Two Local High School Students Win Best Actor and Best Actress at DPAC's 2023 Triangle Rising Stars

On May 18th, 2023, DPAC hosted Triangle Rising Stars, central North Carolina’s High School Musical Theatre Awards, with host Clay Aiken and special guest Tony Award Winner Beth Leavel.  Lilly Pritchard from Heritage High School won the coveted Triangle Rising Stars Best Actress award and Noah Colvin from Enloe High School won the Triangle Rising Stars Best Actor award.   Triangle Rising Stars was presented by Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina.

DPAC’s Triangle Rising Stars (TRS) celebrates outstanding achievement in high school musical theatre, by focusing attention on the meaningful work being done both on and off stage by dedicated teachers and students. 
 

TRS also serves as the regional competition as part of the National High School Musical Theatre Awards® (NHSMTA).  This regional competition is open to high school musical theatre productions and musical theatre students in Central North Carolina.

 

This year’s Triangle Rising Stars Awards featured an opening group number that included students from each of the 34 participating local high schools for the first time ever.  Approximately 70 students represented their school in this special performance.

 

“I am so proud of all of the students who performed last week at Triangle Rising Stars,” said Megan Rindoks, DPAC’s Director of Community Engagement.  “The talent among the group of 20 finalists was awesome, and this year we also featured students from each participating high school in our Opening Number.  It brought tears to my eyes to see so many students shine on DPAC’s stage.”

 

2023 TRIANGLE RISING STARS WINNERS:

• Best Actress:
  • Lilly Pritchard – Wake Forest, NC
    • In the role of Cady Heron in the Heritage High School production of Mean Girls
• Best Actor:
  • Noah Colvin – Raleigh, NC
    • In the role of Sebastian in the Enloe High School production of The Little Mermaid

• Best Ensemble:
  • Sleeping Beauty
    • Wakefield High School in Raleigh, NC
• Best Musical:
  • Mean Girls High School Version
    • Heritage High School in Wake Forest, NC

• Best Dancer:
  • Kaleb Bell – Raleigh, NC
    • In the role of The Baker in the Longleaf School of the Arts production of Into the Woods

• Best Choreography:
  • Chicago Teen Edition
    • Durham School of the Arts in Durham, NC
• Best Set Design:
  • Into the Woods
    • Longleaf School of the Arts in Raleigh, NC
• Best Lighting Design:
  • The Lightning Thief: The Percy Jackson Musical
    • Knightdale High School in Knightdale, NC
• Best Costume Design:
  • The Little Mermaid
    • Enloe High School in Raleigh, NC
• Best Student Orchestra:
  • Seussical the Musical
    • Athens Drive High School in Raleigh, NC
• Triangle Shining Star:
  • Laylah Cooper-Holman in Greensboro, NC
    • In the role of Sandy Cheeks in the Weaver Academy of The SpongeBob Musical

 

As Central North Carolina’s qualifying event for the National High School Musical Theatre Awards®, the Triangle Rising Stars Best Actor and Best Actress recipients each received a $2,000 scholarship and were invited to attend the NHSMTA® in New York City this summer.  This all-expense paid trip allows students from across the country to train with Broadway actors, directors and producers. Their week of coaching, auditions and rehearsals concludes with a sold-out performance on Broadway at the Minskoff Theatre (Home of Disney’s The Lion King©) where the coveted Jimmy™ Awards® for Best Performance by an Actor and Best Performance by an Actress are announced.

 

“Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina is proud to support Triangle Rising Stars, a program designed to celebrate outstanding achievements in high school musical theater,” said Cheryl Parquet, Director of Community Engagement and Marketing Activation at Blue Cross NC.  “The arts enrich our lives beyond measure, and they are the key to the health of any community.  Triangle Rising Stars not only provides the student finalists with potentially life changing opportunities that could jumpstart a career in the arts, but it also shines a spotlight on the amazing arts programs and dedicated arts teachers in our area.”

 

Over 1,000 guests attended Triangle Rising Stars which was hosted by Clay Aiken with special guest Tony Award Winner Beth Leavel.  The event was directed by Freddie Lee Heath (Director of Choreography), David Henderson (Acting Director) and Mark Hopper (Music Director).  50 students representing high schools from across the Central NC region opened the show with a “Tonight” medley, which built up to welcome the top 20 finalists to the DPAC stage.  In groups of five, each student had their own chance to shine in solo performances.  Act One closed with the top 20 finalists performing “A Little More Homework” from 13 the Musical. 

 

Beth Leavel kicked off Act Two with her performance of “Broadway Baby” from Follies.  Beth then joined Clay Aiken to present a total of nine awards to schools and students for their achievements over the past year. 

 

Symoné Spencer and Joshua Thompson returned to DPAC and sang “What Do You Mean to Me” from the musical Finding Neverland before announcing this year’s awards for Best Actor (Noah Colvin) and Best Actress (Lilly Pritchard).  After awards were presented, the entire cast of finalists closed out the evening with “Footloose” from Footloose.

 

This year, the Top 20 Student Finalists were adjudicated by an esteemed panel of guest judges including Chauntee’ Shuler Irving, Dirk Lumbard, Lisa Jolley, and Terri Dollar.