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Exclusive: What Are the Roger Rees Awards? Past Winners Reunite to Discuss the Program's Huge Impact
Apr 12, 2024
In recent years, the Jimmy Awards have stepped centerstage as the ultimate showcase of high school talent from across the country. But how much do you know about the incredible regional programs that lead students on their path to the Minskoff Theatre every June? In this video, we are hanging with five winners from the Roger Rees Awards!
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0:00
Hi, my name is Theo Lensicki, and I am the artistic director for the Roger Ries Awards
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for Excellence in Student Performance. We are here today at Sardis with some of our past winners, and we are so excited to talk
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about the educational impact of the Roger Ries Awards and what our winners are up to now
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So I'm going to go down the line. We have Ryan right here. Ryan, why don't you start us off
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Hey, hey. I'm Ryan Rodino, and I won the Roger Ries Awards in 2015, and it was still called the
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Gershwin Awards. Hi, my name is Lauren Marachand, and I was the 2023 Roger Ries Awards Best Emerging Actress
0:43
but went on to win the Jimmy Awards last year. Hey, my name is Sophia O'Brien
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I was a winner in 2022 and a finalist in 2023. Hi, my name is Mateo Lascano, and I was the 2021 winner
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I always forget the year. Hi, my name is Stephen Telsey, and I was the 2014 winner of the former known Gershwin Award
1:07
Ah, we have some veterans in the house. So we are so excited for all of you to join us today for our little roundtable discussion
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The first thing right out the gate, the Roger Ries Awards has impacted so many students
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across the greater New York region. We are here in Manhattan, also in Long Island, as well as the northern counties of New York
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And so we continuously keep growing and growing and growing and learning each and every year
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So the first question that I want to ask is, and you can start, whoever, Sophia has the microphone
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So the first question I'm going to ask is the educational impact or something that you've
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learned from participation in the Roger Ries Awards that you have now taken on to, I believe
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you're still in college. So your college education and how you think that that might develop into your professional
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career as a performer. Totally. So I'm a freshman at Baldwin Wallace University studying musical theater
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And something that I've kind of dealt with emerging into, you know, an academic environment
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of the arts is like this feeling of not totally feeling as if you belong entirely just because
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you know, you're finally kind of in a more competitive environment and, and it kind of
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gets tricky, like, you know, believing in yourself and, and the Roger Ries Awards kind
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of gave me that leg up and in the sense that I felt like I did belong
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And you know, I do deserve to be in this space because I've worked with professionals already
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and I've, I've worked with peers already that share this, this same passion
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So the Roger Ries Awards definitely gave me that confidence that I needed entering into
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my first year of college, just as a student and as a performer
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Because you know, it's kind of like, I've done this a little bit already and I'm comfortable
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in my own skin. Yeah, that's what I have to say. Pass it along. Cool
2:57
Steven's, Steven's up. To continue off of what you just said so brilliantly, the great thing about a program like the Roger
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Ries Awards and why it's so important is when you're going off to college, you don't really
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know what you're expecting. I mean, most people have never had the opportunity to stand on a Broadway stage before going
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to school. Like you're getting a degree in something and you know, Broadway's not the only answer
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but you're getting a degree in something and you don't even fully know what it is
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But to have an experience like the Roger Ries Awards or the Jimmy Awards to kind of focus
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your goals, something tangible and experience you shared, not only with peers, new peers
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old peers, but something that you personally have grown from and gained so much experience
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from there's no better way to just say, okay, I had this incredible experience at the Roger
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Ries Awards and now I'm going to set my goals for these four years or two years, however
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long your program is. And that's what I'm working towards. I'm working towards that
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So when you're stretching at an 8 a.m. ballet class or whatever it is, there's something
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that's worth it, you know? Absolutely. Absolutely. Mateo, how about you? Yeah, I think for me, because mine was the virtual year
4:09
So very unique experience, very, very different. But I still felt this sense of like belonging
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And I think that's something that all arts education definitely makes all of us feel
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is a sense of belonging. But I just think it's crazy that through a Zoom screen, I can even still feel that and
4:31
feel included and feel also really cared for. I felt very cared for by my coach, felt very cared for by the people who are moderating
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all the Zoom calls. And I think that's just it, right? Is like the sense of belonging, the sense of like, I do belong here
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And that I also deserve to be here. Yep. And just to reiterate, when you said that you did the virtual year, so the Roger Reese
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Awards when the pandemic happened, right in the thick of it, the educational impact, I
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mean, kids weren't in school, high school productions weren't happening, access to Broadway
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theater and all of these nominees that we bring into our program are right in the backyard
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of New York City. So to riff off of that, the importance of our programming still impacted an outreach
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to those individuals who could not have that access. They were in their home, in their bedroom on a Zoom screen
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And we were still offering this experience that, as Mateo can attest, you were just tested
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to is something, you know, I mean, the Jimmy Awards did it as well when they did their virtual programming
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So the arts and education is just expands far beyond just a classroom setting
