Finalists Revealed For The DPAC Rising Star Awards

DPAC has announced the finalists for The DPAC Rising Star Awards, central North Carolina's High School Musical Theatre Awards, that will take place on May 29th, 2025 at 7:30 PM with host, Clay Aiken and special guest Tony Award Winner, J. Harrison Ghee. The DPAC Rising Star Awards is presented by Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina.

The DPAC Rising Star Awards is a regional competition that celebrates keeping the performing arts alive in our school systems and is proudly a part of the National High School Musical Theatre Awards (NHSMTA), also known as the Jimmy Awards.  This program offers the potential to catapult the careers of Broadway's future stars and is open to high school musical theater programs across central North Carolina.

This year, students from 44 high school musical theater productions participated in hopes of being selected as a finalist in The DPAC Rising Star Awards. From a pool of 180 student nominees, judges have selected 20 student finalists.

The DPAC Rising Star Awards will feature performances by these 20 student finalists as they compete live for their chance to advance to the national level of the competition at the Jimmy Awards in June. The evening will also include a special appearance and performance by Tony Award Winner and Broadway star J. Harrison Ghee, and a return performance by The DPAC Rising Star Awards' 2024 Best Actor and Actress winners Conor Kruger and Alex Fluker.

Back by Popular Demand: DPAC has invited performers from each participating school to perform on DPAC's stage in the Ensemble at The DPAC Rising Star Awards.  Approximately 80 students were invited to represent their school in this way, and we look forward to seeing many talented high school students make their DPAC debut in the Ensemble on May 29.

BEST ACTRESS FINALISTS:

• Audrey Lewis—Broughton High School—Donna, Mamma Mia
• Campbell Dean—RJ Reynolds High School—Eurydice, Hadestown Teen Edition
• Carmen Sophia Dubon—Weaver Academy for the Performing Arts—DeeDee Allen, The Prom
• Chloe Howard—RJ Reynolds High School—Persephone, Hadestown Teen Edition
• Danica Laan—C.E. Jordan High School—Sandra Bloom, Big Fish School Edition
• Huntley Cantin—Longleaf School of the Arts—Celie, The Color Purple
• Larkin Ragland—Seaforth High School—Anya, Anastasia
• Lilly Pritchard—Heritage High School—Elle Woods, Legally Blonde
• Madilynn Sanders—Heritage High School—Tracy, Hairspray
• Mollie Reeves—Cardinal Gibbons High School—Fiona, Shrek The Musical

BEST ACTOR FINALISTS:

• Ayden Eatchel—Longleaf School of the Arts—The Phantom, The Phantom of the Opera
• Carson Ohrel—Wake Forest High School—Scuttle, Disney's The Little Mermaid
• Corieon Simmiolkjier—Hillside High School—SpongeBob, The SpongeBob Musical
• Edmund Pattishall—C.E. Jordan High School—Will Bloom, Big Fish School Edition
• Jackson Colo—RJ Reynolds High School—Orpheus, Hadestown Teen Edition
• Josiah Jennings—Hillside High School—Patrick, The SpongeBob Musical
• Nicolas Sanchez—Enloe High School—Frump, Between The Lines
• Quinn Gray—Longleaf School of the Arts—Harpo, The Color Purple
• Sebastián Ariza—RJ Reynolds High School—Hermes, Hadestown Teen Edition
• Stephen Halsey—East Chapel Hill High School—Hades, Hadestown Teen Edition

This year, Student Finalists will be adjudicated by an esteemed panel of Ceremony Judges including Meredith Blair (President & CEO of The Booking Group), Alan Campbell (TV, Film and Broadway Actor), and Courtney Liu (Director, Choreographer and Professor of Music Theatre at Elon University). 

Other awards recognizing excellence in student performance and production that will be presented include Best Ensemble, Best Musical, Best Student Orchestra, Best Student Choreography, Best Student Lighting Design, Best Student Costume Design, Best Dancer and more.

At the ceremony on May 29, winners in all award categories will be announced, including The DPAC Rising Star Awards' Best Actor and Best Actress, who will both receive $2,000 in scholarships and an all-expense paid trip to New York City to compete in the Jimmy Awards this June.