Hi Kimberley,

Firstly, thankyou to everyone involved for an entertaining evening.

Secondly, I'd like to make a couple of suggestions/comments from the point of view of someone who really knows nothing about theatre/awards nights/technical stuff like lighting (I was chorus in a nominated show so went along to support the cast, but haven't been around long enough to know what has been suggested/rejected previously, so apologies if this is all old news).

In the programme, I thought it would be a nice idea to be able to dedicate a couple of pages toward a very brief synopsis of every play/musical - as I said, I don't have much to do with theatre so didn't get around to seeing most of what was nominated, and in particular the scene from "This is our Youth" made me wish I'd managed to see it, and I'd liked to have known what it was about.

Nothing at all against Katy and Dan Mitton, but I didn't much like the "voiceover" idea, which I read from here was a new addition this year. They did a fantastic job but I'm rather lazy and like something to look at, but I understand it might not flow as nicely, someone walking on just to introduce someone else, then walk off again.

With adjudicator's certificates, like "best set" and "best poster", I thought it would be good to use that big screen they flash every play/musical on, to maybe give a photo of some of them so the people who didn't go can appreciate the work put into winning the certificate. And for things like "best staged accident", maybe a description of it? They sounded like fun things to know, so share the joke!

As the designated driver of the night, I wanted a soft drink after the show before leaving - but only alcohol was being served. Nothing non-alcoholic, not even water, was available for purchase after the show. I felt that was pretty irresponsible, especially in summer with drivers and young children and people who just plain don't want alcohol attending the show. Is there a reason only alcohol can be bought once the show finishes?

And lastly, what was the name of the man who won the lifetime achievement award?

To Brenda W.

I can answer the last two questions for you:

David Goodall is the name of the actor who was inducted into the "ITA HALL of Fame"

Regarding the non-availibilty of water and soft drinks.

These were being sold at the school's own kiosk downstairs along with tea and coffee, but we did not appreciate that they would close after the interval and we had not alllowed for this. You were not the only person annoyed by this!

Hi Brenda,

Thanks for your feedback. I'll try and approach every issue.

With the synopsis of each show. There were 54 shows entered and to do a fair and accurate synopsis of each would be tricky. Getting this sort of information out of clubs is notoriously difficult. It would also be a lot of pages extra. It is a good idea in theory thouhgh and I'll see what we can do.

The only way to see if things like voiceovers work, is to trial them, which is what we were doing. In the past, getting a host on and off each time has literally added at least half an hour to the evening - Most of our feedback on the voice - overs has been positive, but we'll take your suggestions on board.

We can definately do something about displaying the best poster. Best set is more difficult. We would need to ask every show to supply a photo of their set. Not every set is photographed, not all photos are "good" or representative and it would be difficult to get every picture - or even all the nominees at this time of year, up to 11 months after shows. (Getting photos of the people nominees was really, really hard - and people look like they do all the time, sets only exist for a short time.)

We (the ITA) are not allowed to sell soft-drinks in the venue. That is the privelege of the venue. It was my understanding that they were to be open. It is a difficult issue as we are only hiring the venue.

Last night we went to the Finleys and it was an amazing night,a very entertaining show.
With all due respect to the winners and nominees, I think the award for the best show has to go to the Finleys itself. If all the volunteers that worked behind the scenes worked anywhere near as hard as the people in the bar did (as I am sure you did) then you all deserve a trophy.
While we are talking about the bar...... $8 dollars for a glass of yellow glen and a corona ...... best bar in town !
By the end of 4 Coronas, I had forgotten which catagory I wasn't nominated in!
PS Does anyone what kind of flowers,chocolates or wine the adjudicators like?

See you there next year
Ray Condy

Just to add my two cents (and having attended past Finley Awards nights which finished closer to 11) I thought the voice overs were a fantastic way of keeping the night flowing and cutting down running time. Finishing at 10:30 was fab as it gave me a chance to catch up with friends afterwards whilst still being able to have a reasonable night's sleep with work the next day! Great job Dan and Katy! And the ITA! Thanks for another great night!

I agree with Schwarzy - the voiceovers were great and kept everything moving along because they were scripted nice and tightly. There's sometimes a tendency for on-stage presenters to feel like they have to build a repore with the audience which leads to them filling time with banter, and it can get a bit much (and long!). Using voiceovers to introduce acts is a great compromise.

