Student Success

Read the articles below to learn about our awards and achievements received within our Theatre Company!

Spirit of the MACY Awards (2025)

"The Spirit of the Macy Awards, founded in 1969, is dedicated to encouraging, recognizing, and regarding achievement and excellence in high school musical theatre. The MACY organization has been recognized for their contributions by the Walt Disney Company, the City of Los Angeles, the County of Orange, The LA Times, and the Orange County Register."
~ The Spirit of the MACY Awards, Official Website

Best Actress Nominee:

Hannah Sheehy - Ariel

Best Female Cameo Nominee:

Catherine Bennett - Chef Louis

Highest Achievement Awards:

Hannah Sheehy - Ariel

Outstanding Awards:

Catherine Bennett - Chef Louis
Ella Dietrich - Flounder
Renee Durand - Flotsam
Vernon Edler - King Triton
Grady Jenkins - Jetsam
Isabella Renezeder - Ursula
Cassidy Son - Sebastian
Diego Uribe - Prince Eric
Elizabeth Zeller - Scuttle

Achievement Awards:

Hailey Klein - Grimsby
Bennett Strom - Pilot

Scholarship Recipients:

Hannah Sheehy

Morgan Mecklenburg

Bright Spot Awards:

Izzy Cuevas - Ensemble
Leah Hauke - Ensemble
Morgan Mecklenburg - Arista
Emily Myers - Atina

JRAY Awards (2025)

"The JRAY mission is to promote and support high school education by recognizing musical theater excellence in all performance and technical production categories, and to provide outstanding students with unique opportunities and professional exposure through the granting of awards and educational scholarships."~ The Official JRAYS Website

Hannah Sheehy: The Matthew J. Schwartz Memorial Scholarship Recipient

Hannah Sheehy (Class of 2025) received The Matthew J. Schwartz Memorial Scholarship at the 2025 JRAY Awards.

Esmee Guerrero: Above and Beyond Award Recipient

Esmee Guerrero (Class of 2027) received the Above and Beyond Award at the 2025 JRAY Awards for her work on costumes in our 2025 Spring Musical, The Little Mermaid. .

Hannah Sheehy: Leading Actress in a Dramatic Musical Nominee

Hannah Sheehy (Class of 2025) is nominated for Leading Actress in a Dramatic Musical for her performance as "Ariel" in our 2025 Spring Musical, The Little Mermaid.

Elizabeth Zeller, Bethan Elliott, Abby Hauke, Bella Ames: Graphic Design & Social Media Nominee

Elizabeth Zeller (Class of 2025), Bethan Elliott & Abby Hauke (Class of 2026), and Bella Ames (Class of 2027) are nominated for Graphic Design (Abby Hauke) and Social Media (Elizabeth Zeller, Bethan Elliott, Bella Ames) in our 2025 Spring Musical, The Little Mermaid.

The Cappies (2025)

Vernon Edler: Creativity, for Directing ~ Nominee

Vernon Edler (Class of 2025) is nominated for his direction of our 2025 Winter Play, The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane.

Hannah Sheehy: Lead Actress in a Musical ~ Nominee

Hannah Sheehy (Class of 2025) is nominated for Leading Actress in a Musical for her performance as "Ariel" in our 2025 Spring Musical, The Little Mermaid.

Elizabeth Zeller: Comic Actress in a Musical ~ Nominee

Elizabeth Zeller (Class of 2025) is nominated for Comic Actress in a Musical for her performance as "Scuttle" in our 2025 Spring Musical, The Little Mermaid.

Grady Jenkins: Featured Actor in a Musical ~ Nominee

Grady Jenkins (Class of 2026) is nominated for Featured Actor in a Musical for his performance as "Jetsam" in our 2025 Spring Musical, The Little Mermaid.

Diego Uribe: Hair and Make-up in a Musical ~ Nominee

Diego Uribe (Class of 2025) is nominated for Hair and Make-up in a Musical for his work on our 2025 Spring Musical, The Little Mermaid.

JSerra Costume Team: Costumes in a Musical ~ Nominee

JSerra's Costume Team- Abby Bryan, Cosette Julian, & Piper Titus (Class of 2026) and Esmee Guerrero & Naomi Clarke (Class of 2027) are nominated for their work on our 2025 Spring Musical, The Little Mermaid.

Morgan Mecklenburg & Grady Jenkins: Props in a Musical ~ Nominee

Morgan Mecklenburg (Class of 2025) and Grady Jenkins (Class of 2026) are nominated for their work on our 2025 Spring Musical, The Little Mermaid.

