JIMMYS BLOG: Meet a Nominee from the Triangle Rising Stars, Ben Eble

This year, a record 86 high school students from across America will participate in The Jimmy Awards, competing for Best Performance by an Actor and Actress as well as other honors and scholarships at the eleventh annual awards ceremony on Monday, June 24.

Jimmy Awards nominees will prepare for their debut on a Broadway stage during a nine-day professional training intensive with NYU Tisch School of the Arts' New Studio on Broadway faculty members plus other theatre professionals. Winners will be selected by a panel of industry experts. Student performers qualify to compete in the national program by winning top honors at regional high school musical theatre awards competitions presented by Broadway League member performing arts centers. Over 1,700 high schools and 100,000 students participate in these annual events.

BroadwayWorld is bringing you the inside scoop on this year's Jimmy Awards with student blogger Ben Eble- a nominee from Durham's Triangle Rising Stars. Earlier this year, he won the title of Best Leading Actor in a Musical for his portrayal of Seymour in Chapel Hill High School's Little Shop of Horrors.

Read Ben's first entry below!

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Our first couple of days have been absolutely insane! We have worked with numerous Broadway professionals and the 86 of us have been giving our 110% the entire time. Our normal rehearsal day starts around 8:00 AM and typically ends anywhere from 9:00 to 10:00 PM. We have completely choreographed the opening number and I'm really proud of it. Monday night is creeping up on us slowly but surely and I am anxious and excited. We are currently working on our musical numbers.

All 86 of us have been put into three different categories of Medleys. There is the Tribute medley, the Musical medley, and the Character medleys. I was placed into a character medley, which means I am in a medley performing as the role I was nominated for (being Seymour Krelborne in Little Shop of Horrors).

The thing I was really not expecting going into the Jimmy Awards was the level of kindness and beauty from all of the other nominees. Everybody and I mean everyone, has been kind since the first day. Though we are working very hard and It can be a bit of a stressful environment at times, everyone supports one another and I genuinely love working with everybody.

I am really enjoying everything about this process right now and am excited to continue to work!