Also, as the OP mentioned, there are often cases when we're not familiar with the performance/performer/crew member etc winning an award. Perhaps the dead time taken for them to scoot up to the stage could be filled with a short explanatory voiceover? i.e. "John Smith played the romantic lead of Danny in Grease by X Theatre Company, a musical about the lives and loves of several high school seniors." or "This award-winning set from Y Theatre Company was entirely created of cardboard boxes."

PS congrats to all the Finley winners!

---
Louisa Fitzhardinge
University Dramatic Society
http://uds.asn.au

Great suggestions Louise,

We made a move towards that this year with trying to work out which nominees wouldn't be there and announcing who would be collecting the award for him or her in that time space, we don't have contact details for everyone of course, and have only the two weeks between noms night and Finley night. (You may have noticed our desperate rush to get photos).

The trouble with that and your suggestion, is that you need to collect info from EVERY nominee (which we did surreptiously about attendence as far as possible) because if you don't do it for everyone you are alerting people as to the winners are.

Having said that, I think you are right, we should try it.

Kim

Just wondering who won the poster award? I think I've read everything on this thread twice and I can't find that one.

Congrats to all involved it sounds like it was a fun night and one day when I don't have little ones to put to bed I'll be able to attend

"In my work I do three things - Good, Cheap and Fast - if you employ me you may choose two" - Cam Ford

I agree with the other Brenda it would be a good idea to see a picture of the winning set.I'm quite sure theatre groups must take photos of their sets. I know I have every set I have designed recorded in my theatre scrapbooks (along with the many costumes I have made also) What a great feeling to at last be rewarded for all my hard work. Thanks so much to Kerry, Ken, Sue and Graham and to the ITA committee for all their hardwork. Brenda S

Could someone please clarify what the criterea is for a full length play to be entered into the Finley Awards. As far as I am aware "Deck Chairs" is a series of 4 x 1 act plays, the only thing in common is that they are all set in a seaside location and the same actors can be used for each. The story lines are all different and they do not relate to each other.

Does this mean that theatre's putting on one act seasons around the Festival times are eligible for the Finley's as well?

Your comments are apreciated.....

To reiterate what Garry D has just written, that is exactly how the system works, and furthermore there is a published clear set of guidelines for the Adjudicators to work to.

However as in everything in life-especially entertainment, what one person may think is wonderful, another will think is mediocre or hate it! 

So with the best set of guidleines and the  best will in the world  the results will still be subjective to a certain extent.

Maybe some clever person could come up with a robot designed to eliminate all human thinking, tho I don't know what  system 'it' could be designed to use!

Sigh. And I thought that we had survived a Finley Awards without the nasty, ridiculous, petty backlash. Shame on me for jumping to the conclusion too quickly that the W.A. theatre community had grown and matured over the past year. Sad sad sad.

Fair dinkum, I have spent a few years ignoring all the twaddle on this website (sorry Grant, no offence mate)but this is too much for a man to bear.

Does this idiot who can't even spell Kerri's name seriously believe theatre adjudicators aren't going to have heated discussions? You moron! Grow up (or at least grow some male reproductive thingys and sign your posts).

The amount of time and effort put in by all the adjudicators is astonishing. Very few people are dedicated enough. We should all be celebrating the fact that they do, not minimizing the chances they will continue on. It's a simple equation dimwit :-

No adjudicators = no Findley awards.

Get your head out of your rectum and recognize that the world does not revolve around you. If a decision does not go your way, move on. So dry your eyes princess and build a bridge.

I will not be responding so feel free to denigrate what I have said in any childish way you please.

Hello from Stage Left Theatre Troupe Goldfields WA Inc.

Firstly, congratulations to Kimberley, Danni, Tracee, Tyler, Felicity, Alan, Claudette, Paul, Kristen and David - for another awesome Finleys night. Thank you for all the work that went into making it a great evening - you are all amazing - and thank you also to Damon for helping back stage, to Zyg for the gorgeous photography and to Dan and Katy for the voice overs, which were done extremely well.
The whole night ran very smoothly and finished early - and as we had young children travelling with us - it enabled us to still have time to see everyone, pass on the congrats and say our farewells. Thank you everyone.

