Local students awarded the Ruth Harcourt and Garth Watson Scholarships
The VOS Theatre group announced that local students Mark Nugent received the Ruth Harcort Memorial Scholarship and Brodick Ewing the Garth Watson Memorial Scholarship. Both scholarships of $1000 each were given out during the annual meeting of the VOS Theatre held on Monday, June 15, 2026 at 7 PM at the theatre’s new location at 9288 Burwash Rd. in Baltimore.
“We are delighted to present these scholarships to two very deserving recipients who have demonstrated a passion for furthering the arts in our community. Whether through performance or behind the scenes work, both Mark and Brodick have dedicated themselves to the arts in a way that promotes inclusion, ingenuity, generosity of spirit and commitment to the project. We wish them the best in their future studies and hope they continue to practice their respective arts. Thank you to all those who applied,” said Board Chair Meghan Flindall.
Mark Nugent- Ruth Harcort Scholarship
Cobourg resident Mark Nugent graduated from St. Mary’s Highschool in the Spring. He was part of La Jeunesse choir for eight years singing in both English and French. He was also in his high school choir for four years. He has performed in numerous productions most recently as Sam Carmichael in the St. Mary’s production of Mamma Mia.
Brodick Ewing – Garth Watson Scholarship
Port Hope resident Brodick Ewing graduated from Cobourg Collegiate Institute where he contributed to a variety of productions building sets, conceptualizing set pieces or creating lighting and other technical aspects in audio visual productions. When not working on productions Brodick is an accomplished bagpiper. He hopes to pursue post-secondary degree at Trent University in the Fall.
Other Board highlights included an update on the move to the new location including completed and planned renovation, a report on the successful 2025/2026 season that included the popular musical production of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Cinderella performed at Victoria Hall in April and starring Jessica MacNeill in the lead role, directed by Melanie Racine, and the award-winning play Agatha’s Christie’s Murder on the Orient Express directed by Matt Blundell with Jeff Halligan in the role of the famous detective, Hercule Poirot.
“These two productions were both extremely successful at the box office, and in the case of Murder on the Orient Express, also garnering critical acclaim, picking up the most number of awards of any single production at the Eastern Ontario Drama League at this year’s awards ceremony. The production won for highest degree of period accuracy and set décor, effective use of video projection, best set design, and best visual production and was nominated for an additional four awards,” said Jeff Halligan, Executive Producer, VOS.
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