MPA Actor Wins Top State Award For Theatre

CHICAGO — A student at Morgan Park Academy won a first-place award at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign's annual high school arts competition. Ta'liyah Robinson, one of two student actors statewide who received the top prize in theatre, was recognized for performing a monologue from the film "Hidden Figures" as the late NASA mathematician Katherine G. Johnson, originally played by Taraji P. Henson.

"I feel really excited not only for being able to attend the intensive camp this summer, but also how this can help me in the future," Robinson said. "It definitely gave me a confidence boost to continue doing what I love."

Designed “to inspire the next generation of creative thinkers and emphasize the importance of the arts in society,” the university’s annual contest features Illinois high school students in architecture, art and design, dance, landscape architecture, music, theatre and urban planning.

As the top non-senior actor, Robinson won a scholarship to attend one of the university’s summer arts programs. She plans to participate in the FAA Summer Intensive.