Eleven young thespians honored as 'Most Promising Actors' at First Night 9/19

When eight of Nashville's best-known theater visionaries are lauded for their inspiration, commitment and leadership during the 2010 First Night Nashville Theatre Honors, eleven of the region's brightest young actors also  will be recognized for their own theatrical achievements and the promise of much more to come.

Taking the spotlight at Belmont University's Troutt Theatre on Sunday, September 19, will be the younger stars designated as the Most Promising Actors of 2010,including:

1. Catherine Birdsong, Nashville, a graduate of Belmont University, who just recently returned from a summer at the Fort Peck Summer Theatre in Fort Peck, Montana
2. Rosemary Fossee, Nashville, a student at Franklin Road Academy, who this summer starred in Street Theatre Company's production of Alice in Wonderland
3. Luke Hatmaker, Clinton, a student at Belmont University, was among the cast members in the acclaimed Actors' Bridge/Belmont University production ofAll My Sons
4. Kyla Ledes Lowder, Johnson City, a student at Belmont University, who starred in All My Sons, last week gave birth to her first son, Phin, texting her answers to the First Night questionnaire while in the labor room!
5. Zack McCann, Franklin, a student at Belmont University, this summer was in the Tennessee Shakespeare Festival's production of Two Gentlemen of Verona
6. John Edgar Moser, Clarksville, a student at University of Tennessee, Chattanooga, just completed a run in The Roxy Regional Theatre's production of Into the Woods and is now in rehearsal for Dead Man's Cell Phone at UTC
7. Mariah Parris, Nashville, a student at Hume-Fogg High School, currently can be seen onstage in Nashville Shakespeare Festival's Love's Labor's Lost
8. Ryan Penney,  Nashville, a student at Samford University, is a graduate of Montgomery Bell Academy and most recently performed in Thoroughly Modern Millie at Samford
9. Megan Roddick, Brentwood, a student at Vanderbilt University, made her stage debut in Circle Players' Gypsy, directed by First Night founder/executive producer Jeffrey Ellis, and continues to act for theater companies all over Nashville
10. Bralyn Stokes, Nashville, a graduate of McGavock Comprehensive High School, acts for various companies in Nashville and earlier this year starred in the world premiere production of Signs of a New Day: The Z. Alexander Looby Story
11. Ben Stonick, Brentwood, a student at Belmont University, acted in productions of All My Sons and Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead in 2010

McCann will be performing with actor/director Bill Feehely in a scene from Actors' Bridge Ensemble's acclaimed production of Arthur Miller's All My Sons, while Stokes will take to the First Night stage in Carolyn German's Signs of a New Day: The Z. Alexander Looby Story, as well as performing with German in the musical number, "Big Time."

All of the Most Promising Actors will be recognized during a special segment of the First Night Honors Gala, to be held on Sunday, September 19. The evening starts with the Macy's Red Carpet Event at 6:30 p.m., along with the Silent Auction in the lower lobby of the Troutt Theatre. The curtain goes up on the First Night Honors Gala at 7:30 p.m., with more than 100 local stage stars taking part in the production that pays tribute to the eight 2010 Honorees, including Scot Copeland, Paul Gatrell, Kathleen O'Brien, A. Sean and Robert A. O'Connell, Mac Pirkle, Barry Scott and Shannon Wood.

For more information about The First Night Nashville Theatre Honors, call (615) 530-6178 or email us at FirstNightNashville@clearwire.net. First Night benefits Reading Is Fundamental (RIF).

pictured: Ryan Penney