Paper Mill Playhouse Announces 2013 Rising Star Award Winners!

Paper Mill Playhouse hosted the 18th Annual Rising Star Awards - Presented by the Investors Foundation -tonight, June 4th at the Millburn Theater. Schools nominated for Outstanding Overall Production and Leading Actor/Actress nominees performed at the event and award recipients were presented with a crystal award from Tiffany & Co. Summit High School came out on top, winning Outstanding Overall Production of a Musical. A total of 31 awards were presented along with five scholarships and other cash prizes. Scroll down for the full list of winners!

Summit High School took home six Rising Star Awards, more awards than any other school in the state. Union High School won five awards, and Jackson Memorial High School and Gill St. Bernard's School took home two awards each. Other schools who received Paper Mill Playhouse Rising Star Awards include: Academy of the Holy Angels, Bergen County Academies, Eastern Regional High School, James Caldwell High School, Morris County School of Technology, Ocean County Performing Arts Academy, Princeton Day School, Red Bank Catholic High School, Sayreville War Memorial High School, Westfield High School and Moorestown High School.

Guest presenters at the Rising Star Awards included Tony nominee Rob McClure, Oscar nominee Jesse Eisenberg, Broadway composer Matt Sklar (The Wedding Singer), and from the cast of Paper Mill's "Disney's The Little Mermaid", Matt Allen (Scuttle) and Morgan Kirner, 2012 Rising Star winner for Best Lead Actress, who one year later has been cast as the understudy for the role of Ariel.

The Paper Mill Playhouse Rising Star Awards - Presented by the Investors Foundation - are modeled after the Tony Awards and Paper Mill's program serves the entire state of New Jersey with nearly 100 entered productions from public, private and parochial high schools. Paper Mill Playhouse conceived and created the awards in 1996 to give schools the opportunity to showcase their musical arts programs on a state level. The musicals are adjudicated by Paper Mill Playhouse throughout the spring by a group of 70 Evaluators, with each school receiving four independent evaluations.

2013 Paper Mill Playhouse Rising Star Award - Presented by Investors Foundation - Award And Scholarship Recipients presented on Tuesday, June 4, 2013:

Outstanding Overall Production

Summit High School

DISNEY'S BEAUTY & THE BEAST

Outstanding Direction

Anne Poyner

Summit High School

DISNEY'S BEAUTY & THE BEAST

Outstanding Actress in a Leading Role

Jana Bernard as "Marmee March"

Gill St. Bernard's School

LITTLE WOMEN

Outstanding Actor in a Leading Role

Matthew Lynn as "Bat Boy"

Westfield High School

BAT BOY: THE MUSICAL

Outstanding Actress in a Supporting Role

Kaitlin Leddy as "Rita LaPorta"

Red Bank Catholic High School

LUCKY STIFF

Outstanding Actor in a Supporting Role

Nicholas Wainwright as "Herr Schultz"

Ocean County Performing Arts Academy

CABARET

Outstanding Performance in a Featured Role

Sadesia Wray as "Demeter"

Union High School

CATS

Outstanding Chorus

Union High School

CATS

Outstanding Featured Ensemble Group

"The Silly Girls"

Summit High School

DISNEY'S BEAUTY & THE BEAST

Outstanding Music Direction

Wayne Mallette and Steve Rapp

Summit High School

DISNEY'S BEAUTY & THE BEAST

Outstanding Orchestra

Union High School

CATS

Outstanding Choreography / Musical Staging

James Mosser and Jennifer Williams

Union High School

CATS

Outstanding Scenic Achievement

Jamie Allaire, Dan Nagel, and Jessica Ventrello

Jackson Memorial High School

SEUSSICAL

Outstanding Lighting Achievement

Justin Morris

Union High School

CATS

Outstanding Costuming Achievement

Paul H. Canada

Gill St. Bernard's School

LITTLE WOMEN

Outstanding Hair and Make-up Achievement

Jamie Allaire, Danielle Russo, and Gina Capasso

Jackson Memorial High School

SEUSSICAL

Outstanding Graphic Design

Megh Valentine

Academy of the Holy Angels

INTO THE WOODS

Outstanding Lobby Display

Mary-Ann Terret and Tina White

Summit High School

DISNEY'S BEAUTY & THE BEAST

Educational Impact Award

James Caldwell High School

KISS ME, KATE

"Theatre for Everyone" Inclusion & Access Award

Moorestown High School

LEGALLY BLONDE

Student Achievement Award

Jason Kooistra, Patrick Korkuch, and Heili Springsteen

Production Stage Managers

Bergen County Academies

BRIGADOON

Student Achievement Award

Tori Sicklick

Dance Captain

Bergen County Academies

BRIGADOON

Student Achievement Award

Brad Liebler

Sound and Lighting Crew Head

Eastern Regional High School

CITY OF ANGELS

Student Achievement Award

Dana Logue

Choreographer

Morris County School of Technology

ONCE UPON A MATTRESS

Student Achievement Award

Paul Batterman

Scenic Artist/Co-Set Designer

Princeton Day School

GYPSY

Student Achievement Award

Rachel Cantlay

Stage Manager

Princeton Day School

GYPSY

Student Achievement Award

Maggie Bera

Student Director and Choreographer

Sayreville War Memorial High School

ANYTHING GOES

Student Achievement Award

Sam Rollino

Set Construction Crew Head

Summit High School

DISNEY'S BEAUTY & THE BEAST

Student Achievement Award

Chris Sabatino

Film/Computer Animation

Westfield High School

BAT BOY: THE MUSICAL

Student Achievement Award

Lydia Oquendo

Stage Manager

Westfield High School

BAT BOY: THE MUSICAL

The Investors Foundation Rising Star Awards Scholarship
Julie Busch
Scotch Plains-Fanwood High School

