MONDAY’s announcement of this year’s Actor Boy Awards nominees was met with jubilation on the part of those vying for the coveted statuettes which will be handed out at a ceremony at the Phoenix Theatre in New Kingston on World Theatre Day, Monday, March 27.

Organised by the International Theatre Institute Jamaica Chapter, the Actor Boy Awards recognises excellence in local theatre.

For newcomer Ackeem Poyser, nominated for Best Actor in a Supporting Role for his work in Bad Breed, this will mark the first time he will be attending the ceremony.

“I have always told myself that whenever I attend the Actor Boy Awards I should be attending as a nominee, and here it is. Being nominated is a great feeling. Sometimes you dream about aspiring to certain things and reaching to certain milestones, and then when you actually accomplish it is like a whole ‘nother ballgame. I can’t even really express the way I feel at this time. But I am really just happy. I will be much more elated if I win. It just feels like all the hard work I have put in is finally paying off… I’m getting the recognition. With Bad Breed, it was a challenge that I wanted. I am a 24-year-old playing a 17-year-old who is trying to be 25. I liked that kind of challenge when I get a role,” said Poyser.

Writer/producer Mary Banks was on the brink of bursting into tears as her production, Amazing Grace, ended the evening with a whopping eight nominations, only to be topped by Father Ho Lung and Friends’ musical Moses, which received 10 nods, and the drama Catherine Mulgrave which earned nine nominations.

“I’m just… I …I’m almost speechless,” Banks muttered to the Jamaica Observer as she tried to compose herself. “ Just to know that… especially the two songs that were nominated which God gave us straight out of Heaven. I am just so blessed. So many categories, it’s just the glory of God. The general reaction from persons who have seen this production is that it is memorable because it touches so many aspects of our lives. It deals with so many life issues. So once a person sees it they never forget. And for many it is life-changing.”

Banks and her team plan to remount Amazing Grace later this year. Among the nominations it has received are Best Drama, Best Musical, and Best New Jamaican Script.

Theatre veteran Rosemary Murray, too, was basking in her two nominations. She was recognised as lead actress for her role in Tek Yuh Han Off A Mi and in a supporting role for Not My Child.

“There is a big, big grin on mi face because it really is inspiring. Sometimes you immerse yourself into a role and [when] you go home that psychological edge that goes with it, like in Not My Child where I played a woman who was disabled and you go home with a lot of it. It is good to know that the work made sense. Tek Yuh Han Off A Mi is another role that I really immersed myself into because there are so many stories, and even some personal reflections as well about this whole issue of abuse, and it is good to know that it is recognised. People don’t understand that when you play a role it really does not end at the theatre.”

Event producer Weston Haughton has been brought on board to pull the show together on March 27, and in his inimitable style is promising a red carpet, Hollywood-style affair.