Blockbuster Awards Ceremony Will Celebrate High School Musical Theatre

An annual showcase and celebration, the awards program-formally named the Shuler Hensley Awards for Excellence in High School Musical Theatre-is an initiative of the Cobb Energy Centre educational outreach program, ARTSBRIDGE. It is a "Tony Award" style of evening with award presentations and performances for the six nominees for Overall Production and an opening featuring Shuler Hensley. End Quote

The Shuler Hensley Awards ceremony is very much designed to be a celebration," said Mark Kent, Cobb Energy Centre director of education and community

(1888PressRelease) April 12, 2010 - ATLANTA - Metro Atlanta high school musical theatre will light up the Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre stage on April 13th, for the 2010 Shuler Hensley Awards in celebration of excellence in high school musical theatre.

"How better to recognize and encourage a new generation of artists and audiences than through programs that give expression to young people's talent and that embody a spirit of camaraderie and celebration," said Michael S. Taormina CFE, Cobb Energy Centre managing director. "The Shuler Hensley Awards program does exactly that, and we are honored to have it among the offerings of the Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre."

Two Hensley Award recipients will take away more than a gleaming trophy. The award-winning leading actor and leading actress will be eligible to compete this summer in The National High School Musical Theater Awards, "The Jimmys", in New York City.

Red Carpet, Music and Merry-Making
Conceived as an annual showcase and celebration, the Atlanta awards program-formally named the Shuler Hensley Awards for Excellence in High School Musical Theatre-is an initiative of the Cobb Energy Centre educational outreach program, ARTSBRIDGE. The initiative is supported by the Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre Foundation, through contributions provided by Georgia Power Company, WSB-TV - Channel 2, Chattahoochee Technical College, and Frazier & Deeter, LLC.

The program's culminating ceremony is fashioned after Broadway's Tony Awards, considered the highest U.S. theatre honor. The show will feature a total of ten production numbers including performance by the six schools' nominated for overall production, medleys by the leading actor and actress nominees, an opening number featuring Shuler Hensley and performers from this year's participating schools, and a rousing finale.

Organizers of the 7:00 p.m. April 13th event say the audience should expect a full-fledged extravaganza.

"The Shuler Hensley Awards ceremony is very much designed to be a celebration," said Mark Kent, Cobb Energy Centre director of education and community outreach. "We'll roll out the red carpet, conjure up a few surprises and, of course, feature exceptional performances by the stars of the show-the students, themselves. They will have a chance to show off their stuff and showcase their work and share with their peers and the community the really awesome things that are happening with musical theatre in their schools. It will be an extraordinary evening that is not just about receiving a trophy. It's an evening about every high school student and teacher involved in musical theater coming together to celebrate their hard work."

The ceremony-which honors Atlanta-born, award-winning actor and singer Shuler Hensley-is the finishing touch for a program that involved more than 3,600 students, teachers and parents from 39 high schools who staged popular musical productions starting last September: from the Disney favorite of Beauty and the Beast, the hilarity of Guys and Dolls and the drama of Les Miserables, to the classic The Music Man, the dance-happy Grease and the comic opera The Mikado. (Note: complete list of nominees come be found at www.cobbenergycentre.com)

Atlanta Musical Theatre . . . "in safe hands"
Over the course of the past seven months, a group of 25 Atlanta-based professionals from the arts community fanned out to high schools across metropolitan Atlanta to evaluate the performances and offer their professional feedback. Among the evaluators was Brian D. Frey, general manager of Theater of the Stars, Inc.

"With the level of musical theatre talent that I have had the pleasure to experience in our local high schools, it is comforting to know that the musical theatre scene in Atlanta…is safe in the hands of these future stars," Frey said. "The Shuler Hensley Awards program is sure to enhance the already promising talents of our local high school performers."

Participating schools have found the program no less enthralling. "Our students have been quite expressive about what the experience has meant," said Rob Warren, theatre director at Atlanta International School. "It's 'amazing,' students tell me, 'how the experience has brought together our ensemble and our school.' The Schuler Hensley Awards nomination experience has been 'the icing on the cake'-as one student put it-in terms of the whole process as an ensemble. It has given recognition and affirmation to all the hard work our students, teachers and parents have put into bringing a musical theater production to life on stage."

Shuler Hensley himself will kick off the April 13th spectacular and serve as co-host of the event joined by Jovita Moore and Justin Farmer, WSB-TV Channel 2 News Anchors.

"It's an incredible honor," said Hensley. "It sort of makes me feel like I'm still linked to the community." Having grown up in the arts, Shuler recalled the "magic" of actor-audience relationships. He also remembers that for students participating in high school musicals and plays, the afterglow evaporates quickly. The Shuler Hensley Awards program not only celebrates students' achievements, it promotes like-minded artists networking and building their own support community. "So this is exciting and somewhat long overdue," Hensley said. "It's really all about putting the young people in the spotlight and having them feel inspired and rewarded."

