Congratulations to this year's Broadway Star of the Future winners!

Congratulations to Kylie Heyman and Kamari Saxon who won the Straz Center’s 2015 Broadway Star of the Future Award!

The two were recently recognized with the award at the Florida State Thespian Festival.

Now in its fifth year, the Straz Center gives the Broadway Star of the Future Award to one male actor and one female actor in recognition of their outstanding performance in a musical theater production.

Kylie Heyman

Kylie, 17, of St. Petersburg, was recognized for her performance as Reno in Anything Goes. A student at Shorecrest Preparatory School, she has appeared as Mary Poppins in Mary Poppins, Velma Kelly in Chicago, Liesel Von Trapp in The Sound of Music, among others. She has previously studied voice with Rachael Marino at the Patel Conservatory and taken part in the Broadway Theatre Project.

Kamari Saxon

Kamari, of Jacksonville, was recognized for his performance as Flick in Violet. A student at Douglas Anderson School of the Arts, he has appeared in Extravaganza, Growing Up, The 25^th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, Star Fish Circus as an aerialist, and others.

As recipients of the Broadway Star of the Future Award, Kylie and Kamari will travel to New York City this summer to represent the state of Florida and the David A. Straz, Jr. Center for the Performing Arts in the National High School Musical Theater Awards.

Congratulations to these rising Broadway stars!

Guest blog: Back from the Big Apple!

Guest blog by Tina James, Patel Conservatory Education Programs Manager for the Patel Conservatory. Tina’s primary responsibilities include overseeing the Conservatory’s Community Partnership program as well as all community-based programs involving Broadway Family Nights, Family First Night, National High School Musical Theater Awards as well as National Broadway League initiatives.

The Broadway Star of the Future Award winners, Chandler Morehead and Tim Hart, are back from New York City and it was a tremendous experience.

The rehearsals for the National High School Musical Theater Awards were intense. Preparation for the end-of-the-week show was non-stop from sunrise to sunset. The nominees continued to work on their medley vocals and solo coaching for their final performances.

This year’s vocal coaches were the same as last year. Just incase you forgot, they were: 

• Michael McElroy, whose Broadway credits include Rent, Big River, Hair, Spring Awakening and more.
• Leslie Odom, Jr., whose professional credits include the hit TV show Smash, CSI: Miami, Red Tails and more.
• Liz Callaway, who starred in the original cast of Miss Saigon, The Three Musketeers and the Look of Love.
• Telly Leung, know for his roles in Rent and Glee.
• Schele Williams-Kleinberger who starred in Aida on Broadway and is affiliated with hit Broadway musical Motown: The Musical.

From left, Tim Hart, Tina James and
Chandler Morehead

Chandler had the opportunity to work with Telly Leung, and Tim worked with Liz Callaway.

Hours and days went by, then poof – it was Sunday. Sunday was the day that all the nominees performed their medleys and solos for the judges. This can easily be considered the first round of judging. The tension in the room was so thick you could cut it with a knife. You could feel the nervous excitement in the air as each nominee stepped up to sing the solo he or she had been working on.

The judges were blown away by the amount of talent brought by this year’s nominees. The panel of judges for this year was a list of Who’s Who among the Broadway community. The judges were: Scott Ellis (Roundabout Theatre Company); Kent Gash (New Studio on Broadway, NYU Tisch School of the Arts Department of Drama); Tony® Award-nominee Montego Glover (Memphis); Rachel Hoffman (Telsey +Co); Alecia Parker (NAMCO); Nick Scandalios (Nederlander Organization); and Bernie Telsey (Telsey + Co).

And then it was Monday! We all headed to the Minskoff Theater for tech rehearsal with the crew and orchestra. Before we knew it, it was time…the lights dimmed in the theater, all 62 nominees ran on stage and the orchestra started to play.

There were seven different medleys, including one full of Bakers from Into the Woods. Once the medleys were complete, the finalists were selected and solos performed.

Congratulations to all the finalists, and the winners of the 2013 Jimmy Awards – Sarah Lynn Marion, from Hunting Beach High School Academy for the Performing Arts, representing the John Raitt Awards for Youth, and Taylor Varga, from Newton High School, representing the Connecticut High School Musical Theater Awards.

It was an incredible journey from the time we arrived in New York to the goodbyes on Tuesday morning. Best of luck to Chandler and Tim, I’m sure we’ll see you both on Broadway again!

To see more photos visit the NHSMTA flickr page.

Guest blog: In the Big Apple!

Guest blog by Tina James, Patel Conservatory Education Programs Manager for the Patel Conservatory. Tina’s primary responsibilities include overseeing the Conservatory’s Community Partnership program as well as all community-based programs involving Broadway Family Nights, Family First Night, National High School Musical Theater Awards as well as National Broadway League initiatives.

I’m in the Big Apple with Chandler Morehead and Tim Hart, winners of the Straz Center’s Broadway Star of the Future Award. As you may recall from an earlier blog post, Chandler and Tim won this year’s award during the Florida State Thespian Festival in March.

Chandler Morehead is from American Heritage School in Plantation, Fla., which happens to be the same school of Joshua Grosso, who was last year’s overall Jimmy Awards winner! Chandler won for her performance of Meredith Parker in Bat Boy The Musical. She is a 2013 graduate of AHS and will be attending Texas State University in the fall.

Tim Hart is a junior/rising senior from Palm Harbor University High School in Clearwater, FL and he won for his performance of the Baker from Into the Woods.

Chandler and Tim are only two of 62 nominees vying for the coveted Jimmy Award during this year’s National High School Musical Theater Awards. To see a list of the other 60 nominees, visit the NHSMTA website.

