Blue Star Awards student council members serve as ambassadors and student advisors for the Blue Star Awards program. Activities may include: planning various non-competitive opportunities, assisting in the selection of event elements for the Blue Star Awards Ceremony, and providing insight on ways in which the Blue Star Awards can further benefit all students. The student council meets once a month (excluding November) with additional opportunities for engagement throughout the year. The meetings will be held indoors at Starlight Theatre. In case of weather, council members will be notified of a virtual option via Zoom. Note: student council members do not have involvement with the adjudication process. Applicant must be a sophomore, junior, or senior at a participating Blue Star Awards school during the 2024-2025 school year. This application process may be initiated by a student or teacher.

Scheduled Council Meetings
(Held at Starlight Theatre)

• Monday, October 28: 4:00-5:30 p.m. (Welcome meeting with light refreshments) 
• Monday, December 16: 4:00-5:00 p.m.
• Monday, January 27: 400-5:30 p.m. (Bring-a-Friend meeting)
• Wednesday, February 12: 5:00-6:00 p.m.
• Monday, April 14: 4:00-5:00 p.m.
• Ceremony rehearsal: TBD

Applications are closed.

In addition to these scheduled meetings, other events may occur throughout the year. Attendance is expected, barring schedule conflicts.

Questions? Contact education@kcstarlight.com for assistance.

About the category:
The Ceremony Ensemble category provides a path for students to perform in the Blue Star Awards Ceremony and have the opportunity to receive a monetary award to support future training.

Two separate in-person audition sessions are offered. Those auditioning need only attend one of the sessions. For students unable to attend an in-person session, a virtual submission path is available.

Who:
High school students who attend any of our participating schools may audition. The student did not have be part of their school’s submitted musical to be eligible to audition. This is a student-initiated process.

Rehearsal Information:
For the selected nominees, attendance at rehearsals will be mandatory for participation. Below is the tentative timeline for rehearsals. If auditioning for this category, the student is acknowledging they will make themselves available for these dates.

Sunday, May 4, (3:00-5:00 p.m.) – vocal rehearsal
Saturday, May 10 (10:00 a.m.-1:00 p.m.) – choreography rehearsal
Tuesday, May 13 (6:30 – 7:30 p.m.) – tech rehearsal on stage
Thursday, May 15 (evening) – Ceremony

Questions? Contact education@kcstarlight.com for assistance.

Blue Star Awards student council members serve as ambassadors and student advisors for the Blue Star Awards program. Activities may include: planning various non-competitive opportunities, assisting in the selection of event elements for the Blue Star Awards Ceremony, and providing insight on ways in which the Blue Star Awards can further benefit all students. The student council meets once a month (excluding November) with additional opportunities for engagement throughout the year. The meetings will be held indoors at Starlight Theatre. In case of weather, council members will be notified of a virtual option via Zoom. Note: student council members do not have involvement with the adjudication process. Applicant must be a sophomore, junior, or senior at a participating Blue Star Awards school during the 2024-2025 school year. This application process may be initiated by a student or teacher.

Scheduled Council Meetings
(Held at Starlight Theatre)

• Monday, October 28: 4:00-5:30 p.m. (Welcome meeting with light refreshments) 
• Monday, December 16: 4:00-5:00 p.m.
• Monday, January 27: 400-5:30 p.m. (Bring-a-Friend meeting)
• Wednesday, February 12: 5:00-6:00 p.m.
• Monday, April 14: 4:00-5:00 p.m.
• Ceremony rehearsal: TBD

Applications are closed.

In addition to these scheduled meetings, other events may occur throughout the year. Attendance is expected, barring schedule conflicts.

Questions? Contact education@kcstarlight.com for assistance.

This award recognizes students who have given their time and talent in a backstage capacity (i.e. stage manager, crew head, board operator, etc.) or design field (i.e. lighting, scenic, costume, etc.). Multiple students may be considered together for this award; however, no more than three students who worked equally on the same aspect/s will be considered in tandem. This application process may be initiated by a student or a teacher. Students at all high school grade levels may be considered.

