BWW Blog: Meet Curtis Salinger, Winner of the 2016 BOBBY G AWARDS

How has my life changed since the night of the Bobby G Awards ceremony? My life has been surreal. I still don't believe I won. Walking around town is a mess of congratulations and word has spread through a front-page newspaper story in my hometown of Durango. It's an indescribable feeling when someone you don't know congratulates you on the street for winning this award. It's also been a mad dash preparing material and forms and packing for a theatre camp to then leave right away for New York.

My interesting family connection to the Bobby G Awards. My brother, Evatt, won the Bobby G Award for Outstanding Actor last year. He was the one who really inspired me to continue and pursue theatre, and I've been watching him on stage for as long as I can remember. Watching him have so much fun and get so much support was something that really gave me the 'oomph' it took to join in, and I'm so glad I did. Our family was so, so excited and blown away when he won. For me, it became my dream. I'm so fortunate that this dream came true.

What's the one thing I am looking forward to most in New York? While watching the show On Your Feet! is going to be very exciting, I'm looking forward to meeting the other actors and the professionals the most. I love making new friends and learning new things, and there's no better place to do that than with the nation's best. I'm also really looking forward to singing the opening and closing numbers with the guest artists because it will be a chance to sing with this enormous group of absolutely amazing peers and professionals all doing what they love. I think that'll just be flat-out awesome.

How do programs like the Bobby G Awards and the Jimmy Awards help the reputation and respect of high-school theatre programs? I think my winning the award gives my school fresh perspective when it comes to the arts. Sports offers the opportunity to compete in tournaments and make the playoffs and there's a goal of winning first place. And that is impressive. However, with theatre, a show usually opens and closes - and that's it. This award tells students they can take their art further and get recognition for their talent. The Bobby G Awards gives you the chance to extend the experience - to Denver and New York. And, no two of the four Outstanding Actors have come from the same school. And they happen to be brothers - and one of them happens to be me! One of the Outstanding Actresses came from our school, and last year our show was named Outstanding Musical at the Bobby G Awards and the Colorado Thespian Conference. This is a huge success from our school. It will help our community and our school board recognize that we have some amazing talent in Durango and theatre is something that should not get looked over.

Who do I most hope to encounter on the streets of New York? Lin-Manuel Miranda, Leslie Odom Jr. ... OK, basically the entire cast of Hamilton. I am thrilled that Zachary Levi is hosting the Jimmy Awards in New York, because I've seen his TV show Chuckand I loved it. I used him in a TED-x talk I gave about promoting theatre in the schools because he was a childhood actor. He's someone I really look up to, and it will be awesome to have him host.

Last words: The mom of a kid I'd worked with in a show last year came up to me on the street and congratulated me on winning. She told me her son looked up to me, and that I was setting a really good example for the younger kids. That was one of the most rewarding things that's ever happened to me. I have a goal to help promote theatre - especially for guys - and to hear that was amazing. That was something I'll never forget.

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