Hennepin Theatre Trust Announces Fall 2012 SpotLight Musical Theatre Program Honors
Back to the Articleby BWW News Desk
 Hennepin Theatre Trust today announced the new fall 2012 honorees from Minnesota high schools recognizing theatre accomplishments by school and category for the 2012-13 SpotLight Musical Theatre Program. Now in its eighth successful year, SpotLight is Hennepin Theatre Trust's flagship educational initiative which honors, supports and advocates for Minnesota high school musical theatre students and programs. This year, 56 schools, including nine from greater Minnesota, are presenting musicals made possible by the collaboration of almost 5,000 students and annually seen by an estimated 105,000 audience members. Current honorees from high schools who presented musicals in fall 2012 are from Anoka, Apple Valley, Bemidji, Bloomington, Cambridge, Chanhassen, Chisago Lakes, Edina, Fridley, Glencoe, Hinckley, Hopkins, Lakeville, Lino Lakes, Maplewood, Maple Grove, Minneapolis, Minnetonka, Monticello, Moorhead, Mound, New Brighton, North St. Paul, Roseville, Shakopee, South St. Paul, St. Louis Park, Wayzata, White Bear Lake, Winona, Woodbury and Zimmerman. A comprehensive list of school participants is included at the end of this press release and a list of the fall 2012 honorees by school and category is available online at HennepinTheatreTrust.org. The SpotLight Musical Theatre Program celebrates high school musicals and students by recognizing extraordinary achievements and helping to develop young talent in Minnesota's high school musical theatre programs. This year, highlights include Washburn High School presenting the musical My Feet is Tired, But My Soul is Rested, originally produced at Youth Performance Company in Minneapolis. Schools and participating students will be honored at SpotLight's culminating event, the eighth annual SpotLight Showcase, held at 7 p.m., Monday, June 3, 2013 at the Orpheum Theatre. This gala evening recognizes high school musical theatre accomplishments by featuring dynamic student performances mixed with award presentations. Last year's event sold out and featured more than 800 Minnesota students performing on the Orpheum stage. Tickets will be available on Wednesday, Feb. 20, 2013. Please check our website for updated information. Hennepin Theatre Trust, owner of the historic Orpheum, State, Pantages and New Century Theatres, is an independent, non-profit organization dedicated to arts-inspired community cultural development. The Trust established the SpotLight Musical Theatre Program after recognizing that none existed in Minnesota to honor excellence in high school musical theatre. The Trust supports participating schools by providing high-quality learning, performing and creative experiences for students to develop and empower the next generation of innovative arts leaders. SpotLight's benefits include the opportunity to work with local and National Theatre educators and musical theatre professionals who offer training, insight through critical feedback and on-site school workshops. A group of evaluators is retained by the Trust to assess each production with constructive written commentary and nominate honorees. Categories include outstanding performance in leading, supporting and featured roles, outstanding performance by a chorus, dance ensemble and student orchestra, outstanding overall performance of a musical and outstanding overall production of a musical. Shows are not compared or ranked against each other, so categories may have multiple honorees. Schools annually apply to participate and pay a nominal administration fee. SpotLight advocates for the importance of high school musical theatre education to support the statewide community of theatre artists, teachers and families who participate in this art form. School Participants in the 2012-13 SpotLight Program |
