Amanda Swickle Talks About Her Love for Performing - Next on Stage

The Next on Stage competition is narrowing down and we got the chance to chat with the contestants still in the race to win the grand prize!

Amanda Swickle, a 2023 graduate of Jericho High School, continues to wow the judges and is back this week in our top 10!

Share a memory from seeing a show.

One of my favorite memories was seeing Waitress with my mom. We got last minute lottery tickets and I was so excited! The minute we walked into the theater it smelled so good. I still remember the smell of all the different pies. My mom got us an Oreo pie in a cup to share during the show and we hugged each other the whole time. It was one of the best shows I have ever seen!

What is a fond memory you have from a past production?

Some of my best memories are with the crew of the Broadway National Tour of Annie. Before the locket scene the assistant stage manager and I would always play tennis and she would pretend to push me on the stage as my entrance.

What does musical theatre mean to you?

Musical theater gives me the chance to express myself and a place to be who I am. Musical theater gives me the opportunity to explore new things and make people happy when I perform. Being in a musical gives me so much energy more than anything else in the world. Entertaining big audiences always makes me smile and brings out the best in me. I get a rush of excitement every time I hear applause and sing on a stage and it's a wonderful thing!

Want to see Amanda in the top 5? Vote for her HERE!

Inspired by your favorite network TV singing contests, the site invited high school and college aged students to submit videos of themselves performing a song from the musical theatre canon to enter the competition.

Voting for the top 5 is now open! The nominees have submitted all new songs for you to listen to before casting your vote!

Voting for High School will close at 11:59 PM ET on Wednesday, June 17th. Voting for College will close on 11:59 PM ET on Thursday June 18th.

Then tune in for the results LIVE as the judges watch the performances and pick someone from the bottom three to be saved to compete for the top 10! Live shows will air Thursday at 8 PM (high school) and Friday at 8PM (college.)