Hensley's credits include the country-rock and blues musical The Great American Trailer Park Musical of 2004-2005; the Disney musical Tarzan, featuring Hensley in the role of Kerchak; and, most recently, Mel Brooks' stage musical Young Frankenstein, in which Hensley played the title monster. His distinctive work as the lovable creature earned him nominations for both the Drama Desk Award and the Outer Critics Circle Award in 2008. In 2002, Shuler received the Tony Award, the Drama Desk Award, and the Outer Critics Circle Award for his performance as Jud in the revival of Oklahoma!

Excellence and Exposure
Hensley's participation and the students' enthusiasm aren't the only things that will give the ceremony pace and pizzazz. To direct and stage the show, Cobb Energy Centre has contracted with experienced professionals from the theatre industry, including Brandt Blocker, former owner of an award-winning production company and currently artistic director and general manager of Atlanta Lyric Theatre; and Maurice Brandon Curry, who has directed, choreographed and produced events as diverse as the Michael Awards for the Fashion Industry, plus tours and videos for Diana Ross and Prince.

Ultimately, based on the professional evaluators' feedback-as certified by the Atlanta accounting firm Frazier & Deeter, LLC-the Shuler Hensley Award of Excellence will be bestowed in 15 categories: Overall Production, Direction, Musical Direction, Choreography, Orchestra, Scenic Design, Lighting Design, Costume Design, Stage Crew, Ensemble/Chorus, Leading Actor and Actress, Supporting Actor and Actress, Featured Performer. During the evening's awards show three scholarships will be presented including the Doris Corrie Russell Scholarship for Dance and the Morrell Memorial Music Scholarship. In addition to the work recognized at the April 13th event, the Shuler Awards program has awarded Certificates of Excellence to 92 recipients this year.

As an added educational component of the evening, the Television Production Technology Program from Chattahoochee Technical College will be putting their skills to practice taping the ceremony, and WSB-TV Channel 2, Atlanta's ABC network affiliate will produce a prime-time special about the Awards, to be aired at 8:00 to 9:00 p.m. on Friday, April 16th.

On Broadway
The local awards events qualify performers to participate in The National High School Musical Theatre Awards. Created in 2008 the NHS Musical Theater Awards aim to focus national attention on the importance of theater arts education and highlight communities and school districts that provide musical theater study. The NHS Musical Theater Awards the "The Jimmys" were created by Pittsburgh CLO and Nederlander Presentations Inc.

To be held at the legendary Marquis Theatre on Broadway following a week of auditions, interviews and rehearsals, the NHS Musical Theater Awards will present a "Best Actress" and a "Best Actor" Award-called "The Jimmys" named after nationally known theater owner, producer and pioneer James M. Nederlander.

Meanwhile, tickets for the Shuler Hensley Awards Ceremony are on sale. The price for the performance is $10 each plus applicable fees. Tickets are available through Ticketmaster at Ticketmaster.com or 404-249-6400, or at the Bank of North Georgia Box Office at the Cobb Energy Centre, located at 2800 Cobb Galleria Parkway, Atlanta, GA 30339.

For general information on the Shuler Hensley Awards program, call 770-916-2808.

About Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre Foundation
The Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre Foundation, a non-profit 501(c) (3) organization, is charged with securing financial resources for the Centre and to act as a fiduciary of those resources. Funds raised by the foundation support the Centre's capital needs, the operational endowment fund, and the Foundation's community and educational outreach activities including its signature, ARTSBRIDGE education program. Additional information about the foundation and ways to contribute is available at www.cobbenergycentre.com.

About ARTSBRIDGE Education Program
The Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre Foundation launched its educational outreach program, ARTSBRIDGE, with the Centre's opening in fall of 2007. Through a combination of field trip programs, artists-in-schools, master classes, and a special collaboration with KSU, the ARTSBRIDGE program offers uniquely powerful arts education tools to educators throughout the metropolitan Atlanta region. The Shuler Hensley Awards for Excellence in High School Musical Theatre were added in 2009. In total, to date, ARTSBRIDGE programs have served over 120,000 teachers and students from across the region.

About Cobb Energy Centre
The Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre, a $145 million, state-of-the-art facility, is located at 2800 Cobb Galleria Parkway in northwest Atlanta, inside the Perimeter. Cobb Energy Centre is a premier venue for opera, concerts, Broadway shows, ballet, educational shows, family shows and corporate meetings and events. The Centre hosts three resident companies, Atlanta Ballet, Atlanta Broadway Series and The Atlanta Opera. The facility includes the 2,750-seat John A. Williams Theatre, 10,000-square-foot Kessel D. Stelling, Jr. Ballroom and other meeting spaces, 1,000 parking spaces including a 700-space parking deck, and full-service food and beverage capabilities. The Centre, part of the Cobb-Galleria complex, is governed by the Cobb-Marietta Coliseum and Exhibit Hall Authority.

Additional information about the Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre is available at www.cobbenergycentre.com.

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