Theater News

Paper Mill Playhouse Launches Search for Its 2015 Rising Stars

Oscar winner Anne Hathaway is among Paper Mill’s illustrious roster of past Rising Star Award nominees.

North Jersey
Anne Hathaway earned a Rising Star Award nomination for her high school performance as Winnifred in Once Upon a Mattress.
Anne Hathaway earned a Rising Star Award nomination for her high school performance as Winnifred in Once Upon a Mattress.
(© David Gordon)

Millburn, New Jersey's Paper Mill Playhouse is now accepting applications for its 20th Annual Rising Star Awards for Excellence in Musical Theater. Applications are available on the Paper Mill Playhouse’s website, with a submission deadline of January 7, 2015, at 5pm.

Since 1996, the regional theater has been hosting an annual gala, modeled after the Tony Awards, where students from the musical-theater programs of New Jersey high schools can showcase their talents. Notable past nominees and winners include Academy Award winner Anne Hathaway (Les Misérables film), Tony award winners Laura Benanti (Gypsy), Nikki M. James (Les Misérables), and Rob McClure (Honeymoon in Vegas).

One hundred entered productions from public, private, and parochial high schools will be adjudicated throughout the spring by a group of 70 evaluators, with each school receiving four independent evaluations. The 2015 Rising Star Awards gala ceremony will be held at Paper Mill Playhouse on June 2, when nominees will perform and recipients will be presented with a crystal award. Only the first 100 schools to apply will be entered into the program and be eligible for awards in the spring.

The event, which makes available over $50,000 in scholarships, offers accolades in performance, design, and production categories, in addition to a Student Achievement Award and an Educational Impact Award. The Rising Star "Theater for Everyone" Inclusion & Access Award is also presented to the school that demonstrates a practice of creative inclusion for students with disabilities.

"There is amazing energy and excitement for high school musical theater right now," said Mark S. Hoebee, Paper Mill Playhouse’s producing artistic director. "Seeing so many past Rising Star nominees and winners working professionally on Broadway, in national tours and at regional theaters around the nation is a huge validation of the extensive process our Paper Mill team has designed to locate and identify the best young talent from all corners of the great state of New Jersey."

To enter your school in the Rising Star competition, click here.