Kravis Center Hosts 2019 Dream Awards For High School Musical Theater

Two local students are on their way to New York City next month to compete in the National High School Musical Theatre Awards - also known as the Jimmy Awards - representing Palm Beach County. The students will also experience a weeklong musical theater intensive with Broadway artists, thanks to being selected the top student performers at the second annual Kravis Center Dream Awards.

Clayton Hider, a senior at The King's Academy and Olivia Henley, a sophomore at The King's Academy, both from Wellington, were named Outstanding Lead Actor and Outstanding Lead Actress at the Dream Awards: Celebrating High School Musical Theater Excellence ceremony on May 12. Hider was featured in Miss Saigon as Chris, while Henley performed the role of Alice Beane in Titanic, during performances of the musicals held at their school during the 2018-2019 school year.

Guests at the Dream Awards showcase in the Kravis Center's Dreyfoos Hall were treated to performances by 150 students from 14 local high schools. Featured musicals included The Addams Family, Amélie, Chicago the Musical and Miss Saigon, among other favorites.

West Boca Raton Community High School won Outstanding Musical for its production of Hairspray, and Zoraida Adams was named Inspiring Theater Educator for her commitment to Donna Klein Jewish Academy's theater program and its students. Awards also were given in the following categories: Outstanding Supporting Actors and Actresses, Outstanding Featured Male and Female Dancers, Outstanding Stage Management, Outstanding Lighting Design, Outstanding Set Design and Outstanding Costume Design. Several scholarships also were awarded.

This performing arts education initiative for high school students was launched during the 2017-2018 school year and is sponsored by PNC's Arts Alive grant program for the visual and performing arts. Public and private high schools in Palm Beach County were invited to participate in the yearlong program. Kravis Center theater adjudicators viewed and critiqued musical theater productions at Boca Raton Community High School, Boynton Beach Community High School, Cardinal Newman High School, Donna Klein Jewish Academy, Alexander W. Dreyfoos School of the Arts, The King's Academy, Oxbridge Academy, Palm Beach Central Community High School, Park Vista Community High School, Saint Andrew's School, Santaluces Community High School, Suncoast Community High School, Wellington Community High School and West Boca Raton Community High School.

"It was wonderful to have 14 local high schools - four more than last year - participate in our second Dream Awards ceremony," said Judith Mitchell, Kravis Center CEO. "As the Kravis Center looks to the future with our facility expansion and enhancements through our Kravis 2020 initiative, we are delighted that the Dream Awards will be part of our continuing mission to support local arts educators and their students. We are thrilled for Clayton and Olivia and will be cheering on their performances in New York."

The Jimmy Awards ceremony performance will be held Monday, June 24 on the Minskoff Theatre stage on Broadway and will be live-streamed at 7:30 p.m. at www.jimmyawards.com. All expenses for this student experience will be covered by the Kravis Center.

About supporting the Dream Awards through PNC Arts Alive, Cressman Bronson, PNC regional president for Southeast Florida said, "We know what the visual and performing arts can do, how it changes perspectives - even changes lives. The Dream Awards is the epitome of how the arts can catapult a young artist to the next level. This program shines a light on the next generation of the best and brightest performing artists in Palm Beach County and we support it whole-heartedly. From classical music and fine art to dance and theater, we're committed to keeping the arts alive in Florida."

The Dream Awards program has three primary objectives:

· To provide much-needed enrichment and access for students and drama teachers to learn from theater professionals. By launching this program, the Kravis Center expands the resources available to underserved students and under-funded theater arts programs throughout Palm Beach County schools.

· To celebrate the art form of musical theater and to elevate the prominence of our schools' musical theater programs, helping make our community aware of the fine work that is being produced in our local high schools.

· To engage the community and offer performance excellence at an affordable ticket price. This project welcomes family members, students and community members to experience the outstanding work of these young performers while contributing to the development of future audiences for live performing arts in southeast Florida.

In September 2018, Kravis Center theater adjudicators began attending eligible musical performances at each participating school and prepared written evaluations of student performances. The written feedback was then provided to both the students and directors to enhance the growth of each individual program.

Schools interested in having their theater programs participate in the 2019-2020 Kravis Center Dream Awards should contact Miranda Hawkins by calling 561-651-4350 or emailing hawkins@kravis.org. The deadline to apply is Friday, October 11, 2019.

