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Prime Stage Theatre celebrates 6th Annual High School Drama Awards Jan. 10, 2026

 


 Prime Stage Theatre’s 6th Annual High School Drama Awards will be held Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026 to honor excellence not only by student actors performing in non-musical plays but the dedicated student tech crews that make the show happen.

 

“What is unique about these awards,” says Drama Awards coordinator John Dolphin, “is that the students must be in a backstage leadership role or onstage performance role. We encourage adult mentorship and assistance, but in the end, these productions are student-run.”

 

The awards take place at 7:00 p.m. in Hillman Center for the Performing Arts, 423 Fox Chapel Road, Pittsburgh PA. During the evening, schools have the option to present a short scene from their nominated production. The event annually draws around 400 students, teachers and families.

 

Productions from 12 area high schools have been nominated – Avonworth High School, Baldwin High School, Chartiers Valley High School, Deer Lakes High School, Fox Chapel High School, Hampton High School, Our Lady of the Sacred Heart High School, Pine-Richland High School, Quaker Valley High School, Shady Side Academy Senior School, Springdale Junior/Senior High School, Thomas Jefferson High School.

 

The 16 award categories are Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Supporting Actor, Best Supporting Actress, Best Student Director, Best Student Stage Manager, Best Student Scenic Design and/or Fabrication, Best Student Lighting Design and/or Operation, Best Student Prop Design and/or Fabrication, Best Student Sound Design and/or Operation, Best Student Costume Design and/or Fabrication, Best Student Makeup Design and/or Application, Best Student Use of Creative Special Effects, Best Student Backstage Run Crew, Best Student Program/Post Design and/or Fabrication, Best Overall Production.

 

“The High School Drama Awards is our way of looking to the future,” says Dr. Wayne Brinda, Prime Stage Theatre producing artistic director. “By encouraging these young actors and technical specialists in their early efforts, we’re building a strong foundation for Pittsburgh theatre in years to come.”

 

Since its founding in 1996, Prime Stage Theatre has presented over 100 plays that introduce student and family audiences to classic and contemporary works of world literature.

 

The theatre’s current 2025-26 Season of World Premieres includes Mr. Edgar A. Poe Presents:  Tales of Mystery, Horror & Imagination by Lawrence C. Connolly; Freedom House:  Giving Life a Second Chance by L.E. McCullough; and Speak by Tammy Ryan.

 

More information about the 6th Annual High School Drama Awards is at 

https://primestage.com/events/drama-awards/

_________________________________________________________________________

 

WHAT:  Prime Stage Theatre 6th Annual High School Drama Awards

 

WHEN:  Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026, 7:00 p.m.

 

WHERE:  Hillman Center for the Performing Arts, 423 Fox Chapel Rd. Pittsburgh PA 15238

 

MORE INFO:  https://primestage.com/events/drama-awards/

 

Award Categories

·      Best Actor

·      Best Actress

·      Best Supporting Actor

·      Best Supporting Actress

·      Best Student Director

·      Best Student Stage Manager

·      Best Student Scenic Design and/or Fabrication

·      Best Student Lighting Design and/or Operation

·      Best Student Prop Design and/or Fabrication

·      Best Student Sound Design and/or Operation

·      Best Student Costume Design and/or Fabrication

·      Best Student Makeup Design and/or Application

·      Best Student Use of Creative Special Effects

·      Best Student Backstage Run Crew

·      Best Student Program/Post Design and/or Fabrication

·      Best Overall Production

 

Participating Schools

·      Avonworth High School

·      Baldwin High School 

·      Chartiers Valley High School 

·      Deer Lakes High School

·      Fox Chapel High School 

·      Hampton High School

·      Our Lady of the Sacred Heart High School

·      Pine-Richland High School

·      Quaker Valley High School

·      Shady Side Academy Senior School

·      Springdale Junior/Senior High School

·      Thomas Jefferson High School

__________________________

 

For more information about the Drama Awards — please contact Connie Brinda, Prime Stage Theatre General Manager at cbrinda@primestage.com or at (724) 773-0700.

__________________________

 

Prime Stage Theatre 2025-26 Season of World Premieres by Pittsburgh Playwrights

 

Nov. 7-16, 2025 – Mr. Edgar A. Poe Presents:  Tales of Mystery, Horror & Imagination

By Lawrence C. Connolly; directed by Art DeConciliis

Popular sci-fi and horror fiction writer Lawrence C. Connolly recreates the dark genius of Edgar Allan Poe performing a selection of favorite tales before a live audience in the 1840s.

 

Jan. 23-Feb. 1, 2026 ­– Freedom House:  Giving Life a Second Chance

By L.E. McCullough; directed by Scott Calhoon

Historical playwright L.E. McCullough dramatizes the 1967 creation of Freedom House Ambulance Service, America’s first mobile emergency medical unit staffed by professionally-trained paramedics from Pittsburgh’s Hill District.

 

May 1-10, 2026 – Speak

By Tammy Ryan; directed by Dana Hardy Bingham

Resident New Dramatists playwright Tammy Ryan brings to the stage Laurie Halse Anderson’s acclaimed young adult novel Speak, the contemporary story of a teenage girl who uses art to find her voice and redefine her identity after the trauma of rape.

 

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