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Prime Stage Theatre "High School Drama Awards" nominees announced live on KDKA-TV

 


 Nominees were announced today for Prime Stage Theatre’s 6th Annual High School Drama Awards set for Jan. 10, 2026 at Hillman Center for the Performing Arts in Fox Chapel.
 
The announcement took place during the morning broadcast of KDKA-TV’s Pittsburgh Today Live, hosted by Heather Abraham and David Highfield.
 
The Drama Awards honor excellence in non-musical plays by student actors, directors and production crew. Students from 12 area high schools were nominated in 16 categories. The event annually draws around 400 students, teachers and families.
 
The list of the 2026 nominees is at https://online.flippingbook.com/view/92149407/.
 
“What is unique about these awards,” says Drama Awards director John Dolphin, “is that 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. 
 
This year’s Best Overall Production nominees are Avonworth High School (Moon Over Buffalo), Baldwin High School(The Neverland Project), Pine-Richland High School (The Election) and Our Lady of the Sacred Heart High School (You Can’t Take It with You), Shady Side Academy Senior School (Big Love).
 

“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 110 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 by Pittsburgh Playwrights 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 
_________________________________________________________________________
 
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
 



 
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 Onstage 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.
_____________________________________________________________

* A complete list of the nominees/categories is included in the attached news release.

PHOTOS:

Prime Stage Drama Awards-KDKA announcement-1.jpg
Prime Stage Theatre artistic director Wayne Brinda, Drama Awards director John Dolphin and Pittsburgh Today Live hosts Heather Abraham and David Highfield applaud the announcement of 2026 High School Drama Awards nominees. Photo courtesy Prime Stage Theatre.

Prime Stage Drama Awards-KDKA announcement-2.jpg
Best Overall Production nominees posted on KDKA-TV's Pittsburgh Today Live.Photo courtesy Prime Stage Theatre.

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