Nebraska High School Theatre Awards Expands for 2015-16 School Year

Omaha Performing Arts has opened registration for the third year of the Nebraska High School Theatre Awards program. The educational program will expand to include high schools within 150 miles of the Holland Performing Arts Center for the 2015/2016 school year. The Nebraska High School Theatre Awards are designed to celebrate, support and advocate for high school theatre education. Culminating in a Tony Awards-inspired showcase, the program offers free Broadway master classes and workshops, feedback from performing arts professionals, tickets to touring Broadway shows when available, performance and audition experiences, distance learning opportunities and more to over 3,500 students annually.

The Nebraska High School Theatre Awards launched in the metro area in 2014, with an inaugural group of 22 participating schools. For the 2015/2016 school year, the program will expand to include 50 schools. Omaha Performing Arts plans to continue expanding the program over the next few years to serve schools throughout Nebraska. "The Nebraska High School Theatre Awards has become one of Omaha Performing Arts largest education programs," said Omaha Performing Arts Education Manager Kathleen Lawler Hustead. "This year's program will include schools from Omaha, Lincoln, Grand Island, Norfolk, Columbus and several other Nebraska communities. We look forward to expanding the program to serve high schools throughout Nebraska in the next few years."

The Nebraska High School Theatre Awards offers participants a variety of learning opportunities. Each fall, schools are invited to register their musical theatre productions to be adjudicated by a team of performing arts professionals. Adjudicators attend each school's musical theatre production and provide educationally focused feedback on the performance. Throughout the 2015/2016 school year, participants will have the chance to attend free master classes led by professional teaching artists and cast members from Broadway's KINKY BOOTS, THE WIZARD OF OZ, DIRTY DANCING, THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA, CINDERELLA, NEWSIES and THE BOOK OF MORMON. Participating schools will have access to free or discounted tickets to select Broadway touring shows when available, distance learning activities, Broadway study guides and other theatre education resources, performance and audition experiences, and more. The Nebraska High School Theatre Awards will also bring theatre workshops led by Broadway teaching artist and Omaha native, Kevyn Morrow, to several schools in Western Nebraska. At the end of September, the theatre workshop tour will visit nine schools.

During the spring of each adjudication period, Omaha Performing Arts will host a Tony Awards-style showcase to recognize the outstanding achievements of high school musical theatre productions and students. Students will be honored for demonstrating artistic excellence in performance and technical theatre. This season's awards showcase takes place on Thursday, June 9, 2016 at the Orpheum Theater, and will feature performances by participating high schools. The Nebraska High School Theatre Awards will also nominate two outstanding student performers to join students from 35 similar programs across the U.S. at the National High School Musical Theatre Awards in New York City in June 2016.

High schools who produce an annual musical must register for the program by November 24, 2015. Registration is available on a first-come, first serve basis and the program will be limited to 50 high schools. For more information about the Nebraska High School Theatre Awards or to learn more about participating in the program, visit NebraskaHSTA.org or contact J. Dominic Green, Omaha Performing Arts Education Coordinator, at NHSTA@omahaperformingarts.org or 402.661.8425. The Nebraska High School Theatre Awards are sponsored by the William and Harriet Otis Fund, Wells Fargo, the Nebraska Arts Council and the Nebraska Cultural Endowment.

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