Friday, March 29, 2024

CSHS Students Among Award Nominees

Recently, the Carroll ISD Theatre Department was honored with 15 nominations for the prestigious Schmidt and Jones Awards for their production of last fall’s Legally Blonde The Musical. In addition to nominations for Best Musical, Best Actress and Best Actor in a Supporting Role, additional students also received nominations for their performances.

Carroll Theatre Department Junior, Heather Wang, was nominated for Best Choreography. Heather has been dancing all her life and it has been a pivotal part of who she is. She is versed in several styles of dance from the elegant lyrical to hard-hitting crump, and has competed in numerous competitions for solo hip hop, tap, jazz, lyrical, and ballet. Since the age of three, she has been taking classes, and recently discovered her love for choreography! Musical Theatre has become something she couldn’t live with out, whether it be a monkey in Carroll Theatre Department’s The Drowsy Chaperone, Napkin in Beauty and the Beast, or Margot in Legally Blonde The Musical, each character lives within who she is today! She loves acting, singing and dancing so much she hopes to pursue this as a career!

Here is Heather’s response to her Schmidt and Jones Award Nomination: “If I’m being completely honest, I never truly believed I was a dancer until this year. My sister was the dancer of the family, my brother was the athlete, so this affirmation of my skill means more then many realize. To be nominated out of the many talented students in Texas is perhaps the most amazing feeling, and given me the true answer as to whether or not I can actually do this for the rest of my life.”

Junior, Kristine Lahde, is nominated for Best Performance by an Actress in a Minor Role for her role as Enid. Kristine Lahde has been involved in theatre since she was five years old. She’s been in numerous productions and has spent three wonderful years in the Carroll Theatre Department. She feels beyond privileged to have been nominated for a Schmidt and Jones Award: “I was so excited and honored when I heard about my nomination. Enid was a great role that I loved playing.” Kristine is eager to see what the future holds.

Junior, Steven Riedel, is nominated for Best Male Ensemble Performer for his role of CarlosSteven is a Junior at Carroll Senior High School. He is beyond excited for his first musical with Carroll Theatre Department. Steven has been involved with Stars Theater in the past, and is currently looking at The New York Film Academy to become a film actor. Steven is also a part of the Carroll Theatre Poetry Slam Team where he went to Chicago’s Louder Than A Bomb poetry competition representing Southlake and Carroll Theatre in March. Lastly, Steven would like to thank The Martinsens, Ms. Galante, Ms. Fisher, and Ms. Jones for giving him this wonderful opportunity: “I honestly have never had so much fun performing a musical and performing with such talented actors.  It’s also been a thrill to be able to have the opportunity to work with such great directors.”

Carroll Theatre Department Senior, Ashley Nordahl, is nominated for Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role for her work as Paulette in Legally Blonde The Musical:

Ashley Nordahl is a senior this year at Carroll Senior High School and loves doing theatre. She is a National Honor Thespian and has been in theatre all through her high school career. She has been in the productions of White Christmas (Ensemble), The Drowsy Chaperone (Ensemble), Beauty and the Beast (Silly Girl #3), Les Miserables in Concert (Madame Thenardier), and Legally Blonde The Musical as Paulette. Ashley has been singing since she was eight years old.  She is so honored to be nominated for the Schmidt and Jones Awards’ Best Supporting Actress Award. She plans on attending Ole Miss this fall for Elementary Education.

CSHS Senior Receives Nomination for Role in Carroll's High School Musical

The Carroll Theatre Department’s John Harvey recently received a Schmidt and Jones Award Nomination for Best Actor in a Supporting Role. John is a senior at Carroll Senior High School.

John is an active member of the Carroll Senior High Thespian Troupe, recently earning the rank of National Honor Thespian. During the four years John has dedicated to the theatre program, he has performed in the musical productions of White Christmas, The Drowsy Chaperone, Beauty and the Beast, and Legally Blonde The Musical as Professor Callahan.   John has also participated as a cast member in the One Act Play competition of Unexpected Tenderness and New Jerusalem, The Interrogation of Baruch De Spinoza, playing the part of Baruch De Spinoza. John participated in the Musical Theatre Showcase and competed in the Poetry Slam Competiton in 2011. Juggling his time with Carroll Dragon Band, John helped with The Haunted Asylum, The Haunted Circus, and The Mystery Time Machine. Due to his diligent work in the Theatre department, John was awarded the Rising Star Award in 2011, also winning the Poetry Slam competition that year as well.   Selected as Best Actor for his portrayal of Baruch De Spinoza in the UIL District 4 One Act Play Competition in 2013, and awarded Best Actor in Carroll Theatre, John has also just been nominated for the Schmidt and Jones Awards, presented by Lyric Stage, for Best Supporting Actor in the Carroll Theatre production of Legally Blonde The Musical.

Throughout John’s life, performing has been a passion, beginning at an early age participating in church musicals. Music has always been an integral part of his life. John has taken piano lessons since kindergarten, expanding his formal training to other percussion instruments starting in sixth grade and formal voice lessons in eighth grade. Through music he can feel what the composers are trying to convey, and in performances, share that mood or feeling with the audience. To John, performance is a liberating way to express one’s own self as well. To say that John is passionate about theatre is a huge understatement. He loves the long hours of collaboration with other actors. John believes taking instruction from directors is a wonderful way to learn and grow, and that inhabiting the mind of each character played is fascinating and educational. Because of this passion, John plans to continue his training at Texas State University, where he will work toward a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Acting.  Asked how he feels about the Schmidt and Jones Best Supporting Actor nomination for his role as Professor Callahan, John simply states, “It is an unexpected honor just to be nominated.  I am so proud of all in the cast and crew of Legally Blonde The Musical, and feel honored to be a part of such a wonderful show.”