Judges

After the debut Theatre & Technology Awards took place in October 2017 at the Bush Theatre and the second at the Soho Curzon Cinema, preparations are now underway for this year’s awards. This year’s event will take place on Sunday 20th October 2019, and will take place online!

Courtesy of Taiyo Nagano.

The initiative sets to embrace our digital age of theatre, celebrating professionals behind the scenes who help to enhance the theatrical experience. You can read up on last year’s winners as well as how the debut ceremony was put together. The awards couldn’t happen without the final say of the judges, with each judge closely matched with their allocated category. Introducing this year’s judges:

Creative Innovation in Sound

Munotida Chinyanga

Sound Designer

Munotida Chinyanga trained in Theatre Arts at Middlesex University; specialising in Directing and Sound Design with a First Class Bachelors Degree (2017). She also studied MA Theatre Arts at Middlesex University, focusing on Multidisciplinary practises within Theatre and Performance, and International collaboration (2018). Professional training includes; Emerging Directors Course at The Almeida Theatre (2017), Young Vic’s Director Training Programme including Springboard (2018), Fresh Direction (2018) and the Boris Karloff Trainee Assistant Director. RSC’s Movement Directors workshops at RCSSD (2018), Encounters ‘Widening the Lens’ (supported by the BFI) 2019.

Creative Innovation in Lighting

Sofia Alexiadou

Lighting Designer/Lecturer in Lighting at LIPA

Born in Piraeus, Greece. Sofia holds a BPhil in Italian Language and Literature and an MPhil in Theatre Studies and currently a Ph.D. candidate in the same field. From 2009-2011, she worked as an assistant to the acclaimed Greek Lighting Designer Lefteris Pavlopoulos. She has designed lights for more than 90 shows across different genres. Sofia teaches lighting design at the Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts.

Creative Innovation in Video + Projection

Andrzej Goulding

Video and Projection Designer

Andrzej works as a Set and Projection Designer internationally across all forms of live per- formance.

He was recently nominated for a Drama Desk Award and a Knights Of Illumination Award in 2018 (for People, Places and Things), won the 2017 Theatre and Technology Award for Creative Innovation in Video Design (for Room), nominated for the first ever Whatsonstage Award for Video Design in 2017 (for Groundhog Day) and was just nominated for two Off West End Awards (2019) for Set Design and Video Design (for The Unreturning).

Projection Designs include: The Unreturning (Frantic Assembly UK Tour); Status (Edin- burgh Festival 2018 – Fringe First WINNER); People, Places and Things (National Theatre, West End, St Ann’s Warehouse, UK Tour); Groundhog Day (Broadway, Old Vic); Pressure (West End, UK Tour, Park Theatre); Me and My Girl (Chichester Festival Theatre); Frost/Nix- on (Sheffield Crucible); Coriolanus (Donmar Warehouse, NT Live); 1984 (Northern Ballet, Sadler’s Wells, Sky Arts); Kiss Of The Spider Woman (Menier Chocolate Factory), The Sui- cide, From Morning To Midnight, (National Theatre); Relative Values (West End); No’s Knife (Old Vic Theatre, Abbey Theatre); Carousel (Barbican, Opera North); Room (Theatre Royal Stratford East, Abbey Theatre); Man To Man (Edinburgh Festival 2015, BAM, Wiltons Music Hall).

Best Marketing Campaign

Alina Ghost

SEO Manager at Amara Living LTD

Alina Ghost has been in the Digital Marketing industry for 7 years and is podcast founder and host at SEO with Mrs Ghost. She’s currently Search Engine Optimisation manager at Amara and has worked for the likes of Tesco, Debenhams and Carpetright. Alina is judging this year’s Best Marketing Campaign but previous to this, she was herself shortlisted for Best Campaign alongside Tesco at The Drum Awards. Her team was also shortlisted twice for Best In-House team at the UK Search Awards and she was Lifestyle category judge at UK Blog Awards three times. She is very excited to be part of the Theatre & Tech Awards to offer the best campaign the chance of recognition of their hard work!

Best Online Publication

Sophia Jackson

Founder of website Afridiziak

Sophia A Jackson is a communications professional with extensive experience as a journalist and editor, events manager and as a digital PR/marketing expert.

Sophia is the founder and editor of Afridiziak Theatre news – a website, celebrating African-Caribbean theatre: www.afridiziak.com. Since the site was launched in September 2008, it has become the one stop guide for the latest news, reviews and interviews in the world of theatre from an African-Caribbean perspective. Afridiziak Theatre News has proudly supported the following theatres in the promotion and marketing of their productions – Oval House, Royal Shakespeare Company, National Theatre, Royal Court, Theatre Royal Stratford East, Talawa Theatre Company, Sadler’s Wells, Barbican, The Albany, Young Vic, Bush Theatre, Tiata Fahodzi, The Tricycle, Cutty Sark Studio and Unicorn Theatre.

