About Rising Star Awards

The Paper Mill Playhouse Rising Star Awards were created in 1996 to encourage and reward exceptional accomplishments in the production of high school musical theatre. Now in its 17th year, the Rising Star Awards is a statewide competition of New Jersey high school musicals modeled after Broadway's Tony Awards, and with Paper Mill's assistance, has been replicated in several regions nationwide.

Recognition of outstanding achievement by students and educators will be made in the areas of performance, design, direction, choreography, technical production and overall production excellence. The Rising Star Award Corps of Evaluators (comprised of theater professionals, performing artists and designers, and theater arts educators) will fan out across New Jersey between January and April to see shows at all 100 entered schools and will make nomination recommendations in various performance and production categories. In June, the Tony Awards-style Rising Star Awards Gala Ceremony is presented on the Paper Mill stage, where nominees perform and selected recipients are presented with an engraved crystal award from sponsor Tiffany & Co.

Paper Mill Playhouse also awards four $1000 cash scholarships to outstanding individual students participating in entered Rising Star Award productions who plan to continue studying theater in college. A fifth scholarship for $1000 dedicated to technical theater is sponsored by Scaramouche Costumes, LLC.

Lastly, students receiving final nominations in the lead and supporting acting categories win a full scholarship to Paper Mill Playhouse's competitive Summer Musical Theatre Conservatory, a professional training program which along with advanced classes in singing, acting and dance, offers the nominees an opportunity to perform on the Paper Mill stage in our annual New Voices Concert.

Any New Jersey public, private or parochial school may enter by completing an application and being among the first 100 to apply by a January 11, 2012. All schools in NJ will receive a notice via US mail instructing them on how to locate and submit an application electronically, as well as how to access the Rules and Guidelines, Auxiliary Awards and Scholarship information. All schools must submit the electronic application. Applications for the 2012program will be posted on the Paper Mill website on December 1, 2011. All schools will be required to use the e-application form submitted via email. Applications submitted by parents or a non-employee of the school are not accepted. All accepted applications will be confirmed via email. It is strongly advised that schools not wait until too close to the deadline to submit their application. Schools should apply early, even if their title and dates are not yet confirmed by the licensing house. TBA may be listed for any question. 

Productions entered must fall into one of the following categories and must be billed accordingly in the program:

- a published musical, operetta or revue that is presented with the approval or permission of the original creators or their representatives (either currently held by a licensing house or having entered public domain).

- an original piece which features an original script, music and/or lyrics and which is covered under a valid copyright that is presented with the approval or permission of the original creators or their representatives.

- an original compilation of material from other sources that is presented with the approval or permission of all of the original creators or their representatives.

Also, each entered school must pay an application fee by the application deadline, provide accurate driving directions to the performance, and be willing to provide up to eight (8) tickets throughout the run of the show for attending Evaluators. 

For additional information on the Rising Star Awards or to be added to the mailing list to receive application information, please contact Carrie Rubino, Education Program Manager, at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it  or via phone at 973.315-1672.

Rising Star Award Categories:

- Outstanding Overall Production of a Musical

- Outstanding Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role

- Outstanding Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role

- Outstanding Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role

- Outstanding Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role

- Outstanding Performance in a Featured Role

- Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble Member

- Outstanding Performance by a Featured Ensemble Group

- Outstanding Performance by a Chorus

- Outstanding Performance by an Orchestra (orchestra must be comprised of at least 75% students)

- Outstanding Achievement in Musical Direction

- Outstanding Achievement in Choreography

- Outstanding Achievement by a Teacher or Outside Director

- Outstanding Scenic Achievement 

- Outstanding Lighting Achievement 

- Outstanding Costuming Achievement 

- Outstanding Hair & Make-up Achievement

- Outstanding Graphic Design Achievement 

- Outstanding Lobby Display Achievement

- Student Achievement Awards (i.e., stage manager, stage crew, light board operator, costumes, student/assistant directors, student/assistant choreographers, dance captains, etc.; students are nominated by their teachers.)

- Educational Impact Award (recognizes schools which successfully connect their musical to the curriculum.)

- Rising Star “Theatre for Everyone” Inclusion & Access Award (recognizes excellence in the promotion and practice of creative inclusion of students and adults with disabilities as performers, designers, musicians and production staff.  Additionally, this award also seeks to recognize and reward a school that takes steps to ensure their performances are accessible to audiences with disabilities.)

- Paper Mill Playhouse Scholarship Awards (four $1,000 scholarships are awarded to outstanding individual students who plan to continue studying theater in college.)

- Scaramouche Technical Theatre Scholarship ($1,000 scholarship is awarded to an outstanding individual student who plans to study an aspect of technical theater in college.)

All decisions of the Paper Mill Playhouse Education Department and Rising Star Evaluators are final.

The Rising Star Awards are generously supported by the Investors Savings Bank Foundation, The Ambrose & Ida Fredrickson Foundation, and The Bloomingdale’s Fund of the Macy’s Foundation.  Rising Star scholarships are made possible by John Burgio & Ruth Bedford in Memory of Jane Burgio, Scaramouche Costumes LLC, Douglas Michael Krueger Arts Foundation, VSA New Jersey, and The Cultural Access Network of New Jersey.  Additional major funding for Paper Mill Playhouse Education Outreach is provided by The Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation and MetLife Foundation.   

Paper Mill Playhouse programs are made possible, in part, by funds from the New Jersey State Council on the Arts/Department of State, A Partner Agency of the National Endowment for the Arts, and by funds from the National Endowment for the Arts.  Paper Mill Playhouse is grateful for generous contributions from numerous corporations, foundations, and individuals.