Peninsula Players Theatre Awards Scholarships To Local Students

Peninsula Players Theatre has announced its 2021 Peninsula Players Theatre Scholarship recipients. The theater and its Board of Directors created this annual award to foster the career path and arts education of graduating high school seniors across Door County in the performing arts.

Eligible applicants must plan to enroll as a full-time college student with a major or minor in arts management, music (performance or education), or theater (acting, theater studies, theater technology and design). One $500 scholarship was available to a student at each of the five Door County high schools for a total of $2,500.

"The arts are such a critical part of a student's overall education as well as continued personal development," said Peninsula Players Managing Director Brian Kelsey. "It is with great pride that we reward and encourage the development of careers in the performing arts."

The 2021 scholarship recipients are Isabella Dippel, of Sturgeon Bay High School; Lexie Henkel, of Gibraltar High School; and Brady Tooley, of Southern Door High School. Each student has demonstrated a high level of participation and creativity in the arts, including drama, music or choral, during their academic careers. There were no scholarship applicants from Sevastopol nor Washington Island high schools in 2021.

Dippel's extensive performing arts resume includes participation in Sturgeon Bay High School's various choirs, bands and captivating audiences in both supporting and leading roles in the school's annual musical. Her experience does not stop at extracurricular activities. Dippel has participated in widespread arts programming and training in musical theater, voice master classes and dance lessons. Through her efforts, she has earned many accolades and has continued to find time to give back to her community through hundreds of hours of volunteerism.

Henkel also has an impressive high school tenure filled with performing arts activities. Among them are piano, dance and flute lessons, choir, participation in LEAP (The Human Kindness Project) and Gibraltar's theatrical productions. Henkel's passion lies in music. She plans to attend Lawrence University in Appleton and pursue a double major in Vocal Performance and Physics. Henkel looks forward to continuing community outreach through Lawrence's Music for All program and experiencing cultural immersion by studying abroad.

Tooley found his calling at Southern Door High School when many new performing arts opportunities became available to him. His participation in the school's musicals, forensics, madrigal and choir fueled his passion for performing. Tooley's hard work and dedication resulted in his performance in the All-State Mixed and Jazz Choirs, and acceptance into Kids From Wisconsin, an esteemed youth performing group. Tooley plans on pursuing a Bachelor of Arts in Acting at Columbia College Chicago.