WHAT A NIGHT!

While some people around the country were sidetracked by the ins and outs of the general election on Saturday night, the audience at Nelson's independent Theatre and Arts Centre was enjoying a veritable feast of imaginative and enthralling entertainment, as the finalists in the Fresh FM VoxRadio audio theatre competition had their work performed and recorded.

We were thrilled that two of the out of town finalists made the journey to Nelson for the event. And as it turned out, the trip was very worthwhile for Naoko Kudo and Paddy Holder of Christchurch, who took top honours in the Open Section for their play Aki's Adventures Downunder. The complete list of winners and runners-up is shown in the column at right.

The standard of entries this year was (once again) very high, and all ten finalists are to be congratulated — they definitely are the best of the best. They each receive a framed certificate to commemorate their achievement. For those unable to be there on the night, these can be collected from our Nelson studios or we can send them out to you.

And the finished recordings (once a few more sound effects and some music is added) will be broadcast on Fresh FM in the early part of next year, as part of our Fresh Feature programme series.

So now the Fresh FM VoxRadio competition is over for another year. It has been a tremendous experience and, as always, inspiring for everyone involved. As a celebration of the power and value of creativity and imagination, it does a great job. Keep your eyes peeled for notification of next year's competition (around April) — we'll be looking for your entry!

Mike Williams — Station Manager

VoxRadio Winners 2008

(this is how they finished up)

Junior/Intermediate____________________

RUNNER-UP

Connor MacLeod (Wellington) — Jess and the Pea Stalk

WINNER

Olivia Besley (Nelson) — Loss of Childhood

Open Non-Drama________________________

RUNNER-UP

Seamus Egan (Nelson) — Up Dev

WINNER

Jan Marsh (Nelson) — The Woman Who Married Herself

Open__________________________________

RUNNER-UP

Laura Solomon (Nelson) — Sprout

WINNER

Naoko Kudo & Paddy Holder (Christchurch) — Aki's Adventures Downunder

Once again, we are verygrateful to the Independent Theatre and Arts Centre for giving us such a great venue for the event (we'll be back!). And we want to thank Everyman Records and Paper Plus for their tremendous support as well.

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