Rocklin Community Theatre Earns Top Honors With 11 Elly Awards in the Youth Division

Tonight marked a joy-filled celebration of excellence by Sacramento's youth performers at the 36th Annual Elly Awards- Youth Division at the Cosumnes Oaks High School Performing Arts Center in Elk Grove. Named for Eleanor McClatchy, a devoted patron of the arts and former publisher of the Sacramento Bee, the Elly Awards celebrates excellence in Sacramento's local and regional community theater. A grand total of 51 Elly Awards were given to individuals and theaters from across a 10-county region in the Youth Division. Sponsored by the Sacramento Area Regional Theatre Alliance (SARTA), this semi-formal event was attended by over 600 active youth community theatre and high school members plus their families and friends. This year's Elly theme was a playful Elly's Through the Years.

The evening opened with a clever "Musical Mash-up" of selections from Aida & Seussical performed by Roseville Theatre Arts Academy. A beautiful rendition of "It Might as Well Be Spring" from State Fair was sung by Ana Riley - Portal from Christian Brothers High School. A sensational "Medley" from Thoroughly Modern Millie from Cosumnes Oak High School closed the first act.

The 257 Youth Elly nominations represented 95 productions from 39 participating theatres. The final 51 Elly Awards recognized 21 productions and 15 theatres.

Elly Awards for Overall Production in individual categories in the Youth Division went to:

The Lion King, Jr - Rocklin Community Theatre - Children's Theatre Production
Thoroughly Modern Millie - Cosumnes Oaks High School - Education Musical
Hamlet - Christian Brothers High School - Education Play
Seussical - Roseville Theatre Arts Academy - Youth Theatre Production

The Children's Theatre, Education - Musicals and Plays, and Youth Theatre productions receiving the most Elly Awards were:

The Lion King Jr, Rocklin Community Theatre (10)
Seussical, Roseville Theatre Arts Academy (9)
Thoroughly Modern Millie, Cosumnes Oaks High School (5)
Hamlet, Christian Brothers High School (4)
The Boy Friend, St. Francis High School (3)
The Birds, El Dorado High School (3)
Welcome to Monsterville: Don't Worry, We Won't Bite, The Acting Company (3)
Choices, Sutter Street Theatre (2)

The Elly Award for Young People's Original Script was given to Talia Baxter and The Acting Company for Welcome to Monsterville: Don't Worry, We Won't Bite. For a complete listing of Youth Elly winners please visit www.sarta.com.

"The Innkeeper's Song" from Les Misérables-School Edition by the cast of Sutter Street Theatre was a rousing start to Act 2 of the ceremony. "Bend and Snap" from Legally Blonde performed by the cast of Rocklin Community Theatre was a sizzler and audience favorite. The closer was the well-loved "Circle of Life" performed jubilantly by the River City Theatre Company. All six musicals were nominated in the Overall Production of a Musical category.

Eight Elly judges volunteered countless hours attending every show submitted in the category they judged. The categories are Children's Theatre, Education- Musicals and Plays, and Youth Theatre. Awards within each category are given for: Leading Male and Leading Female; Supporting Male and Supporting Female; Direction; Costume Design; Lighting Design; Set Design; Sound Design, Musical Direction, if applicable; Choreography, if applicable; and Overall Production. In The Youth Theatre division, they are also awards given for: Leading Male: Adult, Leading Female: Adult, Supporting Male: Adult and Supporting Female: Adult.

SARTA's mission is to promote high quality community theatre in the Sacramento area and neighboring regions. When combined with the opportunity to provide quality entertainment and formal recognition of those in the performing arts, SARTA and the Sacramento community benefit.

In addition to the Elly Awards program, SARTA provides its members with a twice- weekly email update for auditions, casting calls, workshops, events and jobs. SARTA members also receive discounted ticket prices at participating SARTA member theatres and the annual Elly Award ceremony. Members also receive a complimentary headshot and resume listing on SARTA's Talent Database! SARTA is now offering low cost workshops for actors and designers at our Arden Arcade office. For more information about SARTA and how you can support this programming, please visit the website at www.sarta.com. SARTA is a non-profit 501© 3 organization.

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