Huntington Beach APA's Elizabeth Romero, DAMN YANKEES Honored Last Weekend

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Huntington Beach High School and Academy for the Performing Arts senior Elizabeth Romero won the Spotlight competition for non-classical voice after performing at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion on Saturday night in their annual event, hosted by Broadway star Ben Vereen. Selected as one of eight award winners out of 2300 students from 400 schools, Elizabeth will receive a $5,000 cash scholarship. See photos of Romero below!

In other news, HB APA's production of Damn Yankees soared in performance at the John Raitt Awards in Fullerton on Sunday. In addition to numerous nominations, the production took home Best Sets, Best Sound, Best Supporting and Featured Actor, and won the coveted Best Musical Award for Director Tim Nelson and Choreographer Diane Makas. Elizabeth Romero won Best Actress and will represent HB APA at the National High School Musical Theatre Awards in New York City this summer. Elizabeth will be the first student to participate in the awards two years in a row, and this marks four years in a row that HB APA students have been selected for the competition, totaling more representatives than any other high school in the country since the program’s inception. Check out a photo of the cast and crew of DAMN YANKEES below!

THE SPOTLIGHT AWARDS: The Spotlight program is a wonderful learning opportunity for high school students in the visual and performing arts. Much more than a competition, Spotlight is an educational program for high school students of ALL talent levels in Southern California. With an emphasis on self-esteem, preparation and perseverance, this unique learning experience provides a community of support for the development of young artists to help strengthen artistic and performance skills. www.musiccenter.org/education/spot_welcome.html

THE John Raitt AWARDS AND THE NATIONAL HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL THEATRE AWARDS: The JRAY Program operates under the umbrella organization of Fullerton Civic Light Opera Music Theatre (FCLO), under the direction of General Manager, Griff Duncan. FCLO was established 40 years ago and is an nonprofit association. FCLO is a member of the National Alliance of Musical Theatre Association and has been invited to participate in a nation-wide competition sponsored by the Nederlander Family. The annual NHSMTA will be held June 25, 2012. The winners (best actor and best actress) are eligible to receive 4-year scholarships to NYU Tisch School of the Arts Department of Drama and were also each awarded $10,000 cash prizes provided by the Nederlander Organization. http://www.fclo.com/2012/04/10/john-raitt-awards-for-youth/

ABOUT HB APA: The Academy for the Performing Arts (APA), a magnet program of the Huntington Beach Union High School District, has been serving the students of this community since 1993. Students that attend one of the HBUHSD high schools may be a part of the program. www.hbapa.org

APA's mission is to provide an intensive educational program which cultivates in students the discipline, dedication and commitment necessary to achieve excellence in the arts and to inspire our youth to become the artists and audiences of the future through academic, artistic, and aesthetic education. We strive to create a scholarly atmosphere for talented young performers, writers, composers and technicians alike. We offer pre-professional arts education in a comprehensive and traditional high school setting.