WINNERS ANNOUCED FOR THE STEPHEN SONDHEIM SOCIETY STUDENT PERFORMER OF THE YEAR AND STILES + DREWE PRIZE AT

10TH ANNIVERSARY WEST END GALA

· Courtney Bowman wins the Stephen Sondheim Society Student Performer of the Year.

· Tim Connor wins the Stiles + Drewe Prize for Best New Song for “Back To School” from Heart of Winter.

· Darren Clark and Rhys Jennings win the MTI Stiles + Drewe Mentorship Award with the new musical The Wicker Husband.

The Stephen Sondheim Society and Mercury Musical Developments today announce the winners of the Stephen Sondheim Society Student Performer of the Year and Stiles + Drewe Prize. The winners were revealed at the 10th anniversary West End Gala held at the Novello Theatre which was hosted by star of stage and screen Julian Ovenden.

Courtney Bowman wins the Stephen Sondheim Society Student Performer of the Year performing “Me and My Town” from Stephen Sondheim’s musical Anyone Can Whistle and “The Driving Lesson” from the musical Heart of Winter written by Tim Connor. Bowman was selected out of 12 finalists who qualified from the UK’s many musical theatre courses and has been awarded a £1,000 first prize. Eleanor Jackson is named runner-up for performances of “Sunday in the Park with George” from Sondheim’s Sunday in the Park with George and “More to Life” by James Burn.

In addition to this Tim Connor wins the Stiles + Drewe Prize for Best New Song for “Back To School” from Heart of Winter. This Prize recognises an outstanding song from a new musical, and the winner receives a prize of £1,000 to put towards developing their work.

This year also marked the expansion of the Stiles and Drewe Prize to include their inaugural Mentorship Award, supported by Music Theatre International (Europe). Darren Clark and Rhys Jennings win the Mentorship Award with the new musical The Wicker Husband. They will receive 12 months of mentorship and support, benefiting from monthly writers’ labs, a one-week writing retreat, and two panel-led progress labs, with the year culminating in an industry showcase. Stiles and Drewe won the first Vivian Ellis Prize in 1985 for their musical Just So, which introduced them to the major heavyweights of the musical theatre world and made an enormous impact at the beginning of their careers. The MTI Stiles + Drewe Mentorship Award aims to give a similar kick-start to a new generation of musical theatre writing talent.

The winners were selected by a panel of judges including Don Black, Jason Carr, Anne Reid MBE, Thea Sharrock, Paul Hart, Lotte Wakeham and Sondheim Society Patron Julia McKenzie and Olivier Award-nominated actress Sophie-Louise Dann and the student performer judging panel was chaired by writer and broadcaster Edward Seckerson.

This annual gala is co-produced by The Stephen Sondhiem Society and Mercury Musical Developments and was this year directed by Chris Hocking, with musical direction by Mark Warman.

The Stephen Sondheim Society Chairman Craig Glenday said today “What a tremendous way to mark our 10th anniversary! Courtney totally understood the performance aspect of the competition and delivered both of her songs with great style. She received the loudest applause of the afternoon and is a deserving winner.”

Executive Director of MMD Victoria Saxton said “The judges were faced with an incredibly difficult decision. However, Tim Connor’s “Back to School” was the stand-out for its specific and witty lyrics that fully brought the character and situation to life, a skill that’s hard for lyricists to master.”

Courtney Bowman is 21 years old and grew up in Boston, Lincolnshire. She is currently in her final term at the Guildford School of Acting. She has just finished playing the role of Billie in Our House at the Yvonne Arnaud theatre, Leaf’s Mom/Jesus in The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee and Clara in Ghost the Musical. In her second year, she played the role of Cora Hoover Hooper in Anyone Can Whistle. She is absolutely thrilled and honoured to have been chosen and would like to thank the Sondheim Society for this wonderful opportunity. She would also like to thank her friends and family for all the support, especially her Mum, “who has been there for me every step of the way”.

Tim Connor’s credits include Heart of Winter (story/dramaturgy by Lia Buddle) and The Stationmaster (book by Susannah Pearse), produced by Aria Entertainment at the Tristan Bates Theatre in October 2015. His ballad, “The Little Match Girl” was sung by Olivier Award-winner Janie Dee on BBC Radio’s Loose Ends. Last year, Tim saved up to make a studio album of Heart of Winter, recorded by Sondheim Prize-winner Corrine Priest, available to buy on iTunes and Amazon.

Julian Ovenden’s theatre credits include Merrily We Roll Along and Grand Hotel (Donmar Warehouse), Annie Get your Your Gun (The Young Vic), Marguerite (Haymarket), King Lear (RSC), Butley at the (Booth Theatre, Broadway), Death Takes A Holiday (The Roundabout Theatre Company, New York), A Woman of No Importance (Haymarket), Sunday in The Park With George (Théâtre du Châtelet, Paris), Showboat (Lincoln Centre, New York) and most recently a very successful transfer from the Donmar Warehouse to the Apollo of My Night With Reg. For television his credits include Foyle’s War (series regular), Downton Abbey (series regular), The Forsyte Saga, Any Human Heart, The Royal and ITV’s live version of The Sound Of Music Live; and for film, Colonia, The Confessions and Allies.

Please see below for the full list of the 12 finalist student performers:

Abigail Fitzgerald (22) – Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts

Adam Small (22) – Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts

Ashley Reyes (20) – LAMDA

Callum McGuire (23) – Oxford School of Drama

Courtney Bowman (21) – GSA University of Surrey

Dafydd Gape (23) – Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama

Edward Laurenson (27) – Guildhall School of Music & Drama

Eleanor Jackson (24) – Bristol Old Vic Theatre School

Emily Day (20) – Performance Preparation Academy

Kirsty Ingram (20) – Arts Educational Schools

Lauren Drew (23) – Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts

Tabitha Tingey (22) – The Royal Conservatoire of Scotland

Please see below for the full list of the 12 finalists for the Stiles + and Drewe Best New Song Prize:

“How Did I Get Here?” by Rowland Braché & Richard Voyce

“Wallpaper Girl” by Rebecca Applin & Susannah Pearse

“Rivets” by David Perkins and Dominic & Joe Male

“Little Wooden Horse” by Chris Bush & Matt Winkworth

“What I’m After” by Roxanne Lamendola (add. music and lyrics by China Doll, Leah Fogo; arrangement, Scott Stait)

“Back to School” by Tim Connor

“The Driving Lesson” by Tim Connor

“Fly” by Spencer & Shenelle William

“My Wicker Man” by Darren Clark

“More to Life” by James Burn

“Watchin’ the Door” by Caroline Wigmore

“Echoes” by Craig Adams & Andrew Doyle

Previous judges have included Matthew Scott, Head of Music at the National Theatre; Tony Award-winning orchestrator Sarah Travis; Broadway composer Andrew Lippa; Head of Josef Weinberger publishing and Head of MTI Europe Seán Gray and Director Jeremy Sams and previous finalists have included Hollywood and Broadway stars Taron Egerton and Cynthia Erivo. Previous winners of the Best New Song Prize include Tamar Broadbent who took her one-woman show All By My Selfie to the Adelaide Fringe and Tim Sutton has been nominated for an Olivier for Outstanding Achievement in Music for his role as MD on Memphis The Musical. He has also worked at The National Theatre as an MD on Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom and as composer and MD on The Amen Corner.