May 20, 2019
The Henry Mancini Musical Theatre Awards have been held every year since 1994. Each time, a number of high schools in the Beaver, Butler, and Lawrence Counties are nominated for awards in categories from Best Actor/Actress to Best Execution of Direction.
This year our own Oklahoma was nominated for twelve awards including:
Junior Dori Shearer – nominated for Best Supporting Actress
Q. What is your favorite thing about musical?
A. Musical is a collaboration of my favorite things. It combines singing, acting, and dancing with working together with people to achieve an amazing goal. When all of these come together on opening night, it is magical.
Q. How do you feel about being nominated for a Mancini?
A. I feel truly honored to have been nominated! It is just so surreal that out of all of the young actresses in our area, I was one that stood out in the judges’ eyes. It is truly a blessing from God.
Q. What are you most excited for about Mancini’s?
A. I am very excited for the day of the actual ceremony because all of the participating schools go to Lincoln Park Performing Arts School to rehearse and have fun. At the school they have a professional auditorium that takes your breath away to perform in.
Q. Now that you’ve been nominated, what will you do to prepare for the Mancini’s?
A. First the cast of Oklahoma will rehearse the title song to perform as an ensemble as we were nominated for Best Musical. The week of the ceremony I and the other individual nominees will go to LP to rehearse for the opening number that features all of the nominees.
Q. What would your advice be to anyone wanting to pursue theater/acting?
A. Don’t be afraid to put yourself out there. You have to be willing to get out of your comfort zone in order to play any role. People want to see shows that grab their attention, so you have to have energy and emotion behind everything that you do once you step onto the stage.
