Welcome to our page about the Shea's Wonder Awards!
The Shea’s Wonder Awards program is a dynamic initiative designed to celebrate and support the arts in high schools, foster excellence in musical theatre, and provide valuable educational opportunities for students. This program is deeply committed to nurturing young talent, promoting collaboration, and building a strong sense of community within the world of musical theatre.
For more information, please contact our Arts Education Coordinator, Jake Grear.
Schools may register for the 2025 Shea’s Wonder Awards starting on Friday, October 4th, 2024, at 4:00pm. The link to register is below. Registration will close on Monday, October 8th, 2024, at 11:59pm.
***Please note that our program can only accommodate 20 schools per year. If more than 20 schools register for the program, all participating schools will be selected by random lottery selection.***
Shea’s Arts Engagement and Education is seeking adjudicators for the Shea’s Wonder Awards 2025.
Requirements are as follows:
Interested parties should complete the application at the link below. The adjudicators will be selected by the Shea’s Arts Engagement and Education department staff. Selected adjudicators will be notified of their acceptance via email on Tuesday, October 1st, 2024.
Shea’s will implement several significant changes this year to enhance the program. Our primary focus is on growth and inclusivity within the high-school musical theater community.
Simplified Registration: Instead of an application process, Shea’s will implement a straightforward registration system. This change is intended to encourage more schools to participate and increase overall participation. Schools who meet the criteria will join the program on a first come, first serve basis.
Expanded Participation: The goal is to increase the number of participating schools from 10 to 15 in the first year. This expansion will provide more students with the opportunity to showcase their talents and be part of the event.
Increased Number of Adjudicators: Shea’s will expand the panel of adjudicators participating in the program. The selection process will aim to bring in adjudicators with diverse perspectives and expertise, aligning with the commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion.
Revised Evaluation Rubric: The evaluation rubric used for judging will be revised to provide clearer and more transparent scoring for all participating schools. This change is in response to valuable feedback from teachers and aims to improve the adjudication process.
Changes to Awards Structure: The awards structure will be modified to benefit a broader range of schools. While still recognizing outstanding productions, Shea’s will introduce additional monetary awards beyond the single school recognized for Outstanding Production of a Musical. This change aims to support more schools and foster a sense of shared achievement and encouragement within the entire community.
All public, private, and charter schools in Erie, Niagara, Allegany, Cattaraugus, and Chautauqua, Orleans, Genesee and Wyoming counties producing a full-length musical production are eligible and encouraged to apply for and participate in the Shea’s High School Musical Theatre Awards. This includes ‘School Editions’ but not Broadway Junior or TYA shows.
Participating casts must be largely made up of at least 50% students in grades 9-12.
Participating programs must acquire proper licensing for their production and let the licensing house know that they are participating in this program.
Occur within the program’s adjudication window period of November 2024 to March 2025.
Utilize material from a musical production eligible for the 2024 National High School Musical Theater Awards competition (The Jimmy Awards).
Participating schools must commit to ALL dates and deadlines.
Registration for all high schools will open on Friday, October 4th at 4:00 PM and will close on Tuesday, October 8th at 11:59pm. Interested schools can also attend a virtual information session on Tuesday, October 1st at 4:00 PM to 5:00 PM.
All participating schools will receive adjudication from local theater educators and/or working professionals. We have created a brand-new rubric and scoring process. When all schools have been adjudicated, these scores will be tallied which will determine the nominees and winner for each category.
Nominations will be announced in late-April of each year.
The Shea’s Wonder Awards adjudicators consist of qualified arts professionals and educators. All adjudicators must attend regular meetings that consist of training, orientation, idea sharing, and program updates.
Adjudicated Categories
Submitted Categories
Spirit of Wonder Awards
Outstanding production of a musical (gold) will receive a $5,000 grant for that school’s theatre program.
Outstanding production of a musical (silver) will receive a $2,500 grant for that school’s theatre program.
Outstanding production of a musical (bronze) will receive a $1,000 grant for that school’s theatre program.
Outstanding Orchestral Performance will receive a $500 grant for the school’s theatre program.
Outstanding Collective Vocal Performance will receive a $500 grant for the school’s theatre program.
Outstanding Dance Performance will receive a $500 grant for the school’s theatre program.
Outstanding Achievement in Costumes will receive a $500 grant for the school’s theatre program.
Outstanding Achievement in Hair & Make-up will receive a $500 grant for the school’s theatre program.
Outstanding Achievement in Lighting will receive a $500 grant for the school’s theatre program.
Outstanding Achievement in Scenic Design will receive a $500 grant for the school’s theatre program.
