NOMINEES
with Broadway Performers to COVID friendly productions. These opportunities kept me progressing through this tough time.
The song I chose to perform was “She Cries” from the musical “Songs for a New World”. I chose this song because the lyrics and song flow drew emotion from my relationships and real world experiences. This helped me keep in tune with my character and the message I was trying to portray.
This fall, I will be attending Nazareth College to further my education in their BFA Musical Theatre program.
Scout Santoro 17, Shaker High School.
Not being able to perform on stage this year was extremely devastating to me and to many of my friends who are also in theater. Last
March, I was in a production of "Chicago" at my school and we were in our final week of rehearsals ... when we were told our show would have to be cancelled. It had felt like something we worked so hard on had been taken from us in an instant.
To work around it, I've been trying to incorporate theater in other ways in my life. I have done virtual concerts, I've attended masterclasses with industry professionals, and I've tried to continue singing throughout the pandemic.
The piece I am performing is "What Is It About Her?" from Andrew Lippa's "Wild Party." This was a piece that I have known for a long time and I love to sing it.
In the fall, I plan on attending Ithaca College to study Musical Theatre in their Bachelor's of Fine Arts program. I also hope soon, as big theaters start to open up, that I can start to audition professionally to start that portion of my career.
Asa Dupras 17, Schuylerville High School
This year has been especially difficult for those of us in the arts. Sitting back and watching other programs open up while theater programs continue to stay shuddered is extremely unfortunate. I am disappointed that I won’t be able to perform in a final high school show while my peers get to play their final sports
games. It has been a struggle trying to adapt to these times and I am keeping my hopes up that I am able to perform again sometime soon
The time off allowed me to work on my craft and help achieve my goals. Also, I was able to participate in Saratoga Children’s Theatre’s movie production of "Night of the Living Dead" that was shown as a drive-in over Halloween weekend. It was great to be able to perform in some form.
The song I chose for my performance was “Shiksa Goddess” from the musical “The Last Five Years” by Jason Robert Brown. I love how fun this song is and I thought it would be a great choice to lighten the mood of these difficult times.
In the fall I will be attending Emerson College to get my BFA in Musical Theatre. I don’t have any solid plans following undergrad, but my life goal is to be able to perform as a career.
Adam Andrews 17, Granville High School
Not being able to perform for the past year has made me think of how we take everything for granted. Performing is all I’ve ever known, and to not have the excitement of stepping on a stage has put me in a dispiriting mood. I’m looking forward to better days for the theater community.
Despite not being able to perform in front of a live audience, I’ve been using this time to continue practicing what I can at home. This includes: online voice lessons, studying theater and participating in virtual theatre workshops.
For my audition for HSMTA I performed “Tonight at Eight” from the musical "She Loves Me." I chose this song because I felt a connection to the song.
I plan on going to college to get a BFA in Musical Theater and pursuing a career in theatre.
Becca Dawson 11th grader at South Glens Falls High School
Not being able to perform this past year has been a huge bummer, especially since it has become such a big part of my life. I was very fortunate to be able to find some ways to incorporate musical theater in my life in a safe way, like doing a virtual watch party for the HSMTA’S last year. But having this experience to perform onstage and with other people who share the same interests has been incredible.
The song I chose to perform was “Lost in The Brass” from the musical "Band Geeks" because I love the change in emotion from desperation to more of a sense of hope and optimism, I think this is important to think about in this day and age.
I would love to continue with musical theater in some way in college like minoring in a music degree of some sort.