Blue Apple is delighted to receive the Digital Innovation Award at the Winchester Business Excellence Awards 2022 in recognition of the technical solutions that the theatre company used to engage participants and deliver performances during the challenges of lockdown. This was a time when the participants, who all have a learning disability, were particularly at risk from the damaging effects of social isolation and loneliness.
Winners were announced at a special awards evening on 9 June at the University of Winchester where Blue Apple was represented by Professor Edward Rochead, Chair of Blue Apple Trustees and Anna Brisbane, a performer who joined Blue Apple Theatre when it started in 2005 and who has been in over thirty productions beginning with small parts and progressing onto leading roles.
In response to the wonderful news, Blue Apple’s Artistic Director Richard Conlon said: “All the team at Blue Apple extend our thanks to the organisers and sponsors of the Winchester Business Awards. We were thrilled to be nominated and it’s great to then to actually receive the Digital Innovation Award. When Covid came along we had to learn new skills and we had to learn them fast to keep doing what we did - trying keep people creative, connected and take away that risk of isolation - so to do that we jumped to the digital solution. In truth the award should go mostly to our participants, who despite having a learning disability, learned new skills and learned them quickly! They learned how to perform to a camera instead of to an audience. We learned how to make people look like they were in the same place at the same time when they were miles away from each other and we learned how to deliver a show through a screen, which was a valuable lesson. We’ve now gone back to our original brief of being in front of an audience but that sense of being able to deliver a show to an audience at home is something we’ll try and keep with us into the future.”
In addition to the recognition that the award brings, Blue Apple is also delighted to receive a voucher towards some free advertising in the Hampshire Chronicle, which will help extend outreach to new participants who may enjoy taking part in drama, singing, dance or film productions at Blue Apple.
Watch Professor Edward Rochead and Anna Brisbane as they collect their award at: https://youtu.be/qw1K7eZI8ek and scroll to 1:05.
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