Mya Ison

Next month, 54 BELOW will present some of the brightest stars from Broadway, cabaret, jazz, and beyond.

Nick Payne's award-winning show will play for a limited-engagement of two nights only at the renowned theatre in East Village.

Playwrights Foundation, the West Coast's premier launchpad for exceptional new plays and playwrights, has announced the semifinalists and finalists for the 46th Bay Area Playwrights Festival (BAPF), which will be presented in a hybrid festival (both in-person and streamed attendance options) April 12-21, 2024, per Playwrights Foundation's recent announcement to shift to a biennial festival structure.

Playwrights Foundation, the West Coast's premier launchpad for exceptional new plays and playwrights, has revealed the semifinalists and finalists for the 46th Bay Area Playwrights Festival, which will be presented in a hybrid festival.

Cornflake Pie, written by Grace Tomblin Marca and directed by Zach Kelley will premiere this May as a part of the 2023 Fresh Fruit Festival's mainstage season at the Wild Project.

The Jewish Plays Project has announced casting for the Festival of New Jewish Plays, running November 30 and December 1 at the JCC.

Mya Ison is still beaming after spending a week in New York for The Jimmy Awards, the National High School Musical Theatre Awards that celebrate the best in high school musical talent. Ison's journey to The Jimmy Awards started at The Durham Performing Arts Center last May when she and Sterling Jones won DPAC's Triangle Rising Stars regional competition. She sat down with me to discuss her experience at The Jimmy Awards, what participating in high school musical theater has meant to her, and what's next.

Along with Marchael Bayne, Theatre in the Park, and ABC 11, DPAC hosted this year's Triangle Rising Stars Awards onstage on Tuesday evening, May 15.  The Triangle Rising Star Awards (TRS) is a program that brings together area high school musical theater students to perform together and compete against one another for educational scholarships. Last year's winners, Kaylee Terrell and Nicholas Kraft, presented the awards for Best Actress and Best Actor, while awards were also given for Best Ensemble and Best Musical.

If the Triangle Rising Stars showcase is any indication, the future of musical theater is bright. On Tuesday night, 20 students representing 13 high schools across the Triangle and beyond performed at the Durham Performing Arts Center (DPAC) as part of the 2018 Triangle Rising Stars program. compete at The Jimmy Awards. This year, Mya Ison won the award for Best Actress. Ison won for her portrayal of Sarah in Enloe High School's production of Ragtime. She is graduating this June and plans to attend Boston University in the fall. Sterling Jones won the award for Best Actor for his portrayal of Gaston in Broughton High School's production of Beauty and the Beast. Jones is a rising senior and plans to attend the University North Carolina School of the Arts next year. In addition to Ison and Jones, Cary High School won the Best Ensemble Award for their production of The Secret Garden. Enloe High School won the Marchael Bayne Award for Best Musical for their production of Ragtime. Both schools received $1000 for their drama programs.

Along with Marchael Bayne, Theatre in the Park and ABC 11, DPAC has just announced the finalists of this year's Triangle Rising Stars, part of the National High School Musical Theatre Awards (NHSMTA). This year marks the largest participation ever with 39 high school shows and 150 students competing for their chance to shine.

PlayMakers Repertory Company concludes its Mainstage Season with Stephen Sondheim's musical masterpiece 'Sweeney Todd,' onstage now through April 23.  BroadwayWorld has a first look at the cast in action below!