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And it's very, very impactful, especially when we as artists are able to be adaptive
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and get into your house and have these experiences, even through Zoom
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So that was an excellent, excellent answer. Lauren, how about you? Sure
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I, something you guys have all touched on is like the connections that you make. And I will like talk in talking about the Jimmy Awards
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All of the people that I met, I still talk to today, even this morning coming here, just
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I was telling everyone, you know, this is happening today. You just get a bunch of like, good luck, have such a great time, because the people that
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you meet at the Roger Reese and even at the Jimmy Awards, you're in such a shared experience
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that only like such a small amount of people can say that they've experienced
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And I'm very grateful for theater education, because now we're expanding it to so many
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other people who might never have had this chance last year, you know, and just this
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year, all of the amazing things that are coming for the Roger Reese Awards
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I just, the connections that you make and the teachers that you meet, Theo, amazing
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getting to see Theo at the Roger Reese and at the Jimmy Awards. I lit up
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I was like, oh my God, Theo's at the Jimmy's. And it's just all of the people that you meet that propel you to your future
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And we're all the future of theater and the arts. So I think it's just so amazing. Ryan
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Yeah, it really does give such a beautiful sense of community. I think that when we're in our high school theater programs, we sometimes are within
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the same bubble and going to a program like the Roger Reese Awards and then the Jimmy Awards
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It just makes you see all of these beautiful artists that are within the greater New York
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region and people that you share the same love and passions with
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It's beautiful. And I think that arts education really helps that. Great
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What's great also about the Roger Reese Awards is we are constantly learning and we're constantly growing
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I have been involved with the Roger Reese Awards for many years
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When it was obviously when Steven and Ryan were there at the Gershwin Awards, we were
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at Chelsea Studios in Midtown Manhattan. And that's where we, in a one day event
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And that's where we found our winners. Now as we consistently evolve, we had a great relationship with PPAS, the Professional Performing
7:53
Arts High School here in New York, who have allowed us to use their space. That's where we presented our awards program last year
7:59
This year we will be at the Gerald W. Lynch Theater at John Jay Criminal Justice School
8:04
So it is a beautiful theater. So we are constantly growing and not only in space and capacity, but this year we have
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had a record breaking 74 schools that have registered to participate with us here at
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the Roger Reese Awards. So we are very excited to keep growing and keep expanding
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And really the educational impact, we are partnering with City Center as well as offering
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an orchestra award and a choral award, which we've continued to do for the past few years
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as well as design awards with scenic and costume design. So we are trying to really, the educational impact, I cannot say it enough, has really
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been broadened and expanded. And that is what our programming is all about
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So my next question that I want to throw out to the group is in terms of education and
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the educators, yes, we have all had the opportunity to meet and you've worked with Broadway professionals
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and music directors that the Roger Reese Awards has put you in touch with
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But in your own schools, was there an educator, a drama teacher, a music teacher who said
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hey, this is the Roger Reese Awards. I think our school, this is a program for us that we'd really love to be a part of
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Any interest? Are those something that sparked your interest in participating or being adjudicated for
9:13
the Roger Reese Awards? Yeah. A decade ago when Stephen and I were at the Gershwin Awards
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Yes, we were born in the 90s. People didn't really know what the Gershwin Awards or the Jimmy Awards were because it
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was so new and it was such a beautiful new program that was happening. So I discovered it
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I was on YouTube. I was seeing these Jimmy Award medleys and I was like, how can my school be involved
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in this? So I went up to the theater moderator, coordinator of my high school and was like, hey, can we
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participate in this? So we ended up being able to do the Gershwin Awards and it was just so beautiful
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And I think that there have been so many arts educators in my life that have encouraged
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me to take up space and to explore the things that I really want to do
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So I'm glad that I felt comfortable to go and be like, hey, let's do this
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And now the Roger Reese Awards and the Jimmy Awards have turned into such a monumental
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I feel like staple in the Broadway community and in the arts education community
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And people are doing it and there's a lot of kids. Which is crazy. And it's a stepping stone almost
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I mean, just off the cuff, you know, Steven just finished a successful run in Harmony
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on Broadway. Mateo is currently swinging in Kimberly Akimbo and was also in Dear Evan Hansen
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Ryan right here is on the national Broadway tour of Aladdin. And then Lauren and Sophia are at NYU Steinhardt and Baldwin Wallace at reputable, wonderful
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institutions studying the performing arts. So it is just a testament of a stepping stone to, you know, this experience of gaining confidence
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gaining education, and then going on and moving forth into society as artists, as individuals
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and being your own authentic self. So just wanted to throw that in there. But Lauren, how about you
11:05
Arts educators. Yes. Yes. I will say I had always been interested in musical theater
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I went to a pre-college program that I started in 2018. Wow
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At Manhattan School of Music. I didn't know that. It was a pre-college program. Wait
