National Youth Arts is excited to announce the winners and nominees for the 2010-2011 season which honors outstanding work by youth in the arts. This year more than 200 productions were considered for the awards, including shows from more than 100 different theatres in more than 50 cities spanning 12 states. Formerly the National Youth Theatre Awards, the organization is now beginning to honor other youth arts including Music, Dance, Film, Writing and various other art forms.

This year’s award winners and nominees were selected from nominations by a panel of twenty-four judges and reviewers. In addition to the youth who performed in the youth theatre companies, anyone age 18 and under who performed at a show reviewed by a National Youth Arts judge was also considered for the awards, as well as the adults who participated in the youth productions backstage (directors, set designers, costume designers, etc.) and a limited number of guest adult performers in professional productions designed for youth. Thank you all for your incredible work and all the unforgettable entertainment over the past year!

The Sixth Annual National Youth Awards ceremony was held on Sunday, June 19 at the Loats Theater on the campus of Newport Harbor High School in Newport Beach. This awards ceremony honored youth performances from Northern California, Los Angeles and Orange Counties as well as Inland Empire youth theaters.

Congratulations to three Inland Empire Theatres (CAT Corona, Riverside Children’s Theatre and Riverside Youth Theatre) for receiving the following national awards and nominations:

AWARDS

Riverside Youth Theatre (2)
Supporting Actress in a Musical: Victoria Walcott as Queen Aggravain in Once Upon a Mattress
Ensemble: Once Upon a Mattress

NOMINATIONS

CAT Corona (7)

Lead Actor (Junior Division): Adam Higelin as Oliver in Oliver!
Supporting Actor (Junior Division): Gavin Gray as The Artful Dodger in Oliver!
Featured Actress in a Musical: Kelsey Coovert as Mrs. Sowerberry in Oliver!, Hayley Howe as Mrs. Bedwin in Oliver!
Costume Design: Lori Hennebelle in Pinocchio
Lighting Design: Mike Gibson for Oliver!
Makeup, Hair & Wigs Design: Aran Broderick for Oliver!

Riverside Children’s Theatre (2)
Lead Actor (Junior Division): Andrew Savage as Horton the Elephant in Seussical the Musical
Lighting Design: Ron Milts for Seussical the Musical

Riverside Youth Theatre (13)

Lead Actress in a Musical: Hayley Higgins as Princess Winifred in Once Upon a Mattress, Courtney Ladd as Patrice in 13, and Hannah Wolgemuth as Dorothy Gale in The Wizard of Oz

Supporting Actor in a Musical: Gabriel Martinez as Prince Dauntless in Once Upon a Mattress, Ryan Mauger as the Scarecrow in The Wizard of Oz, and Aaron Wolgemuth as King Sextimus in Once Upon a Mattress

Supporting Actress in a Musical: Hayley Higgins as Lucy in 13, Melissa Smith as Lady Larken in Once Upon a Mattress, and Melissa Smith as Glinda in The Wizard of Oz

Featured Actor in a Musical: Grahme Meneses as Professor Marvel/Gatekeeper/The Wizard in The Wizard of Oz

Costume Design: Debbie Wolgemuth for 13
Music Direction: Sarah Horn for The Wizard of Oz
Direction: Debbie Wolgemuth for Once Upon a Mattress

To see the full list of winners, click on http://theatre.artsdig.com/news/news_nya_awards2011.asp.