Two theatre students are up for awards in Thursday’s Dallas Summer Musical High School Musical Theater Awards. Senior Maya Koch and Junior Kyle Strickland are nominated for their work on the school’s production of Singin’ in the Rain that debuted in November.  

“Being nominated is great. There’s mainly two big awards for lighting design that I participate in: DSM HSMTA and ITS Nationals, both of which I’ve been nominated for two year in a row (Little Women and Singin’ in the Rain),” Stickland said. “These nominations prove that I am always learning more about lighting design, and it shows that I’ve been good at presenting it to an audience.”

The prospects of winning are exciting for Strickland, but more importantly, could help with his future career in the field.

“If I won, it’s a great portfolio booster. I can already put my nomination down, but with a win, it’s that much better,” he said. “By winning, it proves that I am skilled in Lighting Design and can successful use light to tell a story and add to the emotion of the moment. I think colleges look more at award showcases like DSM to find talent, my nomination shows that I’m taking the right path.”

For Koch, her nomination in the Best Choreography category is a welcome recognition of her work.

”It was really important to me because I spent so long working on the show and choreographing it,” Koch said in a previous interview with Wingspan. “I’m really honored that they thought my work was worthy of the nomination.”

Sophomore Kam Askew will be attending the award ceremony to support the students nominated for the award, and has high hopes for the outcome.

“I believe we have a equal shot at both awards we are nominated for,” Askew said. “Both students did phenomenal jobs and were both close to getting awards last year, Maya Koch receiving a honorable mention for little women and Kyle getting a lighting design nomination. So hopefully this year we can win both.”