Hatty King, Nathan Keffer Head to Jimmy Awards After Spotlight Award Wins

Hatty King of Lipscomb Academy in Nashville and Nathan Keffer of Ravenwood High School in Brentwood took home top honors at the 2017 Spotlight Awards - held Saturday night at Tennessee Performing Arts Center's Andrew Jackson Hall - winning "Best Actress" and "Best Actor" awards respectively. The two travel to New York next month to compete nationally in the Jimmy Awards on June 26.

Ravenwood High School took home best show honors for their production of Little Shop of Horrors.

The awards presentation was the culmination of the year-long Nashville High School Musical Theatre Awards program founded by Mike Fernandez, dean of Lipscomb University's College of Entertainment & the Arts, to recognize excellence in local high school theatre. This is the first year in which TPAC has partnered with the college to implement the program, which invited 30 area high schools to submit their performances and productions for evaluation by members of the local theatre community.

The ceremony was co-hosted by Miles and Erica Aubrey, a Nashville-based couple with a broad range of Broadway, TV, film and music credits.

Additional individual awards went to Anna Cate Myers of Father Ryan High School (Best Female Soloist), Sevon Askew of Central Magnet High School (Best Male Soloist), Ashley Streeter of Wilson Central High School (Best Female Dancer), William Robinson of Nashville School of the Arts (Best Male Dancer), Alexandra Chopson of Davidson Academy (Standout Supporting Actress), Land Teller of Christ Presbyterian Academy (Standout Supporting Actor), Anna Bowman of St. Cecilia Academy (Standout Ensemble Actress), Walt Chitwood of Siegel High School (Standout Ensemble Actor), Tiyanna Gentry of Hillsboro High School (Standout Comedic Actress), Thomas Wagner of Hillsboro High School (Standout Comedic Actor), Abigail Wilson of Mt. Juliet Christian Academy (Standout Dramatic Actress), and Will Ryan of Brentwood High School (Standout Dramatic Actor).

For more Spotlight Award coverage: /nashville/article/GOOD-MORNING-THEATERATI-for-May-15-2017-20170515

Brentwood's Ravenwood High School led with four school awards, winning for Best Vocals, Best Music Direction, Best Direction and Best ShoW. Hillsboro High School won three awards for Best Choreography, Best Costumes and Best Ensemble. Additional honors went to Nashville School of the Arts (Best Orchestra), Ensworth School (Best Hair and Makeup), Page High School (Best Lighting), Mt. Juliet Christian Academy (Best Set Design), Davidson Academy (Best Overall Design Concept) and Brentwood High School (Best Overall Tech).

The 30 Middle Tennessee high schools participating in the program include: Pope John Paul II High School, Central Magnet School, St. Cecilia Academy, Hillsboro High School, Mt. Juliet Christian Academy, Davidson Academy, Station Camp High School, Brentwood High School, Goodpasture Christian School, Tullahoma High School, Wilson Central High School, Siegel High School, Lipscomb Academy, Nashville School of the Arts, Ravenwood High School, Oakland High School, Stewarts Creek High School, John Overton High School, Page High School, Hendersonville High School, Ensworth School, Monterey High School, Mount Pleasant High School, Franklin High School, Centennial High School, Christ Presbyterian Academy, Father Ryan High School, Cane Ridge High School, Independence High School and Dickson County High School.

The Nashville High School Musical Theatre Awards program is supported by AT&T. Institutional sponsors for TPAC include Nissan North America and Coca-Cola. TPAC is funded in part by support from the Tennessee Arts Commission and the Metropolitan Nashville Arts Commission.

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