{"id":31957,"date":"2023-05-25T20:23:24","date_gmt":"2023-05-25T20:23:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.localmedianj.com\/?p=31957"},"modified":"2023-05-25T20:23:36","modified_gmt":"2023-05-25T20:23:36","slug":"paper-mill-playhouse-announces-2023-rising-star-award-nominations","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.localmedianj.com\/?p=31957","title":{"rendered":"Paper Mill Playhouse Announces 2023 Rising Star Award Nominations"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><em>MILLBURN, NJ<\/em> \u2013 As one of the nation\u2019s leading theaters and recipient of the Regional Theatre Tony Award,\u00a0Paper Mill Playhouse\u00a0(Mark S. Hoebee-Producing Artistic Director, Michael Stotts-Executive Director) has a well-earned reputation for launching both performers and shows to Broadway. Since their inception in 1996, the\u00a0Paper Mill Playhouse\u00a0Rising Star Awards for Excellence in High School Musical Theater have ignited the careers of many notable performers, all of whom attended high school in New Jersey.\u00a0 Among the early nominees and winners are Academy Award\u00a0 \u00a0winner Anne Hathaway\u00a0(Les Mis\u00e9rables), Tony Award winners Laura Benanti\u00a0(Gypsy)and Nikki M. James\u00a0(The Book of Mormon), Tony nominee Rob McClure\u00a0(Chaplin), Jelani Remy (Lion King, Ain\u2019t Too Proud), Shanice Williams, star of NBC\u2019s\u00a0The Wiz Live! And Olivier Award nominee Jared Gertner\u00a0(The Book of Mormon).<\/p>\n<p>The\u00a02023\u00a0Paper Mill Playhouse\u00a0Rising Star Awards\u00a0presented by\u00a0Citizens Philanthropic Foundation and Investors Foundation ceremony will take place at Paper Mill Playhouse on\u00a0Tuesday, June 13, at 7:30pm,\u00a0featuring presenters from both Broadway and beyond. The ceremony will be livestreamed on Paper Mill\u2019s Facebook page and YouTube channel.<\/p>\n<p>Among the top nominated high schools,\u00a0Columbia High School\u00a0(Essex County) has 13 nominations,\u00a0Delaware Valley Regional High School\u00a0(Hunterdon County) earned 12 nominations,\u00a0Haddonfield Memorial High School\u00a0(Camden County) received 10 nominations,\u00a0Summit High School\u00a0(Union County) has 9 nominations,\u00a0Moorestown High School\u00a0(Burlington County) earned 8 nominations, and\u00a0Ridge High School (Essex County) was awarded 7 nominations. These totals do not account for Student Achievement and Auxiliary Award nominations.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe talent we see in New Jersey High Schools is outstanding. This year was more competitive than ever.\u201d commented\u00a0Mark S. Hoebee,\u00a0Paper Mill Playhouse\u2019s Producing Artistic Director. \u201cA record 115 New Jersey high schools participated in this year\u2019s Rising Star Awards and each of them are doing such excellent work. When a school is nominated for a\u00a0Paper Mill Playhouse\u00a0Rising Star award it is a true testament of the hard work they put into their high school musical. I congratulate them all.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Past Rising Star nominees and recipients appeared on Broadway in\u00a0She Loves Me (Laura Benanti),\u00a0Mrs. Doubtfire\u00a0(Rob McClure),\u00a0Aladdin\u00a0(Josh Dela Cruz, Jonathan Schwartz, Kathryn Allison),\u00a0Les Mis\u00e9rables\u00a0(Nikki M. James), Disney\u2019s\u00a0The Lion King (Jelani Remy),\u00a0Beautiful: The Carole King Musical\u00a0(Julia Knitel),\u00a0Jersey Boys\u00a0(Russell Fisher),\u00a0The\u00a0Phantom of the Opera\u00a0(Julia Udine), London\u2019s West End production of\u00a0The Book of Mormon\u00a0(Jared Gertner); the Public Theater\u2019s\u00a0Grounded\u00a0(Anne Hathaway). Shanice Williams, star of NBC\u2019s\u00a0The Wiz Live\u00a0was nominated for a Rising Star Award in 2014.<\/p>\n<p>Paper Mill Director of Education Lisa Cooney explains, \u201cWhat\u2019s happening in high school musical productions here in New Jersey and around the country is remarkable. Programs like the\u00a0Paper Mill Playhouse\u00a0Rising Star Awards raise the bar and create opportunities for student performers and theater technicians to be recognized for their achievements, while giving them access to thousands of dollars in scholarships and professional training. We consistently hear from top-tier colleges and casting directors that a\u00a0Paper Mill Playhouse\u00a0Rising Star Award is a significant accolade for an aspiring theater artist.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The\u00a0Paper Mill Playhouse\u00a0Rising Star Awards Presented by Citizens Philanthropic Foundation and Investors Foundation are modeled after the Tony Awards, and\u00a0Paper Mill Playhouse\u2019s program serves the entire state of New Jersey, with 115 entered productions from public, private and parochial high schools.\u00a0Paper Mill Playhouse\u00a0conceived and created the awards in 1996 to give schools the opportunity to showcase their musical arts programs on a statewide level. The musicals are adjudicated by\u00a0Paper Mill Playhouse\u00a0throughout the spring by a group of 70 evaluators, with each school receiving three independent evaluations.\u00a0 Schools nominated for Outstanding Overall Musical and Leading Actor\/Actress nominees perform at the event, and award recipients are presented with an engraved crystal award from Tiffany &amp; Co.