Nominees for the national Jimmy Awards participating in the National
High School Musical Theater Awards in New York City this week.

We arrived in NYC on Wednesday, June 26. Since then, we have (or should I say they…LOL) have hit the ground running. The nominees had a chance to get to know one another and meet everyone at a pizza party sponsored by Papa John’s. After the party, they went straight into music rehearsal and began working right away on the opening number until about 10 p.m.

Chandler and Tim on the bus in NYC

The next day they were at it again as early as 8:30 a.m. with medley vocals and solo coaching. During Thursday’s lunch the nominees were treated to a talk-back session with special guest Kirstin Tucker from the Tony®-Winning musical - Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Cinderella. Kirstin has also performed in the national tours of West Side Story and A Chorus Line as well as numerous regional theater productions. 

Later that evening, the nominees had dinner at the world famous Sardi's Restaurant. After dinner the nominees had a night out on Broadway and had a chance to see Annie, starring Jane Lynch of Glee. Following the performance there was a special talkback. 

To see more photos visit the NHSMTA flickr page.

Check back for more updates…write with you soon!

National Jimmy Award winner to perform at the Spotlight Awards

The Patel Conservatory is pleased to announce a special guest for this year’s Spotlight Awards.

Joshua Grosso

Joshua Grosso, winner of the national 2012 Jimmy Award for best actor, will perform at next week’s Spotlight Awards.

Last year, Grosso represented the Straz Center, and the state of Florida, at the National High School Musical Theater Awards in New York City.

More than 50,000 high school thespians competed in regionals across the country. Grosso, of Plantation, Fla., earned a spot among the top 60 most talented performers who qualified to compete in New York through the Straz Center's Broadway Star of the Future Award.

The prestigious New York competition was featured last year in a PBS documentary called Broadway or Bust, which aired recently in the Tampa area.

As the Jimmy winner, Grosso received a $10,000 scholarship. He is currently a sophomore studying musical theater at Carnegie Mellon University’s School of Drama.

Don’t miss your opportunity to see this award-winning performer and rising Broadway star at the third annual Spotlight Awards, which will be Thurs., May 23, 2013 at 6:30 p.m.

Tickets are $20 through May 16. For tickets, please call 813-229-STAR (7827) or visit www.strazcenter.org or in person at our box office.

Announcing the 2013 Broadway Star of the Future Award winners!

The Patel Conservatory and the Straz Center announces this year’s winners of the Straz Center’s Broadway Star of the Future Award!

The 2013 Broadway Star of the Future Award goes to Tim Hart and Chandler Morehead.

Now in its fourth year, the Broadway Star of the Future Award is given to one male actor and one female actor in recognition of their outstanding performance in a musical theater production.

The winners are chosen through the Florida State Thespian Festival, which took place last week at the Straz Center. The 2013 winners were announced during the closing ceremonies of the festival on Sat., Mar. 23, 2013.

Morehead, of Sunrise, is a student at American Heritage School in Del Ray Beach. During the competition, she portrayed Meredith Parker in Bat Boy: the Musical.

Hart, of Clearwater, is a student at Palm Harbor University High School in Palm Harbor. During the competition, he portrayed the Baker in Into The Woods.

Both students were chosen for their singing and acting ability and their commitment to their characters.

As recipients of the award, Morehead and Hart have won the chance to travel to New York City in June to represent Florida and the Straz Center in the National High School Musical Theater Awards (NHSMTA). 

“The Straz Center for the Performing Arts is known for community service and its commitment to helping talented youth thrive in the world of the performing arts. Sponsoring this contest and enabling these students to compete in New York is just one way we demonstrate this commitment,” said Wendy Leigh, vice president of education at the Straz Center. 

Congratulations and break a leg, Chandler and Tim!

Florida State Thespians converge on Tampa

Mobs of teenagers have taken over downtown Tampa, including the Straz Center and Patel Conservatory - which can only mean one thing - the Florida State Thespians are here!

The Florida State Thespian Festival is a weekend full of theater performances, competitions and workshops. Approximately 7600 theater students from around the state have converged for their chance to shine.

Performances often spontaneously erupt around campus
from thespian troupes attending the Florida State Thespian Festival

Workshops and performances have been taking place throughout the Patel Conservatory campus, and our own theater instructors, Adam Wagner and Christen Petitt-Hailey, are among the workshop leaders.

Wagner is leading the Song Interpretation Master Class, in which participants work on an audition song of their choice. And Petitt Hailey led the Body, Mind and Spirit Warm-up for the Actor workshops, in which students learned how to mentally and physically prepare for a performance.

Theater students from the festival participate in a workshop in TECO Theater.

As part of the Florida State Thespian Festival, the Straz Center will be awarding one male actor and one female actress with the Broadway Star of the Future Award in recognition of their outstanding performance in a musical theater production.

The selection process began last fall at district competitions. Schools with one-act mainstage productions were adjudicated, and the top students were chosen as nominees for the award.

This year’s nominees are:

Chandler Morehead

American Heritage School

Bat Boy

Amanda Springer

Palm Harbor University High School

Into the Woods

Ruby Quindongo

Gateway High School

In the Heights

Jonah Stabinski

American Heritage School

Bat Boy

Tim Hart

Palm Harbor University High School

Into the Woods

Winners will be announced during the closing ceremony of the Florida State Thespian Festival this Sat., March 23, 2013.

The winners will have the opportunity to represent the state of Florida and the Straz Center at the National High School Musical Theater Awards this summer in New York City.

Stay tuned to find out the winners!