Cappies Commendees:

Bethan Elliott (Class of 2026)
Abby Hauke (Class of 2026)
Catherine Bennett (Class of 2027)
Clara Booher (Class of 2025)

Role About Theatre Festival (2024)

"Hosted at Woodbridge High School, the Role About Theatre Festival presents high schools in Southern California Districts with the opportunity to perform musical numbers, scenes, monologues, improv, tech, and production designs for professional judges. Their performance and technical theatre categories offered for students to compete in allow performers and crew members to display their talents and celebrate educational theatre."~Woodbridge High School, hosts of the Role About Theatre Festival

Bethan Elliott: Modern Dramatic Monologue ~ 3rd Place

Bethan Elliott (Class of 2026) won 3rd place out of 52 competitors in the modern dramatic monologue category with Emily's Goodbye Monologue from Our Town at the Role About Theatre Festival. She currently serves as the Assistant Company Manager, Assistant Head of Publicity & Marketing, and will appear as Mrs. Whatsit in our upcoming fall production of, A Wrinkle in Time.

Spirit of the MACY Awards (2024)

"The Spirit of the Macy Awards, founded in 1969, is dedicated to encouraging, recognizing, and regarding achievement and excellence in high school musical theatre. The MACY organization has been recognized for their contributions by the Walt Disney Company, the City of Los Angeles, the County of Orange, The LA Times, and the Orange County Register."
~ The Spirit of the MACY Awards, Official Website

Best Actor Nominee:

Sam Hendrick- Ren McCormack

Best Supporting Actor Nominee:

Diego Uribe- Willard Hewitt

Best Male Dancer Nominee:

Sam Hendrick- Ren McCormack

Highest Achievement Awards:

Sam Hendrick- Ren McCormack
Emsley Mitchell- Ariel Moore
Meredith Starkenburg- Rusty
Diego Uribe- Willard Hewitt

Outstanding Awards:

Renee Durand- Ethel McCormack
Morgan Mecklenburg- Vi Moore
Lucy Meyer- Urleen
Elizabeth Zeller- Wendy Jo

Achievement Awards:

Kianna Cutchins- Bickle
Bethan Elliott- Coach Roger Dunbar
Grady Jenkins- Jeter
Hannah Sheehy- Garvin
John Whittle- Rev. Shaw Moore

Scholarship Recipients:

Sam Hendrick

Special Recognitions:

Gianna Carlile- Lyle
Kianna Cutchins- Bickle
Chris Kempf- Chuck Cranston
Hailey Klein- Betty Blast
Hannah Sheehy- Garvin

Bright Spot Awards:

Abby Flores-Bell- Ensemble
Isadora Salekfard- Ensemble

JRAY Awards (2024)

"The JRAY mission is to promote and support high school education by recognizing musical theater excellence in all performance and technical production categories, and to provide outstanding students with unique opportunities and professional exposure through the granting of awards and educational scholarships."~ The Official JRAYS Website

Diego Uribe: Supporting Actor in a Male Role WINNER

Diego Uribe (Class of 2025) won the Supporting Actor in a Male Role of the Year award for his performance as

"Willard" in our 2024 Spring Musical, Footloose.

Sam Hendrick: Leading Actor in a Dramatic Musical Nominee

Sam Hendrick (Class of 2024) is nominated for Leading Actor in a Dramatic Musical for his performance as

"Ren McCormack" in our 2024 Spring Musical, Footloose.

Renee Durand: Supporting Actor in a Female Role Nominee

Renee Durand (Class of 2026) is nominated for Supporting Actor in a Female Role of the Year for her performance as

"Ethel McCormack" in our 2024 Spring Musical, Footloose.

Elizabeth Zeller: Featured Actor in a Female Role of the Year Nominee

Elizabeth Zeller (Class of 2025) is nominated for Featured Actor in a Female Role of the Year for her performance as

"Wendy Jo" in our 2024 Spring Musical, Footloose.

Isadora Salekfard: Female Dancer of the Year Nominee

Isadora Salekfard (Class of 2027) is nominated for Female Dancer of the Year for her performance as a Teen Dance Ensemble Member in our 2024 Spring Musical, Footloose.

Kianna Cutchins: Outstanding Ensemble Member Nominee

Kianna Cutchins (Class of 2026) is nominated for Outstanding Ensemble Member for her performance as "Bickle" in our 2024 Spring Musical, Footloose.

Soph Padua & Elizabeth Zeller: Graphic Design & Media Nominee

Soph Padua (Class of 2024) and Elizabeth Zeller (Class of 2025) are nominated for Graphic Design (Soph Padua) and Media Design (Elizabeth Zeller) in our 2024 Spring Musical, Footloose.

