THE DPAC RISING STAR AWARDS To Celebrate High School Musical Theatre This May

DPAC has announced that The DPAC Rising Star Awards, central North Carolina's High School Musical Theatre Awards will take place on May 9th, 2024 at 7:30 PM with host, Clay Aiken. 

“I think this year is going to be the best ever for The DPAC Rising Star Awards,” said Megan Rindoks, DPAC's Director of Community Engagement. “We have some exciting things planned for our show, but most importantly, I know how incredibly talented the students are in our region, and I cannot wait to celebrate their achievements on the DPAC stage this May.”

At this live awards ceremony, 20 student finalists from across central North Carolina will perform on DPAC's stage.

The winners of all 11 award categories will be announced, including The DPAC Rising Star Awards Best Actor and Best Actress.  Both will receive $2,000 and an all-expense paid trip to New York City to compete in the National High School Musical Theatre Awards.

This year, the Top 20 Student Finalists will be adjudicated by an esteemed panel of guest judges including Alan Campbell, Chauntee' Shuler Irving, and Terri Dollar.  These talented individuals have vast career knowledge spanning Broadway, television, and the recording industry, as well as experience running one of our area's most reputable talent agencies. 

Other awards recognizing excellence in student performance and production that will be presented include Best Dance, Best Ensemble, Best Musical, Best Costume Design, Best Student Orchestra, Best Set Design, Best Choreography, Best Lighting Design, and The DPAC Shining Star Award.

The awards show will also once again be hosted by Clay Aiken.

“I look forward to Rising Stars every year!  Growing up in Triangle schools, the school theatre department was really my only opportunity to perform or to learn about performing,” said Clay Aiken. “Had it not been for these incredible performing arts programs, I don't think I would have ever even realized how much I love singing. And the performing arts programs in the Triangle schools have churned out some really incredible performers. Golden Globe winner Michael C. Hall was in musicals at Ravenscroft High School; Scotty McCreery did high school musicals at Garner High School and won American Idol; Beth Leavel did musicals at Broughton High School, now she has a Tony Award; J. Cole played in the orchestra at Terry Sanford High School, now he has a Grammy; Ariana DeBose danced at Wake Forest High School, and she won an Oscar.  The kids who are performing with the North Carolina high school programs now just get better and better!  I will guarantee you there are future Grammy, Tony, Oscar and Golden Globe winners coming through the Rising Stars program.”

Back by Popular Demand: DPAC is excited to welcome student performers from each participating school to perform as part of an opening group number on DPAC's stage.  Approximately 80 students will make their debut on the DPAC stage for a special performance. 

New This Year: The DPAC Rising Star Awards will be working with Durham Art Guild to celebrate achievements made by high school visual art students. One student from each participating high school will be selected to have their work featured in a pop-up gallery in DPAC's lobby at The DPAC Rising Star Awards on May 9, 2024.

The DPAC Rising Star Awards will also feature a special performance by 2023 Best Actor, Noah Colvin, and 2023 Best Actress, Lilly Pritchard.

DPAC nominees have had great success at The Jimmy Awards in recent years.  In 2021, Rising Stars nominee Elena Holder won the coveted Best Performance by an Actress title at The Jimmy Awards.  This honor came with $25,000 in scholarships, an invitation to audition for multiple Broadway shows and the opportunity to perform in Times Square in celebration of the reopening of Broadway. In 2022, both Joshua and Symoné were named Top Four Finalists last year at The Jimmy Awards, which is an incredibly rare accomplishment for two students from the same regional program.  As Top Four finalists, Joshua and Symoné received thousands of dollars in scholarships and multiple invitations to audition for Broadway shows, which are still being received today.

Tickets

Tickets are $20 for The DPAC Rising Star Awards and are on sale this Friday, April 5:

• Online at DPACnc.com
• Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina - Ticket Center at DPAC: 919.680.2787,
  123 Vivian Street, Durham NC
• Ticketmaster.com

About The DPAC Rising Star Awards

The DPAC Rising Star Awards celebrates outstanding achievement in high school musical theatre, by focusing attention on the meaningful work being done both on and off stage by dedicated teachers and students. 

Rising Stars also serves as the regional competition as part of the National High School Musical Theatre Awards (NHSMTA), also known as The Jimmy Awards.  This regional competition is 100% free for participants and is open to high school musical theatre productions located across Central North Carolina.  Current approved counties include Alamance, Caswell, Chatham, Davidson, Davie, Durham, Forsyth, Franklin, Granville, Guilford, Harnett, Johnston, Lee, Orange, Person, Randolph, Rockingham, Stokes, Vance, Wake, Warren and Yadkin. 

About the National High School Musical Theatre Awards

The National High School Musical Theatre Awards (NHSMTA), was established in 2009 by Pittsburgh CLO and Nederlander Alliances, a division of The Nederlander Organization, to elevate the importance of theatre arts education in schools and reward excellence in student performance.  The program impacts over 140,000 students annually who participate in high school musical theatre competitions sponsored by over forty professional theatres throughout the US.

Since its inception, NHSMTA has been the catalyst for more than $4,000,000 in educational scholarships awarded to deserving young performers.  Also known as The Jimmy Awards, named for Broadway impresario James M. Nederlander, this year-round program is administered by The Broadway League Foundation Inc.

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