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The DPAC Rising Star Awards is made possible by the generous support of 
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THE DPAC RISING STAR AWARDS
Previously known as Triangle Rising Stars, The DPAC Rising Star Awards is a program designed to celebrate outstanding achievements in high school musical theater throughout Central, North Carolina. The program focuses attention on the meaningful work being done both on and off stage by dedicated teachers and students.
The DPAC Rising Star Awards will take place at DPAC on May 9, 2024. The event will feature twenty student finalists as they compete live for their chance to advance to the national level at the Jimmy Awards in New York City. In addition to these Top 20 Student Finalists, student representatives from each participating high school will perform on DPAC's stage in an unforgettable Opening Number. Throughout the course of the evening, 11 awards will be presented recognizing excellence in a broad range of categories. You can look forward to special appearances from last year's Best Actor Noah Colvin, and Best Actress Lilly Pritchard who will return to perform and to help announce the two students who will go on to compete nationally this year. Hosted by Clay Aiken, and adjudicated live by a panel of esteemed judges, this event will not be one to miss.
2024 TOP STUDENT FINALISTS
Best Actor Nominees
- Aidan Armstrong , Weaver Academy, Something Rotten!, Will Shakespeare
- Aydan Eatchel , Longleaf School of the Arts, Les Misérables, Marius
- Dylan Georges, Green Level High School, The Lightning Thief, Grover
- Ryan Gregory , Enloe High School, Les Misérables, Marius
- David Hatcher , Panther Creek High School, Into The Woods, The Baker
- Harrison “Nate” Jones , Durham School of the Arts, Into The Woods, The Baker
- Isaiah Knight, Heritage High School, The Addams Family, Fester
- Conor Kruger , Enloe High School, Les Misérables, Jean Valjean
- Max Templeton , Needham B. Broughton High School, 9 to 5, Franklin Hart Jr.
- Amari James Wynne, Longleaf School of the Arts, The Wiz, The Lion
Best Actress Nominees
- Riley Auman , Durham Academy, Into The Woods, The Witch
- Alex Fluker , Panther Creek High School, Into The Woods, The Witch
- Audrey Lewis, Needham B. Broughton High School, 9 to 5, Doralee Rhodes
- Emma Gaddy , Enloe High School, Les Misérables, Fantine
- Trinity Hall , RJ Reynolds High School, Mamma Mia!, Donna Sheridan
- Danica Laan , CE Jordan High School, Beauty and the Beast, Lumiere
- Sabine Langer , Weaver Academy, Something Rotten!, Bea Bottom
- Gabriella Martínez , Apex Friendship High School, The Addams Family, Wednesday Addams
- Mary Mask , Carrboro High School, Anything Goes, Reno Sweeny
- Miley Perrott , Wakefield High School, Guys and Dolls, Miss Adelaide
Meet The Directors
Director of Choreography: Freddie-Lee Heath is a dancer/teacher/choreographer with over 100 shows to his credit having traveled extensively across the United States. He is thrilled to work with these young artists!
Acting Director: David Henderson is an actor, producer and director from Raleigh. He is the founder and co-Artistic Director of Honest Pint Theatre Company. It is an honor to work with these amazing young artists!
Music Director: Mark Hopper is the Executive and Artistic Director of McGregor Hall Performing Arts Center in Henderson. He has credits both as a director and a musical director for over 50 shows in the southeast, most recently with Raleigh Little Theatre, NRACT, and NC State University.
Meet The Ceremony Judges
With incredibly impressive resumes, not only will our Ceremony Judges bring a wealth of experience to the table, they are also huge supporters of the performing arts and arts education. Join us at DPAC on May 9 to watch these three adjudicate live as they select the two students who will advance to compete nationally this spring at the Jimmy Awards® in NYC.
Alan Campbell is a Tony nominated actor known for his versatility. Over his forty plus year career, Alan has enjoyed featured roles on stage, film, television and in concert. His many credits include Broadway musicals, Off-Broadway and regional musicals and drama, feature and indy films, as well as costarring roles in television drama, comedy, and daytime.
