Sunday, June 4, 2023

Carroll Theatre Department Senior Receives Award, Scholarship

The Carroll Theatre Department has not only become a second family to Daniel Scandura over the past four years, it has also been the catalyst for his undying passion for Theatre Arts.  He was a member of the Ensemble in White Christmas during his freshman year.  As a sophomore he played a gangster disguised as a pastry chef in The Drowsy Chaperone.  During his junior year, he had the opportunity to play the beloved Disney villain, Gaston, in Disney’s Beauty and the Beast, as well as Archie Stern in the UIL One Act Play, Unexpected Tenderness.  He began his senior year playing Elle Woods’ peer, a driven law student-turned-love interest named Emmett Forrest in Legally Blonde The Musical, and ended it playing Rabbi Mortera in New Jerusalem.

Daniel has most recently been honored with the prestigious Schmidt and Jones Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance as Emmett Forrest in Legally Blonde The Musical.

“When I won the award I was ecstatic! I respect Legally Blonde The Musical and all the hard work we put into it so winning Best Supporting Actor and Best Musical was a dream come true,” said Daniel when he won the award at Carpenter Hall at the Irving Arts Center on Thursday, May 23. Daniel received a $500 scholarship. He also won the 2012 UIL All-star Cast Award for his performance as Archie in Unexpected Tenderness, and has been inducted into the International Thespian Society, winning his National Honor Thespian stole in 2013.

Daniel would like to thank his directors, teachers, and mentors Stacie and Roald Martinsen, as well as his fellow cast members, and everyone who has had a part in his experience with Carroll Theatre Department. He looks forward to taking all of the valuable skills that he has learned during his time in the Department and applying them towards his Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in college. His dream and goal is to pursue a career in film and on Broadway.

Nominee for Best High School Musical Theatre Performer Includes CISD Senior

Sara Faris has been a dedicated thespian with Carroll Theatre for four years, earning her National Honor Thespian rank this May.  She has performed in White Christmas, The Phantom Ship, The Haunted Prison, Poetry Slam 2010 – 2012, The Haunted Asylum, Beauty and the Beast (Babette), and Legally Blonde The Musical as Elle Woods and Brooke Wyndham in 2012. In preparation for the parts, Sara worked a strict schedule that included private ballet lessons and an exercise regime specifically designed to build performance endurance.

Recently, Sarah was nominated for the prestigious Schmidt and Jones Awards hosted by Lyric Stage is a tremendous opportunity for her as it is part of the fifth annual National High School Musical Theater Awards. Faris received a nomination for Best Actress for her role in last fall’s production of Legally Blond The Musical. Click here to read more and vote for Sara. Should she win, Faris will take part in the National competition next month at the Minskoff Theatre on Broadway.  A panel of judges will choose two students for the coveted the Jimmy™ Awards for Best Performance by an Actor and Best Performance by an Actress.  The program will also include a week-long theater intensive in New York City later this summer.

Sara’s passion for the performing arts started at the age of two. Upon visiting her older sister’s dance classes, the teacher noticed her enthusiasm for the choreography and music and suggested that she be enrolled in a tap, ballet, and jazz class. From there, she was hooked. She fostered an intense infatuation with the stage, which was only strengthened when she performed a solo part in her first musical at the age of seven. This was the beginning of her vocal and theatrical career. She began writing songs participating in a local community theatre, STARS at the age of eight. After a few years and many performances with STARS, Sara auditioned for a performing arts group called “Superstar Express” that promoted health and wellness at local schools and other venues through music and performance, and even opened for bands like the Jonas Brothers. At the age of twelve, Sara was inducted as the youngest member in the history of the older group, working very hard to keep up with the fast paced and physically demanding rehearsals. The ultimate payoff was her eight-show stint at Walt Disney World at the age of thirteen. From there, Sara continued to explore her music passion with a quirky pair of producers, Mike and Mark Stitts, who offered to work with her to produce her own self-written album. Never refusing a challenge, Sara accepted and began the two year task that would come to be known as “Painting Poetry”. Seeking a more focused atmosphere to work on her recording, Sara decided to spend her sophomore year of high school at the DFW Performing Arts Conservatory. She took classes in dance, music, voice, and acting, marking the beginning of what would become a habit of working very hard to improve her craft. Upon the completion of “Painting Poetry”, Sara decided to go back to public school to give musical theatre a try for the first time since her time in STARS and will graduate next month.  For now, Sara continues to work on her music featured on her YouTube channel,  “saradaisyy” and plans to attend Belmont University as a commercial music major next year.