Spirit of the MACY Awards (2023)

"The Spirit of the Macy Awards, founded in 1969, is dedicated to encouraging, recognizing, and regarding achievement and excellence in high school musical theatre. The MACY organization has been recognized for their contributions by the Walt Disney Company, the City of Los Angeles, the County of Orange, The LA Times, and the Orange County Register."
~ The Spirit of the MACY Awards, Official Website

Best Actor Nominee:

Gavin Conniff- Harold Hill

Best Male Cameo:

Sam Hendrick- Marcellus

Excellence in Costuming:

Meredith Starkenburg- The Music Man

Excellence in Hair & Make-Up:

Kianna Cutchins & Maddie Shahinian- The Music Man

Highest Achievement Awards:

Gavin Conniff- Harold Hill
Ysabella Padua- Marian Paroo
Sam Hendrick- Marcellus

Outstanding Awards:

Clara Pancake- Florence & Mrs. Paroo
Ysabella Padua- Juliet
Diego Uribe- Tommy Dijas
Cassidy Son- Jacey Squires

Achievement Awards:

Vernon Edler- Mayor Shinn
Lucy Meyer- Eulalie MacKecknie Shinn
Elizabeth Zeller- Zaneeta Shinn
Meredith Starkenburg- Chloe
Morgan Mecklenburg- Lilith

Scholarship Recipients:

Gavin Conniff
Ysabella Padua

Special Recognitions:

Daryk Brunsting- Conductor
Grady Jenkins- Charlie Cowell
Meredith Starkenburg- Ethel
Cole Rudkin- Ewart Dunlop

Bright Spot Awards:

Brooke Berbarian, Duncan Starkenburg, Ruth Wu, Denver Dupree, Lily Meyer, Renee Durand, Elana Giolas, Abby Hauke, Maya Hernandez, Maddie Shahinian, Emily Meyers, Tommy Kane, Evee Jewgieniew, Hannah Sheehy, Emma Chi-Sing

The Cappies (2023)

12 Angry Jurors: Ensemble in a Play ~ Nominees

The cast members of our 2022 Fall Play were nominated as the Best Ensemble for the Cappie awards, for their work in 12 Angry Jurors.

Bethan Elliott: Featured Actress in a Play ~ Nominee

Bethan Elliott (Class of 2026) was nominated for Featured Actress in a Play for her performance as "Juror Eleven" in our 2022 Fall Play, 12 Angry Jurors. She also performed as a Teen Dancer in our Spring Musical, The Music Man, and will be a sophomore in the fall.

Diego Uribe: Featured Actor in a Musical ~ Nominee

Diego Uribe (Class of 2025) was nominated for Featured Actor in a Musical for his "Tommy Djilas" performance in our 2023 Spring Musical, The Music Man. His previous works include assistant stage management 12 Angry Jurors, originated the role of "Pierre" in our 2023 Winter Show, Caught in the Thorns, "Christopher Wren" in The Mousetrap, and "Tsar Nicholas II" in Anastasia. Diego will be a junior this fall.

Caught in the Thorns:

An Original Musical (2023)

About:

Caught in the Thorns is an original musical written by two of our Class of 2023 students, Haley Kirchhoff and Nathan Schrodt. Directed by the Class of 2024's Trinity Lee, Caught in the Thorns opened during the last week of January 2023.

Synopsis:

Welcome to our dandy show, an operatic bliss! Join us for the tale of two sisters navigating a murderous crime in their family-owned opera house. Who is to blame? An envious actress? A charming new lover? Perhaps a childhood friend? Find out in Caught in the Thorns, an original musical written by Haley Kirchhoff and music composed by Nathan Schrodt.

Role About Theatre Festival (2022)

"Hosted at Woodbridge High School, the Role About Theatre Festival presents high schools in Southern California Districts with the opportunity to perform musical numbers, scenes, monologues, improv, tech, and production designs for professional judges. Their performance and technical theatre categories offered for students to compete in allow performers and crew members to display their talents and celebrate educational theatre."~Woodbridge High School, hosts of the Role About Theatre Festival

Meredith Starkenburg: Production Design ~ 1st Place

Meredith Starkenburg (Class of 2024) won 1st place in Production Design for her work in Costume Designs for Spongebob the Musical. Her design concept incorporated recycled ocean pollution into the characters' costumes to push an eco-friendly message throughout the show. She currently works as the Co-Head of Costumes for the JSerra Theatre Company.

Ysabella Padua: Musical Theatre Solo (Ballad) ~ 2nd Place

Ysabella Padua (Class of 2023) won 2nd place in her performance of "Flowers" from Hadestown the Musical for the Role About Theatre Festival. She currently works as the Publicity & Marketing Manager and the Head of Set Design for the JSerra Theatre Company and will originate the role of "Juliet" in the Student-Written and Directed Musical, Caught in the Thorns, which will open in January 2023. She will also begin production for The Music Man as Marian Paroo in the Spring.