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Hold on. We will talk. Like a dead movie. Yes. So I was there for five years and it was the musical theater track that I was pursuing there
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And it's not where we weren't able to do the Roger Reese or the Jimmy's or anything
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But I'd grown up watching the medleys too and being like, oh my God, I can't wait to
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do that someday if that's a possibility for my school. And in 2021, I was, I think it had already been implemented into my school
11:43
We were just starting to do it and I was a finalist in the new faces category
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Then, as I worked my way up in my theater program, I was able to be nominated for my
11:54
role of Elsa in Frozen. And I think, I'm not sure where my director got it from the idea to do the Roger Reese
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but we'd always been trying to get visibility for our program. And I, this is a long tangent, but I was the president of my thespian society
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And that was my speech. I was like, you know, I want to get us on the map. And my director, she let me run with all my crazy ideas
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And we had so many opportunities come up, not just for me, I'm very grateful for everything
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but everyone that was involved. We know we have this time capsule of everything that's happened with the Roger Reese, with
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our school doing Frozen and everything that's come for me and the things I'm able to give
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back to people at my school now. And I think that's what's so important
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I'd always been interested in theater and it becomes a beautiful thing for everyone
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because everyone reaps the benefit. You mentioned something that is another great part of our program is the New Faces program
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So not all of our students that we have and that participate in the Roger Reese Awards
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are specifically triple threat musical theater leading role individuals. We have created a few years back the New Faces program, and that is in specific disciplines
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of dance, voice, and acting. So we have partnered with the Casting Society of America
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And what a really, really great outcome of that is they submit videos in those art disciplines
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And then the Casting Society of America have a panel of very well-renowned casting directors
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viewing those videos and selecting the top 10 students to participate in our New Faces workshops
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So it's just another thing that, you know, let's say you're not in our Outstanding Performer category
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Those New Faces nominees are just as outstanding and we want to recognize them and the work
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that they are doing in their schools and in their community. So that is another great way to be a part of the Roger Reese Awards and what we offer
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So you said New Faces. Lauren was one of our New Faces participants and then she won
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So here we are today. So Sophia, how about you? Yeah. My high school actually didn't do the Roger Reese Awards
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I went to the all boys school nearby that did participate in the Roger Reese Awards
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prior to my knowledge of it. I did Les Mis at Fordham Prep in the Bronx
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And our director, Mr. O, he nominated the principal roles, again, kind of not what he
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told us. But I wasn't really familiar with the Roger Reese Awards and I knew the jimmies
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So that made it all the more exciting when the time came around that we were getting
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these emails that you're nominated for something and you have the chance to go to the jimmies
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because it was all so unexpected. And so, yes, I would give my thanks to Mr. O
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I grew up in kind of a musical family, so I guess doing this was kind of inevitable
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for me, but I definitely had teachers along the road that encouraged me
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And Mrs. Hirani in St. Martin-de-Porres School in Poughkeepsie, she put me on the stage as
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Dorothy in fifth grade and that really set me off. And I owe everything to her, to Mr. O, and to all the teachers down the line
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I think we can all agree it's not without these educators that we would be here and
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that we would be so passionate and so successful. And I'm moving on again to the higher academic institution and college
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And because of the teachers that I had before, I'm able to communicate better with more professionals
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And yeah, it's awesome. Great. Mateo? Many, many educators. I feel like years and years worth of it, but in terms of the Roger Ries award specifically
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it's definitely my high school musical theater teacher, CP. I guess there's two parts to this
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Oh, that's a good one. My mom was the one who pushed me to ask if we could submit for the Roger Ries Awards
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because I love musical theater. I'm always super afraid to take the next step and to kind of push myself into the next thing
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And that year, virtual year, we had done a production of songs for New World where we
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filmed it like a movie. And my mom was like, this would be the perfect time to submit it
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You should definitely go for it. You got to just try. And so I asked and my teacher CP was like, yes
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He's like, we will do it. He submitted and a decent amount of us got in and it was really nice to be there with
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my friends. But he is like, for me, he's like the one defining teacher of my career
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He like really, he pushed me in multiple ways, like so many ways, creatively
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And also just like, he pushed me into being a much more confident person
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And because of that, I was able to actually carry everything he taught me into the Roger
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Ries Awards and into the Jimmy Awards, into Dear Evan Hansen and everything
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There's so many educators, so many people who I feel like I've learned so much from
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but he was the one who really changed everything for me. And so, you know, teacher is very important
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And even to that, parents are super important. Parents are super important. If it was not for the support of all of your families and your parents and your friends
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I mean, it takes a village, right? To support someone, especially, you know, in the arts
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So I think that you making that statement about your parents is, they are educators
