GOLD PALM THEATRE AWARDS

The PalmiesInaugurated in 2009 as the Gold Coast Area Theatre Awards and now regarded as the highlight of the performance year in S.E. Queensland and Northern NSW, the Awards acknowledge the huge contribution made to the area's entertainment life, by awarding participants in shows staged by local community theatre groups and high schools and colleges during the year.

A panel of judges visits dozens of musicals and plays staged by local companies in a catchment area encompassing Redcliffe in the north, Ballina in the south and Toowoomba and Ipswich in the west - and awards winners in categories covering set, costume, lighting and sound design, music and show direction, leads and support actors and actresses and many others.

AIMS

To Acknowledge the contribution made by community and non-professional performers in theatre groups and in high schools and colleges to the cultural life of the Gold Coast and surrounding areas

To Celebrate live theatre in the community, believing that theatre is an essential part of peoples' lives, making life "better for people"

To Provide a forum for networking and sharing of resources between theatre groups within the wider Gold Coast area

To Provide a public event where outstanding talent is rewarded in a tangible form

To Encourage the pursuit of excellence by aspiring performers

HISTORY

Since their inception in 2009 The Palmies remain the ultimate recognition of excellence in all aspects of the flourishing Community Theatre scene on the Gold Coast and surrounds, inspired by the foundation of the Canberra Area Theatre Awards in 1994.

Kate Peters and three friends were bemoaning the fact that the expensive Green Room Awards ceremony they had just attended had been all about esoteric performances and thinly-attended productions while ignoring major community productions which had enticed thousands of Canberrans out to the theatre. Kate suggested that an Amateur Awards system to acknowledge the contribution of non-professional, community groups should be created. And so, with support from Coralie Wood, a long-time colleague and professional publicist, and after Kate's husband, L.G, suggested the replacement of the word "Amateur" with "Area" to give the awards a wider catchment area, the Canberra Area Theatre Awards (the C.A.T. Awards) were off and running.

PARTICIPATION

In December each year, the Convenor contacts theatre groups and high schools and colleges in the areas to be included in the award catchment area. The potential participants are sent a Participation Package with all relevant documentation.
All participating groups in the Awards are required to pay a small Administration Fee per year to defray costs associated with the overnight accommodation of judges where they are attending performances more than two hours drive away from the Gold Coast, and other items like office expenses and the Awards themselves. A small fuel subsidy charge (per show) is also required for participants located 100km (round trip) or more from the Central Gold Coast.
The participating organisations are required to submit their yearly program in advance, and agree to make available three (3) pairs of tickets for each production, plus a program for each judge attending.