"Disguise, I see thou art a wickedness"

The winners of the 2009 Optus and Bell Shakespeare Make A Scene Competition have been announced, with the overall winner Tavis O'Hazy Robertson from Scotch College in South Australia.

Tavis submitted an animation to illustrate the Shakespearean quote: "Disguise, I see thou art a wickedness."

Other winners include Sadina Tursunovic and Lisa Ho from Fairfield High School in New South Wales, Jason Burton from Tennant Creek High School in the Northern Territory, Michaela Ripper from Jindabyne Central School and Nathan Tarlinton from Picton High School in New South Wales.

Optus and Bell Shakespeare Education invited students Australia-wide to select a Shakespearean phrase and interpret it in a contemporary and innovative way.

Make A Scene has been running since 2005 and became a purely online competition in 2007, encouraging students to find creative ways of communicating Shakespeare using 21st century technology. Submissions could be made in the form of a picture, animation, podcast or movie - with three of the winners in 2009 submitting video and animation entries.

Students across the country not only uploaded their submissions online, they could also vote for each other's work, check the popularity of their work on the leader board and browse the gallery.

The winners were chosen from 245 entries by a judging panel comprising of:
Andy Griffiths, children's author
Josh Rowe, Digital Creative Group Head, Mark
Fenella Kernebone, presenter at Triple J and ABC TV
John Bell, Artistic Director, Bell Shakespeare
Geoff Nevill, Arts and Community Sponsorship Manager, Optus

John Bell said, "Once again, Make A Scene has revealed the remarkable range of talent in Australian school students. As to be expected, new technologies are making an impact, but it is gratifying to see more traditional artistic skills so well represented.

"The winning animation displayed wit and compassion along with technical expertise, and it was very pleasing to see such an excellent indigenous input. Congratulations all round and a big hand for Optus," John Bell said.

Triple J and ABC TV presenter, Fenella Kernabone said, "It was a pleasure to see how so many talented young artists, musicians and filmmakers from across the country responded to the different Shakespeare quotes.

"The overall winner was fantastic. A tightly scripted, 30 second animation, with great imagery and a clever interpretation of the quote," Fenella Kernabone said.

Jann Kohlman, Optus Group Manager, Sponsorship and Community Programs said, "Optus is proud to support the Make A Scene Competition with Bell Shakespeare for the fourth year. The integration of the Augmented Reality technology this year has been especially popular with students and encouraged greater use of technology in their entries."

Tavis O'Hazy Robertson was awarded the overall National Prize for the most original and creative entry for "Disguise Thou Art a Wickedness" (Animation). He receives $5,000 in prize money and an Apple iPhone 3G.
http://www.makeascenecompetition.com.au/gallery/view/271

His supporting school, Scotch College receives an additional $10,000 to spend on education or community services.

Encouragement Prizes were awarded to the next most original and creative entries in the Junior category (ages 15 and below) and Senior category (ages16 to 18). All encouragement prize winners receive $1,000 in prize money and an Apple iPhone 3G.

Michaela Ripper was awarded the Junior Encouragement Prize for Audio or Moving Image for "Torment of Revenge".
http://www.makeascenecompetition.com.au/gallery/view/262

Lisa Ho was awarded the Junior Encouragement Prize for Still Image for "Changing".
http://www.makeascenecompetition.com.au/gallery/view/122

Jason Burton was awarded the Senior Encouragement Prize for Audio or Moving Image for "The Hunter".
http://www.makeascenecompetition.com.au/gallery/view/109

Sadina Tursunovic was awarded the Senior Encouragement Prize for Still Image for "Longing".
http://www.makeascenecompetition.com.au/gallery/view/46

Nathan Tarlinton was awarded the People’s Choice Award for "The person Behind The Disguise" - the People's Choice award is for the entry that received the most views via the gallery and receives $2,000 in prize money and an Apple iPhone 3G.
http://makeascenecompetition.com.au/gallery/view/61

To view all entries, visit the Make A Scene Picture Gallery at: www.optus.com.au/makeascene

For more information:
Tatia Sloley, Bell Shakespeare, Publicist, Phone: +61 3 9419 8837 or 0403 305 395
Tracy Woodley, Optus Corporate Affairs, Phone: +61 2 8082 5302