ArtsBridge Announces Winners Of 2018 Shuler Hensley Awards

ArtsBridge Foundation, producer of the 10th Anniversary of the Georgia High School Musical Theatre Awards - Shuler Hensley Awards - announces this year's winners. Presented by the Georgia Lottery, the awards ceremony was held at the Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre on April 19 and televised live by Georgia Public Broadcasting (GPB). Awards highlights include: Overall Production: Milton High School, Cabaret; Direction: Kirk Grizzle, South Forsyth High School, The Hunchback of Notre Dame; Best Performance by a Leading Actress: Parker Jennings as Eliza Doolittle, Greater Atlanta Christian School, My Fair Lady and Best Performance by a Leading Actor: Laughton Berry as Pippin, Tri-Cities High School, Pippin.

The Shuler Awards, fashioned after Broadway's Tony Awards, celebrate excellence in high school musical theatre. The evening kicked off with red carpet arrivals by nominees and special guests. The show opened with the 110-member Shuler Student Ensemble joining Shuler Hensley on stage for a rousing performance of "Seize the Day" from Newsies. During the evening, there were outstanding performances by all six schools nominated for Best Overall Production and by the Leading Actor and Actress nominees. Starr's Mill High School, winner of the Showstopper Award, performed a delightful, energetic version of "Merry Old Land of Oz" from The Wizard of Oz.

Adding to the festive atmosphere were video shout-outs by Broadway luminaries and actors including Hugh Jackman, Faith Salie, Mel Brooks and Jai'Len Christine Li Josey.

The recipients of the Leading Actor and Leading Actress Awards will travel to New York City to participate in the National High School Musical Theatre Awards, taking place at the Minskoff Theater on Broadway on June 25, 2018. They will compete with young performers from across the country for the coveted JimmyTM Award as well as merit scholarships and professional opportunities.

75 high schools were enrolled in this year's Shuler Hensley Awards program, and to determine the nominees, a team of more than 60 Georgia-based arts professionals evaluated their productions. 38 public and private schools from throughout the state were nominated in 17 categories. The accounting firm of Bennett Thrasher tabulated the results and here are the winners.

DIRECTION

Kirk Grizzle, South Forsyth High School, The Hunchback Of Notre Dame

MUSIC DIRECTION

Kirk Grizzle, South Forsyth High School, The Hunchback Of Notre Dame

ORCHESTRA

Jason Smith, Newton High School, High School Musical

CHOREOGRAPHY

Maddie Eibler & Adrianne Crawford, West Forsyth High School, Bullets Over Broadway

ENSEMBLE

Milton High School, Cabaret

TECHNICAL EXECUTION

Jan Ewing, North Hall High School, Catch Me If You Can

LIGHTING DESIGN

Logan Swaim, Gordon Central High School, 110 In The Shade

SOUND

Grant Norcom & Eli Jones, Milton High School, Cabaret

SCENIC DESIGN

David Hopkins & Sims Jones, Milton High School, Cabaret

COSTUMES

Jenn Fitzpatrick, Mount Paran Christian School, Oklahoma!

BEST PERFORMANCE BY A LEADING ACTRESS

Parker Jennings, Greater Atlanta Christian School, My Fair Lady

BEST PERFORMANCE BY A LEADING ACTOR

Laughton Berry, Tri-Cities High School, Pippin

BEST PERFORMANCE BY A SUPPORTING ACTRESS

Jessie Kirtley, Roswell High School, Legally Blonde

BEST PERFORMANCE BY A SUPPORTING ACTOR

Harrison Lewis, Milton High School, Cabaret

BEST PERFORMANCE BY A FEATURED PERFORMER

Louis Sellers, Milton High School, Cabaret

SHOWSTOPPER

Starr's Mill High School, The Wizard Of Oz, "Merry Old Land Of Oz"

OVERALL PRODUCTION

Milton High School, Cabaret

SCHOLARSHIPS - The following 12 students received scholarships.

Smiley For Kylie Foundation Scholarship

Ava Williams/Providence Christian Academy

Ciara Pyszynski/Greenbrier High School

Benjamin Reardon/King's Ridge Christian School

College Audition Project (CAP) Ultimate Package Scholarship

Jonathan Marciniak, The Artios Academies Of Sugar Hill

Broadway Dreams Foundation Summer Intensive Scholarship

Jack Chavous/Davidson Fine Arts School

Sydney Lewis/Allatoona High School

ALLIANCE THEATRE Summer Intensive Scholarship

Collin Dorsett/Lowndes High School

Ashley Stephens/Northgate High School

The Performers Warehouse Summer Intensive Scholarship

Parker Jennings/Greater Atlanta Christian School

James Sterner/The Artios Academies of Sugar Hill

Morrell Memorial Music Education Scholarship

Margaret Ausband/The Artios Academies of Sugar Hill

James Carlos Family Musical Theatre Performance Scholarship

Alden Kennedy/Lambert High School

Bravo to our Sponsors! The 2018 Shuler Hensley Awards are made possible by the generous support of the following: Platinum Sponsor - The Georgia Lottery; Silver Sponsors - Georgia Public Broadcasting and Bennett Thrasher; Bronze Sponsors - Molly Blank Foundation, Delta Community Credit Union, Jimmy and Helen S. Carlos and GSUTV; Star Sponsors - Ed Voyles Automotive, Smiley For Kylie Foundation, Magnum, Norcostco and Staging Directions.

ArtsBridge Foundation is dedicated to providing quality arts education and community programs that engage, motivate, inspire, and elevate the next generation of artists and arts supporters. ArtsBridge provides arts education opportunities to students in grades K-12 through programs at the Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre including Field Trips, Master Classes, a Family Series, and the annual Georgia High School Musical Theatre Awards - Shuler Hensley Awards. Since inception in 2007, ArtsBridge has served more than 300,000 students and educators from 58 Georgia counties, plus students from Alabama, Tennessee, Florida and South Carolina. ArtsBridge Foundation is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. To learn more about their programs and how you can get involved, visit artsbridgega.org.

As one of the largest PBS stations in the nation, Georgia Public Broadcasting (GPB Media), has been creating content worth sharing for over 50 years. With nine television stations, 18 radio stations and a multi-faceted digital presence, GPB strives to educate, entertain and enrich the lives of our viewers and listeners with programming that includes statewide radio news, current affairs, high school sports, educational resources for teachers and students and enlightening programs like Georgia Outdoors, On Second Thought, Two-Way Street and Political Rewind.

GSUTV is a partnership between Georgia State University and Georgia Public Broadcasting, with the digital sub channel focusing on arts and culture. The majority of the channel's programming is developed and produced by GSU students under the mentorship and supervision of industry professionals and professors of practice from the GSU Department of Communication. The channel's programming is broadcast in Georgia on The Knowledge Channel (channel 8.3) as well as on Comcast (channel 246). As a fully credited curriculum course the GSUTV film & journalism practicum is committed to providing the student producer with professional mentoring that will allow them to find careers in the fields of digital journalism and broadcast production. To learn more, visit www.gsutv.com.

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