Green Bay East Actress And Kimberly High School Actor Perform At The Jimmy Awards

The Fox Cities Performing Arts Center is proud to announce Paige Neumeyer and Travis Vandenberg made their debut on a Broadway stage at The Jimmy Awards in New York City Monday night.

Nominated for their leading performances at their high school and chosen through a separate audition process, the pair represented the Center Stage High School Musical Theater Awards, an educational initiative of the Fox Cities Performing Arts Center.

At the national level they had the opportunity to audition for scholarships, learn from professionals in a week of workshops and perform on stage at the Minskoff Theater (currently the Broadway home to Disney's The Lion King).

Paige Neumeyer was nominated for Outstanding Performance by a Leading Actress for her role as Cassie in Green Bay East's production of A Chorus Line, a role she was also selected to sing from during the medley portion of The Jimmy Awards. She is a recent graduate who intends to study musical theater at Millikin University in Illinois this fall.

Travis Vandenberg was nominated for Outstanding Performance by a Leading Actor for his role as Seymour Krelborn in Kimberly's production of Little Shop of Horrors. He is a recent graduate who intends to study English education and musical theater performance at University of Wisconsin - Eau Claire in the fall.

"We are so proud of Paige and Travis for their hard work in New York City this week and congratulate them on their performance at The Jimmy Awards," said director of marketing and communications Trisha Witt. "As representatives of our Center Stage High School Musical Theater Awards program, the two were outstanding ambassadors of the amazing talent found throughout Northeast Wisconsin."

ABOUT THE 2017-18 CENTER STAGE AWARDS

Throughout the 2017-18 school year, 17 local high schools participated in the Center Stage High School Musical Theater Awards program, an education initiative that celebrates and supports the achievements of high school theater programs in Northeastern Wisconsin.

During the program year, participating students were invited to attend eight workshops with professional artists at the Fox Cities Performing Arts Center and had the opportunity to ask questions and explore different aspects of theater, giving them a deeper understanding of professional performing arts.

A team of trained adjudicators attended each participating school's musical production and provided educational feedback, ultimately determining the recipients of this year's Center Stage Awards. Scores for each production were tabulated and the top qualifiers were nominated to represent their school at the official showcase. All qualifying nominees were recognized with an award in their category at the Center Stage High School Musical Theater Awards Showcase on May 19.

This year's participating high schools included: Appleton East, Ashwaubenon, Denmark, Fond du Lac, Freedom, Green Bay East, Green Bay Preble, Green Bay Southwest, Green Bay West, Hortonville, Kimberly, Little Chute, Mishicot, Neenah, Notre Dame Academy, St. Mary Catholic and Winneconne.

COMMUNITY SUPPORT

The Center Stage High School Musical Theater Awards program is an educational initiative of the Fox Cities P.A.C. with additional support from corporate partner Fox Communities Credit Union.

Additional partners in this program include Schneider Foundation, We Energies Foundation, Gunderson Family Companies, Nicolet National Bank, Angelo and Jennifer Ninivaggi, Octoberfest, an event of the Fox Cities Chamber and Wipfli LLP.

Mission-based programming is supported in part by a grant from the Wisconsin Arts Board with funds from the State of Wisconsin and National Endowment for the Arts.

ABOUT THE NATIONAL HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL THEATRE AWARDS
The Jimmy Awards/The National High School Musical Theatre Awards (NHSMTA) program impacts more than 100,000 students who participate in high school musical theatre competitions sponsored by presenters of Touring Broadway productions throughout the United States. Presented by the Broadway League Foundation, the program sends a Best Actress and Best Actor winner from each of these competitions to New York for a nine-day theatre intensive of coaching and rehearsals with industry professionals in preparation for a one-night-only talent showcase on Broadway. Named for Broadway impresario James M. Nederlander, the program has been the catalyst for more than $2,000,000 in educational scholarships. The tenth annual Jimmy Awards took place on Monday, June 25, 2018 at the Minskoff Theatre on Broadway. Coaching and rehearsals for this one-of-a-kind event were held Monday, June 18, 2018 through Monday, June 25, 2018 in New York City. For more information, please visit www.JimmyAwards.com.

ABOUT THE FOX CITIES PERFORMING ARTS CENTER
The Fox Cities Performing Arts Center, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit arts and cultural education organization located in downtown Appleton, provides a premier venue for live performing arts. Since 2002, the Center has proudly served as a gathering place for the community to engage in educational opportunities while enhancing a greater understanding and appreciation of life through the live performing arts. The Fox Cities Performing Arts Center - Where the Arts Come Alive!

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