Haley Kirchhoff: Classic Monologue Finalist

Haley Kirchhoff (Class of 2023) was a finalist in her performance of Phebe's Monologue from "As You Like It." She currently works as the Co-Head of Costumes for the JSerra Theatre Company and works as the writer and co-lyricist for the Student-Written and Directed Musical, Caught in the Thorns, which will open in January 2023.

Meredith Starkenburg

Spongebob the Musical Costume Designs

Ysabella Padua

"Flowers" ~ Hadestown

The Spirit of the MACY Awards (2022)

"The Spirit of the Macy Awards, founded in 1969, is dedicated to encouraging, recognizing, and regarding achievement and excellence in high school musical theatre. The MACY organization has been recognized for their contributions by the Walt Disney Company, the City of Los Angeles, the County of Orange, The LA Times, and the Orange County Register."
~ The Spirit of the MACY Awards, Official Website

Keely Schrantz & Sophia Padua: Excellence in Stage Management

Stage Manager Keely Schrantz (Class of 2022) and Assistant Stage Manager Sophia Padua (Class of 2024) won the award for Excellence in Stage Management for our 2022 Spring Musical, Anastasia. Both Keely and Sophia have acted as the Company Manager for our Theatre Company. Keely currently studies Liberal Arts at St. John's College in Annapolis, and Sophia currently works as our Head Stage Manager, Company Manager, Lighting Designer, Scenic Designer, and Thespians Treasurer.

Addyson Mackay: Best Actress Nominee & Best Female Vocalist Nominee

Addyson Mackay (Class of 2022) was chosen as a finalist for Female Actress of the Year for her performance as "Anya" in our 2022 Spring Musical, Anastasia. Finalists for the Spirit of the MACY Awards are selected by their vocal, acting, and performing skills. She now studies Musical Theatre at Boston Conservatory at Berklee College of Music.

Sam Hendrick: Lead Actor in a Dramatic Role Nominee

Sam Hendrick (Class of 2024) was nominated as Lead Actor in a Dramatic Role for his performance as "Dmitry" in our 2022 Spring Musical, Anastasia. He currently acts as the Manager for our Improv Team in the Comedy Sportz: High School League.

Haley Kirchhoff: Supporting Actress Nominee & Best Female Vocalist Nominee

Haley Kirchhoff (Class of 2023) was nominated as Best Supporting Actress and Best Female Vocalist for her performance as "Countess Lily" in our 2022 Spring Musical, Anastasia. Currently, she acts as our Co-Head of the Costume Department and is working on her Original Musical, Caught in the Thorns, which will open in January 2023 at the JSerra Theatre Company.

JRay Awards (2022)

"The JRAY mission is to promote and support high school education by recognizing musical theater excellence in all performance and technical production categories, and to provide outstanding students with unique opportunities and professional exposure through the granting of awards and educational scholarships."~ The Official JRays Website

Addyson Mackay: Leading Actress in a Dramatic Musical Nominee

Addyson Mackay (Class of 2022) was nominated for Leading Actress in a Dramatic Musical for her performance as "Anya" in our 2022 Spring Musical, Anastasia.

Sam Hendrick: Leading Actor in a Dramatic Musical Nominee

Sam Hendrick (Class of 2024) was nominated for Leading Actor in a Dramatic Musical for his performance as "Dmitry" in our 2022 Spring Musical, Anastasia.

Annalise Leavey: Female Dancer of the Year

Annalise Leavey (Class of 2022) won Female Dancer of the Year for her performance as the Principal Ballerina in our 2022 Spring Musical, Anastasia. She now studies dance at Texas Christian University.

Clara Pancake: Outstanding Ensemble Member Nominee

Clara Pancake (Class of 2023) was nominated for Best Female Ensemble Member for her performance as "Count Ipolitov" in our 2022 Spring Musical, Anastasia. She currently acts as our Head of Props Design for the JSerra Theatre Company and will play the lead in our Student-Written Musical opening in January 2023

Chloe Casdorph: Above and Beyond Award

Chloe Casdorph (Class of 2022) won the "Above and Beyond Award" for her work as the Head of Costume Design in our 2022 Spring Musical, Anastasia. She currently studies Fashion and Politics at Southern Methodist University.

Fullerton Festival (2022)

Meredith Starkenburg & Haley Kirchhoff: Best Costume Designs

Haley Kirchhoff (Class of 2023) and Meredith Starkenburg (Class of 2024) won 1st place in the Fullerton Theatre Festival for their Costumes Designs from our Winter Show, Puffs. Both Haley and Meredith work as our Co-Heads of Costumes!