Culver City High School Wins Five National Youth Arts Awards

• Lead Actor in a Musical: Eric Mitchell as Mark Cohen in Rent  
  
• Lead Actress in a Musical: Tasia Vasilopoulos as Mimi Marquez in Rent
• Supporting Actor in a Musical: Ryan Gacula as Angel Dumott Schunard in Rent 
• Supporting Actress in a Musical: Lilah Wally as Maureen Johnson Rent.
• Ensemble: Rent

Nominations:

• Outstanding Production: Rent 
  
• Lead Actor in a Musical: Josh Call as Roger Davis in Rent 
  
• Supporting Actor in a Musical: Chris Clark as Tom Collins in Rent 
  
• Supporting Actress in a Musical: Atiyyah Joseph as Joanne Jefferson in Rent 
• Set Design: Marika Stephens for Rent 
  
• Youth Orchestra: Rent 
  
• Musical Direction: Tony Spano for Rent 
  
• Direction: Jill Novick for Rent 
  

Honorees will be recognized in a ceremony at 7:30 p.m. on Sun. June 16 at the Loats Performing Arts Center on the campus of Newport Harbor High School in Newport Beach.

More than 300 productions were considered for the awards, including shows from more than 100 different theatres in more than 50 cities spanning 10 states. 

Formerly the National Youth Theatre Awards, the awards celebrate other arts as well, including music, dance, film, and various other art forms.

This year's award winners were selected from nominations by a panel of more than 20 judges and reviewers. In addition to the youth who performed in schools and youth theatre companies, anyone age 18 and under who performed at a show reviewed by a National Youth Arts judge was also considered for the awards, as well as the adults who participated in the youth productions backstage (directors, set designers, costume designers, etc.) and a limited number of guest adult performers in productions designed for youth.