Last night - after the long drive home from Perth to Kal (!) - I emailed all our members, friends and other interested community theatre supporters to share the excitement of Stage Left's win - bringing home the Sheila Buchanan Memorial Trophy Adjudicators' Achievement Award has been a humbling experience and has really enthused, excited and inspired our community here in the Goldfields.

We are so grateful to be acknowledged for our hard work in our inaugural year. Those of you out there who have set up a new theatre company from scratch know exactly how hard it can be and how much work and effort it takes. We've had an amazing time, culminating in the "theatre in the bush" project featuring "Pirates of Penzance" which was the first production Stage Left has entered in the Finleys.

Whilst we know that we are not spoilt for choice as you often can be in Perth with a much vaster talent pool to pull from, we will always be struggling to find amazing singers, musicians and performers here in the Goldfields (all the really brilliant ones inevitably leave us for bigger and better things in the big smoke - either in Perth or on the east coast!) So we never anticipated winning anything - going up against some amazing shows from 2008 with some truly sensational talent (much of which we saw on stage on Saturday night - and again - CONGRATS to those performers and those shows which won the accolades).

The 2008 Finley adjudicators chose to recognise our effort for what it was - an amazing and unique theatre experience. We had SO many people come on board to assist us - work with us - encourage us - provide hands-on construction help or advice. Check out the photos some time on Facebook in the Stage Left Theatre Troupe Goldfields WA Inc. group. You will see what we did with a humble sheep station!

As the very proud director of this production and the club's vice president, I am constantly amazed and inspired by the group of people around us. They are not only talented and generous, they are selfless and inspirational.

Three of the four adjudicators attended our theatre in the bush extravaganza - Ken, Kerri and Graeme. Sue was unfortunately unable to travel at the time, which was a shame.

I could not be in more AWE of the Finley adjudicators - both past and present. Over the years I have seen them all give heart and soul to the adjudication process. They clock up countless miles of travel - countless shows to watch and then write critiques about - and give up so many other things just to be there for community theatre in WA. They get very little recognition, thanks or recompense for this - they do it because they love it and are passionate about the growth of community theatre.
These are real people with real lives and real opinions. As they have all freely said, today and previously, they don't always see eye to eye - and sometimes they have to back down on their opinion. That's called being human! And when all is said and done, they get over it and move on.

So should the critics!!!
I concur with what has already been said today on this site and elsewhere - theatre is subjective. What one person loves, another will not. That's the way it is. And that's life. Grab a cup of concrete and harden up

I haven't always agreed with Kerri's opinions - and with those of some of the other adjudicators too! But they are there to do a job and they do it very well. It's not meant to be a popularity contest! We invite their critique, so we need to be prepared to listen to it, and learn from it. If anyone thinks they can do it better, then by all means, put your hand up and become a volunteer. Do the adjudicator's courses, and then apply. Stop sitting back and hiding behind anonymous posts to throw nasty comments out there. What on earth does that achieve?

Kerri Hilton has our utmost respect for all that she has done - and for her dedication to her role. It is tireless and it's thankless. We've loved hosting her in Kalgoorlie and are well aware that at times it has been inconvenient and expensive for her to make the trip(s) yet, she hasn't shirked from doing so.

Kerri, I don't blame you for resigning on the spot today, yet I am very sad to hear it. And community theatre in WA will be far poorer for it. I will still always invite your opinions, advice and ideas.
In the meantime, don't forget that any time you want to visit Kalgoorlie again, you know you will be made very welcome - and we'll even find jobs for you to do while you are here!! lol (Graeme, Ken and Sue - that invitation goes for you guys also!)

To those out there who seem to find it easier to be nasty than nice, remember this: "He who flings mud, loses a lot of ground"

Lisa van Oyen
Vice President (Little Quack)
Stage Left Theatre Troupe Goldfields WA Inc.

What a terrible shame.

I recall a comment from Graeme Johnson on Finley Night about what we do not being called amature anymore. Unfortunately some of the posts on this site prove otherwise.

Whinges about people based on body size, based on medical problems and such critical reviews as this show was crap evryone was crap without any argument as to why something was crap.

Bitching about shows because you did not get into them, bitching about people because they did not cast you.

Then the pearler of them all - bitching and complaining about how bad something is and then not becoming involved to make changes.

Bitching about processes that they have no idea about. Throwing accusations around the site about peoples honesty or credibility without any evidence to back it up.