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too, right? They've taught us since the day we were born. And I just think that they, from day one, are our biggest fans
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So excellent, excellent observation, Stephen. You said it takes a village, and it really does take a village
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I mean, it takes a village to make a village. Look around us right now. All of these people, no matter what decade, living, not living, they all had people that
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educated them, that influenced them. And so, when I was submitted in 2014, my drama teacher, Mr. Marr, Tommy Marr, it's
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been 10 years, and it's still weird to call him Tommy, but he's like, call me Tommy
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Anyway, the day before the weekend of the Roger Reese Awards, he said, hey, I submitted
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you for this thing. Have you heard of it? And I was like, no, I haven't heard of it
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He was like, well, I nominated you for your role in Drowsy Chaperone
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Just go. And, you know, it'll be a fun experience. It's your senior year
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It'll be good for you. And I showed up and was met with just an unforgettable experience
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I mean, it changed the course of my life, really. There are so many things that happen in life that, you know, you don't know when or why
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it's going to happen, but it brings you to where you are today
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And I mean, here I am sitting with all of you in Sardis because of the Roger Reese Awards
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So thank you, Mr. Marr, for submitting me for the Gershwin Award all those years ago. Yep
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And just to, you know, the going off of the village, it is the connections that you make, right
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So none of you prior to this experience that you've all had in different years knew each other
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So it connects people in ways that are never expected. In terms of it taking a village, no one's theatrical educational experience is the same
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No one. You could go to the same high school. You can go to the same university
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You can go to the same. You could be in the same Broadway show or be on the same national tour
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And still every single person along that journey will have a different experience
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We were laughing upstairs. Ryan mentioned, he said, wait, there's coaching at the Roger Reese Awards now
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Ryan said, we didn't have coaching when it was the Gershwin Awards. I said, growing and learning, Ryan, growing and learning
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So right now we are exposing all of our nominees that come through our program to Broadway
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professionals and music directors that are coaching them on their solo songs
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So again, it is an exposure to industry professionals that they may not have never had
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And just off of that, Sophia, I believe is the only one up here on our panel who is a
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two-time Roger Reese Awards nominee. So Sophia has been coached by two different Broadway professionals
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This is completely, I'm sure, completely different experiences from the first time you were there
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in 2022 and one, as opposed to last year in 2023. So I will ask you this question specifically
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What are two, what are the comparisons or things that you got out of between the two
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times that you were a nominee for the Roger Reese Awards? Totally
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Well, the first time around, it was a completely different environment because it was the first
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year out of COVID. So we were in open jar studios. And I believe we had a round of workshopping with our solo songs, like a couple of weeks
20:54
before the final live stream. So it was very different than the way it was run last year and will be continued to run
21:01
where it's all happening within one weekend. But so in 2022, I remember we were in open jar and I sang on my own and they gave me
21:15
a note to like walk in as I began singing. And it's always one little thing like that, that makes such the biggest difference
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And either, both years, it was just such a beautiful experience and so nourishing and
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enriching and learning specific things about the songs that you're performing, specific
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things to make that performance better, but also specific things to make you as an artist
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more fluent in your craft. And the coaches that the Roger Reese Awards bring in are the real deal
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You know, they don't mess around. These are real working professionals that know what they're talking about
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And they know how to communicate with you in the proper way of making sure that you're learning
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And, and it's on site, hands on face to face learning that you can experience everywhere
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And I'm so blessed and honored to have been a part of this for two years in a row
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It was so amazing both times around. And yeah, I'm so grateful. Excellent
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And then just to just to close this out, I think that yes, the Roger Reese Awards and
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the Jimmy Awards and all of these regional awards across the country, they are competitions
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I will say, and I can't speak for the other programs, but I think they might agree here at the Roger Reese Awards
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Yes, it's a competition, but at the forefront of learning and our mission is the educational
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value of the program that we are allowing people in our backyard to participate in
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So the entire greater New York area, all of your high schools and all of our registered
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high schools and participating schools, I think there is so much value in just showing
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up, registering, giving it your best and making us a part of your community, right
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We value the young students and performers as well as these educators, administrators
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And so from the bottom of our hearts, all we can say is thank you
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Come learn with us, come grow with us. And this year, the Roger Reese Awards showcase will be May 19th, again, at the John J. Criminal
23:19
Justice School, the Gerald W. Lynch Theater. We got our little playbills here
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So please, please, please be sure to check us out. And if you can, you can go to our website, www.rogerreeseawards.com
23:32
And I'm sure there's lots of ways there that you can donate and show your support for these
23:36
young individuals and all of the aspiring young artists in the greater New York area
23:40
Thanks for joining us today. Bye. Bye.
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