Join Spotlight Education
Registration for the 2017-2018 school year will be open soon! Stay tuned and please contact Ari Koehnen Sweeney, [email protected] if you have any questions.
Spotlight Education honors and supports Minnesota high school musical theatre students and programs.
Spotlight honors high school musicals and students by formally recognizing the extraordinary achievements and process of developing the young artists, onstage and offstage, in our state’s high school musical theatre programs.
We support participating programs and artists by providing high-quality learning, performing and creative experiences for students, thereby developing and empowering the next generation of innovative leaders.
Through Spotlight Education, we advocate for the importance of high school musical theatre education. Through this advocacy, we reinforce the state-wide community that inspires high school musical theatre artists, teachers and families to participate in and celebrate high school musical theatre.
More about the Spotlight Education Program
Spotlight Honors Model: Throughout the year, skilled evaluators adjudicate musical theatre productions at schools throughout Minnesota and provide constructive feedback to participating students. The Spotlight model offers recognition based on the production’s own merit and schools are not judged competitively against other schools.
Spotlight Showcases: The Spotlight Showcase events are public events held annually at the State Theatre. These professionally produced evenings are designed to highlight the amazing talent that exists in Minnesota high school musical theatre programs. Last year’s event performed to a sold out audience.
Musical Theatre Workshops: Throughout the year, Spotlight schools have the opportunity for students to gain insight from local theatre professionals through interactive workshops Hennepin Theatre Trust offers free of charge to participating schools. With past topics including belting, audition techniques and creative movement in dance, these collaborations give Spotlight schools a chance to supplement and enhance their own theatre curriculum. Schools in the Metro area participate in person, while schools throughout Greater Minnesota participate via videoconferencing technology.
For more information on the workshops, please visit the Musical Theatre Workshops page.
Broadway Masterclasses: Throughout Hennepin Theatre Trust’s Broadway Season, Spotlight students will be invited to register for special masterclasses taught by the touring artists and technical crew. These workshops will be available only to students from our Spotlight schools. Students in Greater Minnesota can either travel to Minneapolis or participate remotely through videoconferencing technology.
