Outwood Performance of the Year 2026

Technical Producer: Jude Slater
Showcaller: Cris Negosanu
Broadcast Tech: Archie Baxter
FOH Mix Engineer: Luke Ingram
Monitor Engineer / Backline: Ethan Cox

This was the 5th OPOY I have worked on in my role as Technical Producer - responsible for audio, cameras, broadcast, video content, stage management, show control & automation, venue integration, lighting and working alongside 25+ performance delegations to ensure they have the resources they need. The vast planning undertaken is to accomodate single-day venue access, across our team of 5.

We look after a range of performances spanning live bands, brass sections, drama, dance, and solos. Through the use of IEMs, stage timers, backstage program feeds we are able to run the show on-stage efficiently and support the young performers.

The show is kept interactive and engaging with a custom graphics package, as well as audience voting and a newly introduced performance recap which shows 10s of each piece back-to-back with voting information overlays. This required building custom software to record clips via osc, then update file references and trim points in QLab.

The graphics this year are built around the central concept of a virtual set which is shown from different perspectives for various elements of the show. This required significant modelling, texturing, design, rendering, and post-processing in Blender and After Effects.