Best newcomer nominee surprised at success

After spending 2019 juggling her WAAPA studies with performing as the lead in a Barking Gecko Theatre Company play, Derby woman Marlanie Haerewa has been recognised for her passion for the stage. Haerewa was recently nominated as best theatre newcomer in the Performing Arts WA Awards for her performance as Ophelia in My Robot, a play that explored bravery in moving to a new place. She said it felt amazing to have been nominated and was surprised to be recognised at a State level. “I didn’t initially know how much of a big deal it was until I got all these messages from Barking Gecko, my friends and my family congratulating me,” she said. “It kind of feels like I have won a Grammy or something, so I feel very proud.” While the awards ceremony is likely to take place online Haerewa said she would feel “very stoked” if she won the award. “It would be a dream come true, in fact my dreams already came true in being nominated,” she said. Since performing in My Robot in Perth and on a regional tour last year, Haerewa said she had been focusing on her studies during the COVID-19 pandemic. “I’m actually in the last year of my degree which is a Bachelor of Performing Arts, majoring in Performance Making,” she said. “I have had to resort to making my art in my bedroom or lounge room, just wherever I can make some sort of stage and do my assignments. “It has certainly been interesting trying to find ways to get creative while I’m at home and not on a stage.”