JIMMYS BLOG: Meet a Nominee from the Bobby G Awards, Abby Linderman

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 Abby Linderman- a nominee from Denver's Bobby G Awards. Earlier this year, she won the title of Best Leading Actress in a Musical for her portrayal of Millie Dillmount in Valor Christian High School's Thoroughly Modern Millie.

Read Abby's first entry below!

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Hi! I'm Abby Linderman, and I am the female nominee from the Bobby G Awards in Denver Colorado! I was nominated for playing Millie Dillmount in Thoroughly Modern Millie and am thrilled to be doing some blogging for BroadwayWorld.

We (my chaperone Claudia and the male Denver nominee, Kyler) arrived in New York on Sunday to settle in before awards events started. We knew it would be an exhausting week, so we got to bed early! On Monday morning, we met up with some lovely nominees and rode the Staten Island Ferry. All of the nominees are so kind and funny and we all made fast friends. That afternoon after we checked in, we were welcomed by Van and Keisha, and that is when it all became real. We were all sitting in our Jimmy Awards shirts in the room with all of the banners and the directors and it was so surreal!

The Jimmy's have been a distant dream for me since I started high school and I feel so overwhelmed and humbled that I have the opportunity to be here. After a lovely welcome from our fearless leaders, we jumped into learning the opening. They weren't kidding when they said things go fast! Rehearsals are run so professionally and they hold us to a high standard, which is really cool.

We finished Monday with a surprise visit from the Dear Evan Hansen team (keep up with the Jimmy's this week for some surprises regarding that!). Tuesday and Wednesday moved just as fast and were just as fun! We did a dance call, learned a huge chunk of the opening number, got our coaches and groups for the show, and had coaching sessions and rehearsals! I am in a character group, which means I get to perform as my character in costume with some crazy talented ladies. My coaches are lovely and the nominees in my coaching and character groups are beyond talented.

To sum it up, these first couple days have made me realize how lucky I am to be here! To be among these amazing people and be given these amazing opportunities is a dream. I am finishing up this post after seeing my headshot on a Times Square billboard and seeing last years Jimmy winner Andrew Barth Feldman in Dear Evan Hansen. WHAT. I can't even begin to imagine what the rest of the week will bring. More soon!