Cinderella.
Ben is an Associate Research Fellow at the University of Worcester with the Early Modern Research Group, specialising in Shakespeare.
Ben lives on a Narrowboat in Worcester and enjoys most things in life other than tap-dancing. (He's not very good at it!)
British Final Festival of One-Act Plays 2012
This years British Final will be held at the Torch Theatre on 6th and 7th July
Adjudicator: Ian Sarginson GoDA
Ian is very pleased indeed to have been invited to adjudicate the British Final 2012. He was the adjudicator for the seven regional festival rounds of the Welsh One Act competition in both 2009 and 2010 and adjudicator for the 2011 Wales Final.
Although he is now an adopted resident of Wales - on account of his having married a Welsh wife - Ian is a Yorkshireman, hailing originally from Sheffield. Most of his professional life, prior to his moving to the “land of his wife’s fathers”, has been in Dorset and Somerset.
He trained as an actor/teacher at Bretton Hall, Wakefield, and has acted and directed extensively both professionally and in the amateur theatre world. He was a member of the country’s first local government sponsored Theatre in Education company (Bournemouth Drama Centre), and subsequently artistic director for Salamander Theatre Company and Talisman Touring Theatre.
As former vice-chairman of the Christchurch and District Arts Council, Ian was involved in the groundwork and subsequent establishment of the Regent Arts Centre, now a significant performance venue on the south coast of the U.K.
Latterly, the majority of Ian’s career has been in education and educational theatre, principally as Director of Drama for some fifteen years at Sidcot School, a Quaker independent school in North Somerset. As a director, his work has encompassed the full gamut of theatrical styles and periods, from Mediaeval Mystery Plays to the classics of the modern era.
His current role, in addition to his work as a GODA adjudicator, is as Senior Moderator and Senior Examiner for GCSE Drama. In this capacity he has the opportunity to see some of the genuinely exciting and creative work that young performers are producing.
February 2012