Sophia was been featured in various publications and been asked to speak at the Royal Shakespeare Company, Treading the Boards initiative for young people at the Bernie Grant Arts Centre and for Inspirational U.

Best Vlog

Ed Baker

Founder of Website West End Wilma

West End Wilma is the mother and son, theatre blogging duo. Running around the West End interviewing stars, reviewing shows and blogging about theatre.

West End Wilma was voted Ticketmaster’s Theatre Blog of the Year 2014 and in November 2014, held the first annual Wilma Awards which is due to celebrate its 5th year in November 2018 with a huge gala ceremony.

In moving with the times, blogging has turned to vlogging and we are working on building our YouTube channel with lots of great vlogs, interviews, conversation pieces and collaborations with other theatre content creators.

West End Wilma was born out of love for theatre. We aren’t just a review website, we aren’t just a news outlet, we love sharing all different types of content that theatre lovers want to see.

Best Podcast

Jim Bowes

Founder and CEO of digital agency Manifesto

Co- Presenter of de:code on Hoxton Radio

Jim Bowes is the CEO and co-founder of TPX Manifesto, and Chief Innovation Officer and Founding Partner of The Panoply – a group of digitally-native technology services companies assembled to meet the needs of the fourth industrial revolution. Jim set up Manifesto, the London based agency in 2011, designing digital services and products around the needs of users, working with health, housing, travel, charities and third sector organisations. Jim has worked in digital or digital content for the last 20 years, and co-hosts a monthly technology podcast called AlexaSTOP! and presents a weekly tech show, de:code, on Hoxton Radio. His career has also included everything from Ibiza DJ to tea room owner and comedian.

Best Poster

Khadija Raza

Award Winning Costume and Set Designer

Khadija Raza is a performance designer based in London. She studied BA Design for Stage at the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama and was winner of the Linbury Prize 2017 for the Unicorn Theatre and Stage Debut Award for best designer, 2018.

Selected credits include; as designer: My White Best Friend (Bunker Theatre), Cacophony (Almeida Theatre and The Yard), Spun (Arcola Theatre), MIXTAPE (Royal Exchange Theatre) and Hijabi Monologues (Bush Theatre).

Best Production Photography

Tammana Begum

Filmmaker, Photographer and Graphic Designer

Tammana is a freelance photographer and filmmaker based in London. She has a keen interest in the documentary genre and a long standing desire to make a positive difference with her creativity. Her work often explores people, including experiences, emotions and life.

Best Trailer

Ruggero Dalla Santa

Founder of One Foot in the Door Production Company

Born in Venice to a writer and a comic book artist, Ruggero lived in Italy and China before studying at East 15 Acting School in England. After graduating, he set up his own company, One Foot in the Door, providing actor showreels from scratch and running screen-acting workshops in London.

Best Online/Live Streaming Platform

Elliot Grove

Founder of Raindance and the British Independent Film Awards

Elliot Grove founded the Raindance Film Festival in 1993 and the British Independent Film Awards in 1998. He has produced over 700 short films and seven feature films under the banner of his production company.

In 2013 Focal  Press published his book: Raindance Writers Lab: How to Write and  Sell the Hot Script. His second book, Raindance Producer’s Lab Lo-To- No Budget Filmmaking was published by Focal Press in July 2015. His  novel, THE BANDIT QUEEN is being illustrated by Dave McKean and is  scheduled for publication later this year.

His production company operates under the Raindance banner and is  currently developing a slate of ten features.

In 2009 Elliot was awarded a PhD by Open University for services to film education.

Outstanding Production – Kieron Vanstone

Kieron Vanstone is the Director of The Vaults. The Vaults, located underneath Waterloo station, is London’s home for immersive theatre and alternative arts. Since founding the space in 2013 The Vaults has played host to a huge variety of theatre and performance, both produced externally and internally by The Vaults team. Some highlights include Alice’s Adventures Underground, Goosebumps, Disney’s Fantasia, Beauty and The Feast, Dinner is Coming, Hair The Musical, Divine Proportions, Dinner at The Twits, Trainspotting and the annual arts festival VAULT Festival.

Previous to his time at The Vaults, Vanstone worked for The Old Vic Tunnels Team as the Tunnels Project Developer, as Assistant Stage Manager on Ghost Stories and as Site and Production Manager for Punchdrunk. Vanstone studied Stage Management at Rose Bruford College.

Alongside The Vaults, Vanstone and the team at The Vaults also run Vaulty Towers, our weird and wonderful pub where all of the props and sets from The Vaults find a second life; Hello Darling, our new restaurant next to The Old Vic serving up seasonal sharing dishes from Masterchef Winner Natalie Coleman; and The Oyster Shack, a restaurant in Devon celebrating this year 30 years of serving delicious seafood.

Voting will open on Monday 1st April and will close on Sunday 30th June 2019!