It is a shame to me that this site cannot be used as a forum for critical response, praise, support, education and advertisement.

To those of you out there in cyber critic land there is a difference between a critical review and a derogatory one.

In the case of Kerri Hilton what a shame that a great talent and body of knowledge ans skill has been lost as an adjudicator. Mr KHPF I hope you are happy. You have accused Kerri of bias and subjectiveness when indeed your whole post is about that. You did not agree with her and so you must be right and no one else is. Your view of the situation is that this bias occurred and so it is true.

Discussion over marks happen everywhere. In TEE courses for Dram at schools teachers get together to discuss marks and moderate them. In sport I am sure not all selectors get together and agree on every choice.

In politics well caucus meetings are just big arguments.

People are people all of those adjudicators would have had different opinions and all would have marked differently.

Having not done a show this year it was great to see the Finleys and I was impressed by the spread of awards and it not being dominated by one club.

I hope the ITA realise what they will be missing and try to convince her to stay, she has my support in fact all of the adjudicators this year and others have my support but I do feel that Kerri will be a loss.

On behalf of the Independent Theatre Association, I would like to re-iterate that the ITA puts a great deal of thought into the Finley system, the adjudication and selection of adjudicators.

The purely numeric system was abandoned and collaborative meetings introduced so that individual adjudicators can not rort the system, and so that they are accountable for each and every mark. (Briefly, a purely numeric system is difficult, because a 7/10 or a 76/100 means different things to different people.)

Further to this an independent observer from the ITA oversees every adjudication session to ensure that the process remains collaborative and fair and that proceedings are not being dominated by an overzealous or overpassionate adjudicator.

As such we can re-state that we have complete confidence in the 2008 adjudication and all four of the 2009 adjudicators. Our request for Kerri Hilton to remain on the panel for 2009 is a testament to our confidence in Kerri's ability and justice while adjudicating and we hope that she will reconsider her resignation.

As always, we are happy to respond to serious and signed correspondence about the adjudication process. Please send to our postal address.

Kimberley Shaw
President
Independent Theatre Association

I would prefer Kerri to give me a negative adjudication than many others to give me a postive critique. In the world of insincerity that is theatre, I am glad there are people like Kerri, who are willing to give me honest feedback.

Kerri has adjudicated for the ITA for many years now and deserves a break. It is a very strenuous job and very time consuming. I am happy that she has her life back to pursue any hobbies or past times that interest her.

Thanks Kerri. Have fun in 2009.

Very remiss of me not to also mention the amazing Lorna for her very thorough and organised coordination of back stage on Saturday night and on stage presence (yes, complete with NON-American accent JB!) - and also to Barbara for yet another top notch job as stage manager.

To Graeme and the other lads (I don't know your names, sorry!) who facilitated lighting and sound and juggled a number of different cues for the various excerpts brilliantly, a further vote of thanks and appreciation.

When you consider how fluidly everything went with just one day of tech-ing it again speaks volumes of how professional everyone is.

On behalf on the ITA Committee I am pleased to announce that Kerri Hilton has reconsidered her decision and that the ITA Adjudicators in 2009 will continue to be Andrew Wong, Karen Woodcock, Kerri Hilton and Olga Ward.

We are very pleased with the panel, who bring broad and varied experience to the task.

Kimberley Shaw
\iTA President

That is excellent news, however the whole issue still reflects badly on all of us in the wider theatre community.

Kerri Hilton should never have been subjected to the insulting innuendos she suffered. If just one of the Winging Walters contributed 1% of what she does for theatre in the West, it would stun me.

What surely must happen now, is that the Theatre Australia site should have a separate Members Only section for reviews, comments and debates, that is private (only accessible to registered members) and will only accept contributions under members names, no more aliases.

By all means have a public forum post where anonymous posters can vent their spleen and demonstrate their obvious personality defects / personal issues, that way it’s separated from serious discussions and debates and the rest of us are not tainted with odour of these peasants.

If somebody is too ashamed or scared to write under their own name, the public forum section will serve their purpose..
There is nothing wrong with healthy debate and argument, as Kerri pointed out in her reply, but the time has come for reasoned debate, not the mud-slinging invectives and veiled threats that have become common-place on this website.

If people are genuine, believe in their views and want to contribute, they will have no objection to signing in and being identified. Those that don’t simply should not be allowed to contribute, or be a part of the community, other than the public posting forum.