Tiffany & Co. Rising Star Awards Scholarship
Isabelle Smelkinson
Westfield High School

The Jane Burgio Memorial Scholarship for the Rising Star Awards
Alina Sodano
Bergen County Academies

The Douglas M. Krueger Scholarship Fund for the Rising Star Awards
Jessica Braham
Union High School

The Scaramouche Technical Theatre Scholarship for the Rising Star Awards
Genevieve Harari
?High Tech High School

Paper Mill Playhouse also awarded $5,000 in scholarships at the Paper Mill Playhouse Rising Star Awards Presented by the Investors Foundation. Four $1,000 cash scholarships were given to outstanding individual students who plan to continue studying theatre in college, and a technical theatre scholarship of $1,000 is sponsored annually by Scaramouche Costumes, LLC. The Investors Foundation Rising Star Awards Scholarship was presented to Julie Busch of Scotch Plains Fanwood High School. The Tiffany & Co. Rising Star Awards Scholarship was presented to Isabelle Smelkinson of Westfield High School. The Jane Burgio Memorial Scholarship for the Rising Star Awards was presented to Alina Sodano of Bergen County Academies. The Douglas M. Krueger Scholarship Fund for the Rising Star Awards was presented to Jessica Braham of Union High School. The Scarmouche Technical Theatre Scholarship for the Rising Star Awards was presented to Genevieve Harari of High Tech High School.

Paper Mill Playhouse is pleased to announce that a prize of $500 was presented to James Caldwell High School for receiving the 2013 Educational Impact Award which acknowledges a school that successfully connects the musical to the district's curriculum, using the production as a teaching tool for the greater student body and local community.

Through the Rising Star "Theatre for Everyone" Inclusion & Access Award and a partnership with VSA New Jersey and the Cultural Access Network of New Jersey, a project of the New Jersey Theatre Alliance and the New Jersey State Council on the Arts, Paper Mill Playhouse presented a cash award of $1,000 to Moorestown High School to recognize excellence in the promotion and practice of creative inclusion of students and adults with disabilities as performers, designers, musicians and production staff. Additionally, this award also seeks to recognize and reward a school that takes steps to ensure their performances are accessible to audiences with disabilities.

The Paper Mill Playhouse Rising Star Awards are one of several such programs sponsored by regional theatres around the country. The winning performers in the Lead Actress and Lead Actor categories will represent the Paper Mill Playhouse Rising Star Awards at The National High School Musical Theater Awards competition in New York City. This year New Jersey will be represented by Jana Bernard of Gill St. Bernard's School and Matthew Lynn of Westfield High School. The National High School Musical Theater Awards (aka The Jimmy's) is a celebration of outstanding student achievement in high school musical theater. The program recognizes individual artistry in vocal, dance and acting performance, and honors teachers and their schools' commitment to excellence in performing arts education. The fifth annual National High School Musical Theater Awards will be held on Monday, July 1, 2013, at the Minskoff Theatre on Broadway. Activities will commence on Wednesday, June 26 with rehearsals, master classes, private coaching and interviews with theater professionals leading up to the live awards show where the Jimmy Awards for Best Performance by an Actor and Best Performance by an Actress will be presented. The program will conclude on Tuesday, July 2, 2013.

Lastly, students receiving final nominations in the lead and supporting acting categories receive a scholarship to Paper Mill Playhouse's competitive Summer Musical Theatre Conservatory, a professional training program, which along with advanced classes in singing, acting and dance, offers the nominees an opportunity to perform on the world famous stage at Paper Mill Playhouse in our season finale concert on August 2nd and 3rd called "New Voices of 2013: Swing Awakening!: a musical celebration of standards and jazz hits that are the soul and heart of musical theater".

"There is great energy and a high level of excitement in high school musical theater right now," commented Mark S. Hoebee, Paper Mill Playhouse's Producing Artistic Director. "Due to television programs like Fox's "Glee" and NBC's "Smash", there is a new and invigorated interest and enthusiasm surrounding these projects. The culmination for many New Jersey high schools is the prestigious honor of a Paper Mill Playhouse Rising Star nomination and we are proud to present these awards to New Jersey schools." Director of Education Lisa Cooney adds, "Many of Paper Mill Playhouse's Rising Star nominees and winners are now working professionally and have also been nominees and winners of several prestigious industry awards while on Broadway or making films. Rob McClure for one, is an actor who was discovered by the Paper Mill Rising Star Awards, studied at our Summer Conservatory, was cast in a show here and received his Equity Card at Paper Mill, and is now nominated for a Tony Award for Best Lead Actor in a Musical. This is but one example of how the Rising Star Awards are making a difference. Congratulations to all of the winners."

Since their inception in 1996 the Paper Mill Playhouse Rising Star Awards for Excellence in High School Musical Theatre have ignited the careers of many notable performers, all of whom attended high school in New Jersey. Among the early nominees and winners are 2013 Tony Award nominee for Best Actor in a Musical, Rob McClure, Academy Award winner Anne Hathaway, and Tony Award winners Laura Benanti and Nikki M. James.

Paper Mill Playhouse, a not-for-profit arts organization, is one of the country's leading regional theatres. Paper Mill Playhouse is a member of Theatre Communications Group, the National Alliance for Musical Theatre, the Council of Stock Theatres, and the New Jersey Theatre Alliance.

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