Chauntee’ Schuler Irving is an Assistant Professor of the Practice of Theater Studies at Duke University and a Broadway actor with over twenty years of experience in the industry and the classroom. She is currently guest starring as Maria Cross in the upcoming Amazon Prime TV series Cross and has trained with The Actors’ Studio Drama School, The Barrow Group Theater Company, and The Ailey School prior to receiving her MFA in Theatre Pedagogy from Virginia Commonwealth University. She is a proud member of AEA and SAG- AFTRA. chauntee.com
Terri Dollar is a Talent Agency Owner and Agent with KU Talent Agency in Raleigh, NC. A former professional actor and teacher, Terri spent over 2 decades helping build the arts scene in Downtown Raleigh as the Program Director of Artsplosure the Raleigh Arts Festival. Terri is an enthusiastic champion of helping young people in the arts, including being one of the directors of the Raleigh Medal of Arts Winning Group S.T.A.R. (Special Theatre Arts Raleigh).
Meet The Student Production Team
Each of these high school students will play a huge role backstage and behind the scenes, and they'll be crucial to helping the awards show run smoothly on DPAC’s stage this May.
Production Stage Manager – Kiersten Sico (Senior at Apex Friendship High School)
Production & Talent Manager – Alex Glass (Senior at Longleaf School of the Arts)
Assistant Stage Manager – Sarah Keller (Junior at Apex Friendship High School)
Best Actor Talent Coordinator – Nate Baker-Sample (Junior at Millbrook High School)
Best Actress Talent Coordinator – Sasha Wolfrum (Sophomore at Durham School of the Arts)
Opening Number Talent Coordinators – Ronni Brockenbrough (Sophomore at Enloe High School) and Yacciri Castillo-Mendez (Senior at Southern School of Energy and Sustainability)
2024 Awards Categories
2023/2024 STUDENT AWARD CATEGORIES
- Best Actor
- Best Actress
- Best Dancer
- The DPAC Shining Star
2023/2024 PRODUCTION AWARD CATEGORIES
- Best Ensemble
- Best Musical
- Best Costume Design
- Best Student Orchestra
- Best Set Design
- Best Choreography
- Best Lighting Design
2023/2024 Participating Musicals
Needham B. Broughton High School - 9 to 5: The Musical
Garner Magnet High School - Aida: School Edition
Carrboro High School - Anything Goes (2022 Revision)
CE Jordan High School - Disney's Beauty and the Beast
West Johnston High School - Disney's Beauty and the Beast
Harnett Central High School - Disney's Beauty and the Beast
Jordan-Matthews High School - Disney's Frozen: The Broadway Musical
South Garner High School - Footloose The Musical
Wakefield High School - Guys and Dolls
Clayton High School - High School Musical
Durham School of the Arts - Into the Woods
Durham Academy - Into the Woods
Penn-Griffin School for the Arts - Into the Woods
Panther Creek High School - Into the Woods
Longleaf School of the Arts - Les Misérables
Enloe High School - Les Misérables School Edition
Seaforth High School - Little Shop of Horrors
Athens Drive Magnet High School - Little Women
Wake Forest High School - Mamma Mia!
RJ Reynolds High School - Mamma Mia!
Heritage High School - Matilda the Musical
Oak Grove High School - Matilda the Musical
Christ Covenant School - Newsies The Musical
Millbrook High School - Singin' in the Rain
Southern School of Energy and Sustainability - Sister Act
Heritage High School - Six: Teen Addition
Weaver Academy for the Performing Arts - Something Rotten
Apex Friendship High School - The Addams Family
Heritage High School - The Addams Family
Green Level High School - The Lightning Thief: The Percy Jackson Musical
Knightdale High School - The SpongeBob Musical
Western Harnett High School - The SpongeBob Musical
Longleaf School of the Arts - The Wiz
Ravenscroft - You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown (Revised)
Opening Number Invitation
Each participating school will be invited to send two (2) student representatives to perform in the Opening Number at The DPAC Rising Star Awards. School representatives will be asked to determine who those two students are by April 16, 2024. DPAC will send an email to each school representative in early April with instructions on how to submit these two selected students.
Opening Number rehearsals are mandatory for these specially selected students. These rehearsals are scheduled for April 20 and April 21, 2024.
Only two representatives from each school will be invited. If your school is submitting more than one musical this year, you will not be eligible to submit additional students. This opportunity is for each participating school, not each participating musical. It is up to each school to determine how these students are selected.
Visual Arts in partnership with Durham Art Guild
NEW THIS YEAR! The DPAC Rising Star Awards has partnered with Durham Art Guild to celebrate achievements made by high school visual art students. Over twenty students from participating high schools were selected to have their work featured in a pop-up gallery in DPAC's lobby at The DPAC Rising Star Awards on May 9, 2024.
Learn More: https://www.durhamartguild.org/dpac
