Overture Center’s Jerry Awards
The Grand is thrilled to collaborate with the Overture Center to bring the Jerry Awards to North Central Wisconsin. The Jerry Awards, one of Wisconsin’s High School Musical Awards Programs, encourages, recognizes, and honors excellence in high school musical theater. The program began in 2009 school year as the Tommy Awards, and was renamed The Jerry Awards after philanthropist and arts supporter W. Jerome Frautschi in 2018. Educators and industry professionals review productions at more than 85 high schools in 30 counties around the state providing valuable feedback. The program elevates the importance of musical theater within high schools.
Each year, school and student achievements are honored and featured in an awards show held at Overture Center in Madison in June, and two outstanding performers advance to The National High School Musical Theater Awards competition in New York City.
Students at participating high schools can participate in the Jerry Performance Ensemble, become a Student Critic and attend workshops with Broadway tour performers. Check out the Student Participation Guide for more information.
2020-21 JERRY AWARDS PROGRAM UPDATE & PLAN
As we are still in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic Overture Center has decided to adjust the focus for this year from school productions to student performers – specifically with preparation for The Jimmy Awards in mind.
For 2020-21, students can register to be a part of The Jerry Company. There is no audition process to become part of the company, students just need to register and pay a $25 registration fee. Students needing financial assistance just need to email Karra Beach.
Members of the Jerry Company will be invited to virtual webinars and workshops focused on performance skills (singing, acting, dancing) and other musical theater topics. These webinars will be led by experts and participating students will have the option to watch them live or view the recording for a week following the live session. There will be assignments students will be expected to work on after each. By the end of the series, each student will have picked two songs for characters they could realistically play, that showcase their vocal range that are ideal for them to use to audition for The Jimmy Awards.
This year, students who wish to represent our program at The Jimmy Awards need to participate in The Jerry Company. For this year only, the 2021 Jerry Awards Show will feature members of The Jerry Company and will be the conclusion of the audition process for The Jimmy Awards. Students must be conflict free and available for all days during the NHSMTA week, tentatively scheduled for Sunday, June 20 – Thursday, July 1, 2021.
For more information on the Jerry Awards, contact Katy Lang at the Grand Theater by email or by phone at 715-842-0988. To learn more about the Central Wisconsin Jerry Ensemble click here.