Two budding thespians from South Delta have been rewarded for their theatrical performances.
Siblings Laura and William Marenych received Joey Awards at a ceremony held recently at The Vancouver Playhouse.
The Joey Awards recognize young actors in Canada for their hard work and dedication to their craft.
Laura received Best Actress in a Musical Theatre Production for her role as Laurey Williams in South Delta Secondary’s production of Oklahoma! in March of this year.
“I honestly never thought I’d win,” she said. “I was up against six other very talented actresses. When you work so hard on a show and have such an amazing cast to work with it’s so nice to be honoured and recognized in this way. This award certainly wouldn’t be possible without my amazing cast mates and directors. They deserve this award just as much as I do."
Having graduated in June, she is continuing with her love of theatre by choreographing for SDSS in its production Rock of Ages: High School Edition that will be on stage in February.
William received Best Actor in a Musical Theatre Production for his role as Charlie Bucket in Delta Youth Theatre’s production of Willy Wonka, Jr. last fall.
“It was my first time being nominated and attending The Joey Awards. I was thrilled to hear my name being called for the award,” he said. “It was so exciting to walk onto the stage to receive my trophy and to give a thank-you speech. I was expecting to only receive a nomination trophy, but to receive the winning trophy was amazing.”
The sixth annual gala offered the nominees in 13 categories a chance to walk the red carpet and be part of the celebration of their chosen craft among colleagues, family and friends.
Categories included short films, commercials, theatre, television, television movies and feature films.