About the Raymond F. Kravis Center for the Performing Arts

For more than 26 seasons, the Kravis Center has helped students of all ages fuel their imaginations and expand their lives through comprehensive arts education programs. Since 1992, over 2.6 million students from Palm Beach, Broward, Martin, St. Lucie and Okeechobee counties have visited the Kravis Center, attending performances through the S*T*A*R Series and participating in a wide variety of educational programming. To learn more, please visit kravis.org/education.

The Jimmy Awards/National High School Musical Theatre Awards (NHSMTA) impacts more than 100,000 students who participate in high school musical theatre competitions sponsored by presenters of Touring Broadway productions throughout the United States. A Best Actress and Best Actor winner from each of these competitions is sent to New York for a weeklong theatre intensive of coaching and rehearsals with industry professionals in preparation for a one-night-only showcase on Broadway, where a panel of judges crowns the nation's top performers. Named for Broadway impresario James M. Nederlander, the program has been the catalyst for more than $2,000,000 in educational scholarships. In 2012, the program inspired preeminent broadcaster WGBH Boston to produce a 3-part documentary series called "Broadway or Bust," which follows students on a journey from their hometown competitions to their debut on Broadway. The series remains popular viewing at www.pbs.org. Presented by The Broadway League Foundation, the tenth annual Jimmy Awards will take place on Monday, June 24, 2019 at the Minskoff Theatre on Broadway. Coaching and rehearsals for this one-of-a-kind event will be held Monday, June 17, 2019 through Monday, June 24, 2019 in New York City. For more information, please visit www.JimmyAwards.com.

About the PNC Foundation

The PNC Foundation, which receives its principal funding from The PNC Financial Services Group (www.pnc.com), #PNCArtsAlive actively supports organizations that provide services for the benefit of communities in which it has a significant presence. The foundation focuses its philanthropic mission on early childhood education and community and economic development, which includes the arts and culture. For more information about Arts Alive grants visit www.pncartsalive.com.

2019 Kravis Center Dream Awards Winners

OUTSTANDING MUSICAL

West Boca Raton Community High School, Hairspray

OUTSTANDING LEAD ACTRESS

Olivia Henley, The King's Academy, Titanic

OUTSTANDING LEAD ACTOR

Clayton Hider, The King's Academy, Miss Saigon

INSPIRING THEATER EDUCATOR

Zoraida Adams, Donna Klein Jewish Academy

OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTRESS

Lydia Guajardo, Boca Raton Community High School, Legally Blonde

OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTOR

Michael Patella, West Boca Raton Community High School, Hairspray

OUTSTANDING FEATURED FEMALE DANCER

Allie Beltran, Dreyfoos School of the Arts, Cry-Baby

OUTSTANDING FEATURED MALE DANCER

Jaime Brustein, Dreyfoos School of the Arts, Cry-Baby

GENEROSITY OF SPIRIT SCHOLARSHIP

Sarah Breitman, Boca Raton Community High School, Legally Blonde

BLOOD, SWEAT AND TEARS SCHOLARSHIP

Alec Schwartz, West Boca Raton Community High School, Hairspray

THE BROADWAY ARTISTS INTENSIVE SCHOLARSHIP

Brianna Quackenbush, West Boca Raton Community High School, Hairspray

DREAM AWARDS AMBASSADORS

Briley Crisafi, The Benjamin School, Fiddler on the Roof

Gabrio Capaldi, The Benjamin School, Fiddler on the Roof

Lily Counihan, Cardinal Newman High School, The Addams Family

Jake Hundley, Cardinal Newman High School, The Addams Family

Daniela Supovitz, Donna Klein Jewish Academy, Anything Goes

Maxwel Supovitz, Donna Klein Jewish Academy, Anything Goes

Elliyah Banks, Oxbridge Academy, The Wizard of Oz

Catherine Boynton, Oxbridge Academy, The Wizard of Oz

Isabella Marshall, Palm Beach Central High School, Once On This Island

Brecken Hummer, Palm Beach Central High School, Once On This Island

Kai Koren, Park Vista Community High School, The Addams Family

Nate Michon, Park Vista Community High School, The Addams Family

Csenge Darnyi, St. Andrew's School, Once Upon a Mattress

Bria Weisz, St. Andrew's School, Once Upon a Mattress

Lauren Galin, Wellington Community High School, Chicago

Sebastian Urrutia, Wellington Community High School, Chicago

To post a comment, you must register and login.