I think this should happen as a matter of urgency, we have new people who have volunteered their time to adjudicate for 2009 and Kerri has agreed to stay on, we owe it to them and ourselves to move on these Wallies
Cheers
Greg Ross

Kerri, I applaud you and your decision to stay on. Having just shared last year's adjudicating burden with you, I know first hand the load you have carried, and your passion and sincerity has inspired and humbled me. I know how reluctant you were to spend yet another year racing around doing what we have all come to take for granted from you - giving so much of your time and energy serving our Theatre Community.

We simply cannot allow the venom of one sad, pissed-off little pipsqueak the power to manipulate the Theatre community. Thank you for making the decision you have.

Sue Hayward.

I agree with Jeff, it's terrific to have Kerri back on board but my goodness woman you've got to be close to burn out. I'm happy that you're able to rise above the insults and slurs upon your good name in a field that is, after all, AMATEUR theatre, a thing by definition that you do for the LOVE of it but I'm also sad because it means that all your free time will be taken up with critiquing rather than gracing us with your terrific acting abilities on stage.

Hats off to you, Kerri, I hope you finish this year still absolutely loving community theatre and not just hanging in there because you feel a responsibility to it.

Hugs (to Kerri for strength)

"In my work I do three things - Good, Cheap and Fast - if you employ me you may choose two" - Cam Ford

If there were a rash of reactionary anonymous postings, they seem to have disappeared before I could read them. In any case, weren't we all expecting something of the kind anyway? And whatever happened to 'DFT'?

It seems to me that we are all treating the 'Finleys' like a sporting event. If our team wins, they are the best and the rest are consequently a bunch of losers. If our team should have won but didn't, blame the coach, or better still, the umpire.

I suggest we all lighten up a bit, accept the 'Finleys' simply as peer acknowledgement for effort and ignore the trolls while keeping the website free and open to all.

Ssstinger>>>

Ok - music for the Finleys can be a little tricky. Like actors, it can be difficult to reassemble the same musicians months after the show (they are away or going to a 21st or being a bridesmaid at a cousin's wedding or have a professional gig etc), so sometimes they will use a pre-recorded backing track or borrow musicians from other shows etc.

I know that there was a lots of negotiation between the clubs to share keyboards etc as well as people.

So like we mentioned with actors on the night it is as "close as they could get" to the original bands.

Hiya,
I know this is off track from the majority of the responses here but the bar should have had water free of charge as part of its Responsible Service of Alcohol (RSA) requirements. If the police had done a random check you (the licensee... and anyone associated ie. on that committee, serving, applicant for the license etc.) would have been in serious trouble. It is the law that when serving alcohol you must provide water free of charge (tap water is fine)and part of RSA to have non-alcoholic beverage options. I read the response that said it was assumed the kiosk would be open but that responsibility comes down to the licensee of the bar. You definately don't want that to happen again!!

Quote: "So by that logic above why have paid adjudicator(s) for DramaFest.

We have ONE paid Adjudicator for DramaFest, so therefore it is a one-off payment. If we had  to pay 4 professional  adjudicators for the whole year simple arithmetic should give you the answer!

And I do wish people would cease casting slurs on those dedicated people who put their hands up to become Adjudicators. ENOUGH!!

I think those who put their hands up to be adjudicators, must either

1. Love the theatre.
2. Be social philanthropists who want to give their all to theatre
or
3. Be crazy

These (currently) 4 people see most of the 50+ productions entered throughout the year, not for pleasure, but to sit in judgement. I can only imagine that it is a much different experience to watch a play for the purpose of producing an adjudication, than to watch it for enjoyment.
I'm guessing they sit through some appalling productions throughout the year as well - no leaving at interval for these people.
To Kerri, Ken, Graeme and Sue, thanks for your efforts over the last 12 months, and I look forward to seeing Kerri and 3 new faces at the theatre during 2009.

www.meltheco.org.au

The simple answer to that question Josephine is that there are full length plays running at some clubs over that weekend that require adjudication by the ITA adjudicators.
The other answer is that the adjudicators deserve some time away from adjudicating everything and to ask them to sit through 3 packed days of one act plays and a Youth fest on top of what they've already done is a bit steep.
The third answer is that the One Act festival provides the chance for Jarrod and Kerri to workshop possible future ITA adjudicators by having them sit in on certain plays, adjudicate, and from there provide those "adjudicators in training" feedback and coaching on their adjudication. (that's long-winded I know but I think you get the idea).
The fourth answer is that the existing adjudicators can pick up ideas on technique and feedback from a professional - it's always a good idea to take a step back and aharpen your skills by looking at how others operate in the same environment who may have had a deal more experience.
As regards the Southwest festival, that's run by Bunbury Little Theatre and isn't an ITA event so that's your answer as regards that particular venture.
Hope this helps

I was actually suggesting different adjudicators for DramaFest, not necessarily the same Finley Award judges. That would avoid some of the problems you've noted above.