<\/p>\n<p>Paper Mill Playhouse\u00a0also awards $7,000 in scholarships at the\u00a0Paper Mill Playhouse\u00a0Rising Star Awards Presented by Citizens Philanthropic Foundation and Investors Foundation.\u00a0 Seven $1,000 cash scholarships are given to outstanding individual students who plan to continue studying theater performance or technical theater in college.\u00a0Paper Mill Playhouse\u00a0is pleased to award a prize of $500 to a school receiving the 2023 Educational Impact Award, which acknowledges a school that successfully connects the musical to the district\u2019s curriculum, using the production as a teaching tool for the greater student body and local community.\u00a0 Through the Rising Star \u201cTheatre for Everyone\u201d Inclusion and Access Award and a partnership with The Cultural Access Network of New Jersey, a project of the New Jersey Theatre Alliance and the New Jersey State Council on the Arts,\u00a0Paper Mill Playhouse\u00a0will present a cash award of $1,000 to a 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 seeks to recognize and reward a school that takes steps to ensure their performances are accessible to audiences with disabilities.<\/p>\n<p>Lastly, students receiving final nominations in the lead and supporting acting categories receive a scholarship to\u00a0Paper Mill Playhouse\u2019s competitive Summer Musical Theater Conservatory, a professional training program, which, along with advanced classes in singing, acting and dance, offers the nominees an opportunity to perform in the season finale concert,\u00a0\u201cNew Voices of 2023: We will Rock You\u201d on July 28 &amp; 29 on the main stage at Paper Mill Playhouse.\u00a0 Tickets are on sale now and may be purchased at PaperMill.org or calling the box office at 973-376-4343.<\/p>\n<p>Rising Star Awards &#8211; Presented by the Citizens Philanthropic Foundation and Investors Foundation are supported by The Blanche and Irving Laurie Foundation. The Hearst Foundations are Paper Mill\u2019s Education &amp; Outreach Partner.<\/p>\n<p>Rising Star scholarships are made possible by Ruth Bedford in memory of Jane Burgio, Walt Santner in honor of Janet Sovey, in memory of late father and husband James K. Mosser and the Douglas Michael Krueger Scholarship Fund Trust.<\/p>\n<p>The Theater for Everyone Inclusion and Access Award is supported by the New Jersey Theatre Alliance.<\/p>\n<p>The Rising Star Awards are made possible by support from the New Jersey State Council on the Arts, a partner agency of the National Endowment for the Arts.<\/p>\n<p>The Paper Mill Playhouse Rising Star Awards are part of the New Jersey Theatre Alliance 2023 Stages Festival, made possible by support from the New Jersey State Council on the Arts, a partner agency of the National Endowment for the Arts; The Horizon Foundation for New Jersey; OceanFirst Foundation; Fund for the New Jersey Blind; New Jersey Manufacturers; and Customers Bank.\u00a0www.njtheatrealliance.org\/stages<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>MILLBURN, NJ \u2013 As one of the nation\u2019s leading theaters and recipient of the Regional Theatre Tony Award,\u00a0Paper Mill Playhouse\u00a0(Mark S. Hoebee-Producing Artistic Director, Michael Stotts-Executive Director) has a well-earned reputation for launching both performers and shows to Broadway. Since their inception in 1996, the\u00a0Paper Mill Playhouse\u00a0Rising Star Awards for Excellence in High School Musical [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":31958,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[135],"tags":[],"post_flags":[],"class_list":["post-31957","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-summitchatham-local"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.localmedianj.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31957","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.localmedianj.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.localmedianj.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.localmedianj.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.localmedianj.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=31957"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.localmedianj.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31957\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":31960,"href":"https:\/\/www.localmedianj.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31957\/revisions\/31960"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.localmedianj.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/31958"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.localmedianj.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=31957"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.localmedianj.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=31957"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.localmedianj.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=31957"},{"taxonomy":"post_flag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.localmedianj.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fpost_flags&post=31957"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}