John R. Clutts Chairs The 6th Annual Dallas Summer Musicals High School Musical Theatre Awards

After a successful record breaking Dallas Summer Musicals Theatre Awards (DSM HSMTA) season, Ted R. Munselle, Chair of the Board of Dallas Summer Musicals, Inc. (DSM), announced Dallas arts philanthropist and DSM Board member John R. Clutts as chair of The 6th Annual DSM HSMTA for the second consecutive year.

President of The Clutts Agency, Inc., a Texas Talent Agency and SAG/AFTRA franchised agency, Clutts is a former Neiman Marcus executive with 25 years of experience in the photo industry. He has performed on stage in many regional productions and taught musical theatre at Dallas Theatre Center. In addition to serving as a DSM Board member, Clutts also forms part of the Dallas Children's Theater Advisory Board and the Dallas Contemporary Board. A 2005 recipient of DIFFA's highest award, the Legend Award, John's involvement in the community has lead him to chair and serve as part of many great programs including the USA Film Festival, Dallas Fashion Incubator, Cabaret Gala benefiting Dallas Children's Theatre, Fresh Faces of Fashion, and DIFFA|Dallas Collection.

"I am honored to chair the DSM HSMTA event for the second year in a row and excited about the continued development and success of our program," said John. "We have more than 70 productions already enrolled in this year's program. Our reach is expanding throughout Dallas and North Texas as we foster the education of students who will become the Broadway stars of tomorrow!"

This past year DSM's HSMTA had 67 high schools participating last season, showcasing 70 productions, representing 33 school districts across North Texas. Among the 67 were also 7 private high schools with 6 schools entering two musicals for evaluation. This represented a breaking number of high schools, teachers and students taking part in the program, more than doubling the first year's total of 30 schools.

"DSM is thrilled to have John Clutts back again as Chair of our 6th annual HSMTA program," said Munselle. "Thanks to John's leadership and the team he led, the 2016 HSMTA program far exceeded expectations in advancing our mission, as well as in financial terms. We are thankful that he will be reprising his role in 2017 and look forward to the continued growth and success of HSMTA, one of DSM's most exciting and rewarding programs."

Patterned after Broadway's Tony Awards®, DSM HSMTA celebrates the power of the Arts to significantly improve all areas of education. Since DSM's first HSMTA in 2012, this has truly developed into a regional program, accepting schools as far away as Lubbock and Oklahoma as well as new and returning schools from the DFW Metroplex. DSM's HSMTA has grown to be the largest program of its kind in the state of Texas and the second largest programs in the nation. DSM HSMTA has been recognized by The National High School Musical Theatre Awards as their official affiliate program for North Texas.

Awards and several cash scholarships of at least $1,000 each are presented to a number of outstanding and deserving participants during this evening where show business veterans and community celebrities come together to spotlight the achievements of high school students and their school's musical theatre programs. In 2016, John Clutts, the DSM HSMTA Angels Host Committee, companies, foundations, and donors from the community made charitable gifts totaling over $128,000 in support of the program, awarding seven college scholarships of $5,000 each. To date, DSM HSMTA College Scholarship program has awarded $135,000 in cash scholarships to deserving students.

Slated for Thursday, May 18, 2017 at the Music Hall at Fair Park, the awards show is a red carpet affair and the public is invited to join in the excitement. Red carpet arrival begins at 5:30 p.m. The show starts at 7:00 p.m. with performances which include separate medleys of the Best Actor and Best Actress nominees, production numbers from Best Musical nominees and an opening number featuring all nominated performers accompanied by a live orchestra. Winners and scholarship recipients are announced and the show culminates with a finale performance by students from each participating high school.

A three-judge panel of entertainment industry professionals and veteran educators will visit each high school and judge the performers in 16 categories: Best Musical, Best Direction, Best Musical Direction, Best Choreography, Best Orchestra, Best Scenic Design, Best Costume Design, Best Lighting, Best Ensemble, Best Crew, Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Supporting Actor, Best Supporting Actress, Best Featured Male Performer, and Best Featured Female Performer. Ballots will be tabulated by the accounting firm of Grant Thornton - the official ballot professional service partner of the 2016 Tony Awards®.

Winners of the Best Performance by an Actor and Actress receive an all-expense paid trip for five days to New York City to represent their high school in the National High School Musical Theatre Awards (the Jimmy™ Awards) for the chance to win prizes and scholarships, which vary by year.

All participating high schools and their shows will be listed at DSMHSMTA.org.

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