Note, these are my personal comments, not on behalf of it ITA committee -

Just to reiterate to everyone that the ITA exits for it's members, and the committee is comprised of volunteers from the Perth theatre community, as are the adjudicators. Quite simply, if you disagree with the way something is being done, get up and do something about it. That means AT A MINIMUM being willing to either put your name to a comment (thanks to those of you who have the strength of conviction to do so), but better yet, come along to the ITA AGM in February.

Please, healthy, constructive debate is welcomed, and more so people who are willing to put their money and/or time where their mouth is and get involved. No organisation in the world universally agrees, and it is through a process of ongoing debate that things evolve and hopefully get better. Just to be crystal clear, slandering people for their opinions does not constitute "healthy, constructive debate".

Furthermore, for those of you that are questioning the adjudication methods applied, the ITA ran a series of adjudication courses this year, which were open to everyone that wanted to attend. These courses had the dual aims of attempting to inform and train potential adjudicators, but also to clarify the adjudication system for those that wanted to listen. How many of you that are claiming the adjudications were unfair or biased actually attended these sessions provided? Maybe if you had you might understand how the adjudications are arrived at a little better, as there is obviously a lot of confusion about how the results are achived.

First of all I think I may have killed the other thread. I didn't mean to. (That sounds weak doesn't it.) I expressed an opinion using my moderating field and the whole damn thing disappeared. It must have been teetering on the brink. If I need to apologise to someone please accept this as my apology.

Is that all there is? Well if that's all there is my friend, then let's keep dancing.
www.tonymoore.id.au

No Tony, it wasnt you, there were other hands at work there.

I'm sorry Logos....I'm not laughing at you but as theatre Australias defender of free speech it is (c'mon, you gotta admit it) ironic that your vote tipped the whole thread into oblivion. That is the funniest thing I've read on here in God knows how long.....and I'm really sorry I'm laughing about it...."snigger". A refreshing tipple of your choice sir for daring to laugh at your discomfort but you gotta admit....damn funny!!! There is hope for this site yet.
Aw c'mon Tony....it's bloody funny and u know it!!!!

(wipes tears from his eyes)

Thanks for clarifying Grant.
Y'see folks, it was an eastern stater with clumsy fingers - nothing more. No conspiracy. Ah, I'm wasting my breath. In 90's speak - the Mulders will have their theories. Logos is undoubtedly on the ITA payroll as a thread assassin.
Bwah-hahahahahahahaha.

Sorry for suggesting it may be something more but at least I sought clarification. Take heed Walter unlimited

Thanks Grant,

I think its bloody funny also, considering the pathetic way the thread was started to begin with.

Logos, if you ever come to Perth I will buy you a drink for making my year.

Cheers all

Robert

Gee shucks folks

(Takes Ironic bow to left and right while blowing kisses to his admiring fans)

I admit it is mildly ironic that I should be the one to destroy a thread. I rarely moderate although I did another one this morning. and it was actually one of the stupider posts I meant to moderate. I went back up to read the original post again and must have moderated without thinking went back and "Hey Presto"

Oh well. I will be more careful in future.
I decided to identify myself in order to divert any more attacks on Kerry Hilton or any of the rest of you. It would have been cowardly to not take the heat myself.

If any of you make it to Adelaide for the Fringe and care to attend my show "Boiled Cabbage" I will happily share a tipple with you at the local hostelry which happens to be less than a minutes walk from my theatre.

Is that all there is? Well if that's all there is my friend, then let's keep dancing.
www.tonymoore.id.au

Sorry, I'm a little slow...the finleys are awards given to those partaking in Community Theatre?

That is correct. And there should be an apostrophe in "devil's".

an apostrophe? why did you feel it necessary to say that?