University of Portsmouth TV series Offstage wins award at Melbourne WebFest

The reality TV series, called Offstage, was produced by staff and students from the Television Production course and won the Best Student Series category at Melbourne WebFest, an Australian international digital entertainment festival. Offstage follows the lives of aspiring musical theatre artists as they prepare for their final grand show.

BA (Hons) TV production graduate and offstage producer Darek Kosinski said: “It’s great news that 'Offstage' has got its first international recognition in such a prestigious festival. I am thrilled with the efforts that the entire crew has put into creating this piece. I am looking forward to networking with other creators, whose productions are nominated in the official selection. It is a true benchmark of successful teamwork and chasing the impossible.”

He added: “I’d like to thank our executive producers Evan Pugh and Rubia Dar and especially David Kinnaird for his help and advice in producing this madness of a mini-series. We wouldn't have done this without the support we've received from you.”

The series explores the creative process that goes into producing theatrical shows, from the idea stage right through to the onstage performance. Viewers follow the journey of a group of musical theatre students as their dreams come true. A University of Portsmouth spokesperson said: “The mini-series is an intimate, in-depth look at the musical piece of theatre, revealing the emotional road from the creative concept to the onstage show.” Each episode from the series is published on the CCI TV Production YouTube channel.