THE LIVE CONCERT - A one-night-only online concert to raise funds for freelance performers in need.

For the past five weeks, &SCENE has delighted audiences with TOGETHER AGAIN, re-uniting cast and creative team members of past productions to share stories, laughs and songs.

The 25th Anniversary of the 1995 cast of West Side Story was scheduled for this coming Saturday 30 May, but it was a collective &SCENE team decision to roll that out by a week and rather put the team’s support behind hosting the WAITING IN THE WINGS: THE LIVE CONCERT.

On Saturday 30 May at 20h00 (CAT) from the comfort of your homes, tune in online to watch Waiting in the Wings: The Live Concert, produced and directed by Owen Lonzar and hosted by Megan Carelse and Helen Desbois.

The aim of the evening is to raise funds in order to assist with supporting freelance events performers who have not been able to access money through other platforms.

Viewers will be treated to an evening of great entertainment with the line-up including Harry Sideropolous, Boki Ntsime Tiaan Rautenbach. Emmanuel Castis, Lyla Faye, Lucie Strike-Nakar, Sharon Spiegel-Wagner, Bruce Dennill, Leote Taylor, Donovan Yaards, Keeno Lee, Thiart Li, Pulane Rampoana, George Sax, Eloise Clasen and SiAnne.

The concert will be hosted on the &SCENE online streaming platform, so viewers can tune in via their Facebook Live or YouTube Channels.

For direct links, head to their website at www.andsence.live

Waiting in the Wings: The Live Concert is free to stream, but if you’re in a position to do so, please consider making a donation via www.andscene.live/donate.

The public can continue to donate online at their convenience via this link.

These invaluable donations will go towards the #WaitingInTheWingsSA initiative, directly via the official Back a Buddy Page and administered by One Small Act of Kindness.

Here’s the direct link to the campaign: https://www.backabuddy.co.za/freelance-performers

THE SHOW MUST GO ON!

This once-off concert forms part of a hearwarming initiative established recently by Choreographer, Director, Producer Owen Lonzar during #LockDown, when he saw first-hand, his fellow colleagues battling to make ends meet due to the entertainment industry having been decimated by the current situation.

Lonzar explains; “I have been in the entertainment industry since I was 14 and we all know the struggle is very real for the Arts in South Africa and always has been.  It makes us creatives more determined and gives us a resilience that we use to further our cause, because in truth the Arts are a cause.  The Covid-19 pandemic and the lockdown has brought suffering to all South Africans and I have empathy for all of us, but we must each pick a cause to support or we will lose the battle.  If we each pick a cause, then the problem becomes fightable and my cause is to help struggling artists.   It is easy to become bitter about the situation of the arts but that only leads to one becoming swallowed up by grief and in turn leads to emotional paralysis."

He continues; “I chose to launch a fundraising campaign on FaceBook and through Back a Buddy.  Fundraising takes commitment but ultimately it is the kindness and support of strangers and friends who carry it along.  We have raised over R35 000 to date, but the need is so great and the list grows every hour.”

The funds are administered by a registered charity One Small Act of Kindness run by Samantha Parrish. The money raised on Back a Buddy goes dierctly to their account and they disseminate the vouchers from a list generated by Owen.

&SCENE will be hosting the event on the night on their online streaming platform, providing online technology and technical support for fellow colleagues to perform in a professional setting and for the viewers to get maximum enjoyment.

Says Drew Bakker, Producer of &SCENE; “It was an immediate decision for us, when we heard about the concert and how Owen was hoping to assist fellow colleagues with assistance needed right now, for us to partner with him on this concert. &SCENE is proud to play our part and support the incredible work of #WaitingInTheWingsSA with our technical team and platform for this exciting ONE NIGHT ONLY benefit concert to support performers in need.”

* All guests appear on the show Subject to Availability.

For continued updates, go to the WAITING IN THE WINGS LIVE CONCERT Facebook Event Page :

https://web.facebook.com/events/1412824662255601/

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