GERSHWIN AWARDS To Honor NYC High School Students At CAP 21

A New York City Chapter of The National High School Musical Theater Awards has been formed to present The Gershwin Awards to celebrate outstanding achievement in musical theater performance by students attending public and private high schools throughout the New York City
Metropolitan Area. The program will be produced under the auspices of The Broadway Education Alliance in partnership with Camp Broadway LLC and CAP21: America's Musical Theatre Conservatory & Theatre Company.

For the first time, high schools located in the New York Metropolitan area are invited to nominate a student performer who has played the leading character role in a musical presented at the school during the 2010-2011 academic year. A panel of Broadway professionals including CAP21 co-founder Eliza Ventura, Musical Director Tom Murray, and Casting Agent Cesar Rocha from Telsey + Company, will select two student winners of The Gershwin Award in the category of Best
Performance by a Lead Actor and Best Performance by a Lead Actress after evaluating their participation in a series of group workshops, an interview, and a performance audition. This workshop event will be held on Saturday, May 21 from 9:00 am - 6:00 pm at CAP21 Studios (18
West 18th Street, between 5th and 6th Avenues, 6th floor).

For additional information on The Gershwin Awards and the student nomination application, visit www.GershwinAwards.com. Nominations must be received by Tuesday, May 10, 2011.

The Gershwin Award winner of Best Performance by a Lead Actor and Best Performance by a Lead Actress will be announced on Wednesday, May 25 at The Gershwin Theatre on Broadway. These students will receive $1,000 each and a scholarship to CAP21's Pre-College Musical Theater
Training Program. This five-week intensive course in the field of musical theater performance places equal emphasis on acting, singing, and dancing (http://www.cap21.org/summer_program.html). In addition, The Gershwin Award-winners will represent New York City in the 3rd Annual National High School Theatre Awards® on Monday, June 27 at the Marquis Theatre, the culmination of an all-expense paid 6-day performance enrichment program held in New York City.

The National High School Musical Theater Award was established in 2009 by The Nederlander Producing Company and the Pittsburgh CLO to provide high school students with a once in a lifetime experience of performing on Broadway. In 2010, the project touched nearly 50,000 students from over 1,000 schools. Forty-four winners from across America came to New York City for 5-days of coaching, auditions and rehearsals in preparation for their Broadway debut. Two talented students received "The Jimmy Award," named in honor of Broadway theatre owner and producer James M. Nederlander, for his vision and generous support of young artists, and an educational scholarship. With the introduction of The Gershwin Award, named after lifelong New
Yorkers George and Ira Gershwin, New York City Metropolitan area students will now have the opportunity to participate in this national program.

For news and information on the inaugural Gershwin Awards and The National High School Musical Theater Awards, please visit www.GershwinAwards.com and NHSMTA.com.