The following must be uploaded as part of the online form:

• Student Essay: In one page, detail your involvement with your school’s theatre program, address what you learned from the experience, and offer specifics about your applicable backstage and/or design contributions (if multiple students are being considered together, they may write one essay as a group or write individual essays and combine them into a single document).
• Recommending Teacher Letter: In 500 words or less, provide details about the student’s/students’ contributions to your theatre program and why you feel the student/s should be considered for the award
• Digital portfolio of support materials pertaining to the student’s area/s of expertise (i.e. run sheets, renderings, plots, sketches, stage manager prompt book, etc.)
  • All support materials must be in a digital format. Photos or scans are preferred.

Applications are closed.

Questions? Contact education@kcstarlight.com for assistance.

This award recognizes students who contributed to the direction, music direction, and/or choreography of the production. Students at all high school grade levels may be considered. This application process may be initiated by a student or teacher. To qualify, the student/s had to have taken full responsibility for directing one or more scenes, teaching and working with performers/musicians in learning one or more songs, and/or creating and teaching the choreography for one or more songs. Multiple students may be considered together for this award; however, no more than three students who worked equally on the same aspect/s will be considered in tandem. This application process may be initiated by a student or teacher. Students at all high school grade levels may be considered for this award.

The following must be uploaded as part of the online form:

• Student Essay: In one page, detail your contributions to the production as well as what they learned from the experience (offering specifics about the applicable scene/s and/or song/s); if multiple students are being considered together, they may write one essay as a group or write individual essays and combine them into a single document.
• Recommending Teacher Letter: In 500 words or less, provide details about the student’s/students’ contributions and why you feel the student/s should be considered for the award
• Digital portfolio of support materials pertaining to the student’s area/s of expertise
  • All support materials must be in a digital format. Photos or scans are preferred.

Applications are closed.

Questions? Contact education@kcstarlight.com for assistance.

This award highlights the creativity of students working in the areas of lighting design, scenic design, costume design, hair and makeup design, graphic design/publicity, direction, and choreography. After the Dream Production musical is announced on December 13, students will have three weeks to complete and submit a design/creative brief, artist statement, and initial design/creative work for the production. Students at all high school grade levels may be considered for this award. This application process may be initiated by a student or teacher.

Applications are closed.

Questions? Contact education@kcstarlight.com for assistance.

The National High School Musical Theatre Awards™ (the Jimmy Awards) celebrates the best of the best in high school musical theatre from across the nation.

Through an audition process, six Blue Star Awards nominees will be selected, with each receiving a $500 monetary award. Nominees will rehearse and learn a character medley to perform at the Blue Star Awards Ceremony. A second audition for the six nominees will take place prior to the Ceremony. Two winners will be announced to represent the Blue Star Awards in New York City. Starlight’s two students compete against other high school students from across the United States for Best Performance by an Actor and Actress, as well as other honors and scholarships. In addition to the awards ceremony, students participate in a ten-day professional training intensive with notable theatre professionals.

To be eligible to audition, a student must perform a qualifying role in an adjudicated production at a Blue Star Awards participating school. If a school performs after the audition dates, the student must be cast in that role prior to auditions and will remain eligible as long as they perform in their school’s adjudicated production. 

Rehearsal Information:
For the selected nominees, attendance at rehearsals will be mandatory for participation. Below is the tentative timeline for rehearsals. If auditioning for this category, the student is acknowledging they will make themselves available for these dates.

Sunday, April 27 (2:00-5:00 p.m.) – Intros, paperwork, solo song selection
Tuesday, April 29 (4:00-7:00 p.m.) – Headshots, medley rehearsal
Saturday, May 3 (10:00 a.m.-2:00 p.m.) – Rehearsal
Thursday, May 8 (5:00.-7:00 p.m.) – Rehearsal and mock audition
Saturday, May 10 (3:00-5:00 p.m.) – Nominee audition day
Wednesday, May 14 (6:30-7:30 pm.) – Onstage medley rehearsal
Thursday, May 15 (evening) – Ceremony

Questions? Contact education@kcstarlight.com for assistance.