BMP TOP TEENS Theatre Scholarship Fund
Donation protected
WHO WE ARE:
(BMP Core Interns, TOP TEENS & Resident Artists from L to R: Matthew Gray, Joshua Huff, Clark Levi, Beth Marshall, Gabriel Neil Barnert, Jazzlynn Whiddon)
BMP TOP TEENS 2020 is a curated arts program supporting emerging young theatre makers, film makers, actors, directors, playwrights, designers, arts activists, arts educators and the next generation of arts leaders.
The program takes a holistic approach to being an artist and covers a wide variety of practical training, techniques, workshops, panels, adjudications and educational experience with arts professionals that provide feedback and opportunity for internships and jobs for these up and coming talents.
BMP TOP TEENS training is that space that bridges the gap from high school to college training and/or to real world opportunities.
The program costs are kept low for our young artists as partial scholarships are offered to each student for their training and some receive cash scholarships for awards at their showcase.
While Beth Marshall has been in the business 30+ years and
Beth Marshall Presents has been around for 11 years,
BMP TOP TEENS is turning 6 years old in June 2020 and is proud that our program has given out over 60,000 worth of scholarships in a mix of training and cash. Our Teens all are pursing professional fields in the arts with leading focus on theatre.
Learn more about us at BethMarshallPresents.com
(TOP TEENS 2018)
WHY DO WE NEED YOUR FUNDING?
As the novel CoronaVirus (Covid-19) swept our globe and hit us all in ways we were unprepared for, it has particularly hit our TEENS right as they were gearing for finals, college auditions, season auditions, pilot season, final spring theatre shows, proms, graduations and summer camps. Normally during this time we would still be doing an annual appeal ask, but the need is even greater this year as we are unable to do any of our live annual fundraising events, activities, classes, workshops and shows which generally raise 10k that goes directly to the program fund.
The money raised for the program goes directly back to our 16 teens.
It covers costs of their training and awards them each scholarships to the program, workshop, panels, professional training, materials, new virtual platform needs, guest artist fees and ensures they have an amazing summer even of opportunity even if we are physically distanced while doing so.
Our program has already begun, but it strongly kicks in to gear from June 12th-28th. This is the time frame YOUR donations will help them the most. And as the saying goes... "no donation is too small".
We are a small company with little overhead. This helps us to support our teens directly. We know every dollar matters right now and YOURS goes to help a teen that might not otherwise have been able to afford this type of training.
And YOU will get to see some of what you are donating toward as we will (for the 1st time) be offering select video presentations by some of our teens so you can directly sponsor a teen if you desire.
You can dedicate your donation in honor of a specific teen or to the program as a whole.
Below you will see bios of each of our emerging teens as well as videos that will be added thru the duration of the fundraiser.
TEENS are tasked with doing their own fundraising asks so they can learn this part of the business. The teen that raises the most funds will receive an award.
https://bethmarshallpresents.wordpress.com
(TOP TEENS 2019 w/Guest Artists Rob Ward, Theresa Smith-Levin & Julian Bond)
Our program is grateful for our partners Florida Theatrical Association, Class Act Studios & The Billy Manes Society for offering direct scholarship funds, studio space and guest artist support.
Our program is also grateful to each guest workshop host, panelist and adjudicator that makes this possible.
And from the bottom of our hearts... we THANK YOU, our DONORS!
We wish you and yours all the best in this time and always!
Artistically Yours,
(Photo by Rob Bartlett)
Beth Marshall
BMP TOP TEENS Producer/Manager/Coach
BethMarshallPresents.com
MEET OUR 2020 TOP TEENS
Among the 100’s of emerging young people Beth coaches, mentors and adjudicates across the state of Florida, these 16 were selected to the program for their talents in all areas of theatre and all have been awarded scholarships into the summer intensive. These are the teens your funding goes toward.
2020 Top Teens:
4th Year TOP TEENS
Joshua Huff (BMP Intern)
Jazzlynn Whiddon (BMP Intern)
3rd Year TOP TEEN
Sarah Isola
2nd Year TOP TEENS
Jackson Chase
Caiti Fallon
Matthew Gray (BMP Intern)
Eislinn Gracen
Anthony Morehead
Laura Powalisz
1st Year TOP TEENS
Ryleigh Lawton
Steele Mycroft
Madeline O’Brien
Andrew Otwell
Destiny Sam
Emerson Short
Alondra Trinidad-Colon
MEET THE TEENS: (Alphabetically order)
Jackson Chase is an rising Sophomore at Lake Nona High School. This is his second year as a Beth Marshall Presents “Top Teen.” Jackson has performed at numerous theaters including the Orlando Repertory Theatre (Shrek in “Shrek Jr,” Will Bloom in “Big Fish,” Jeremy Potts in “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang”), The Orlando Shakespeare Theatre (Gavroche in “Les Misérables”), Lake Nona High School Theatre (Ted in “Peter and the Starcatcher,” Gangster in “The Drowsy Chaperone.”) and many more around Orlando. He was also the Critics Choice for Solo Musical at the Jr. Thespians District Festival in 2019. He loves to play music and has been in numerous jazz bands including the OCPS All County Jazz 1 Middle School. He was grateful for this opportunity that helped him grow so much last year and he looks forward to continuing to grow as an actor, singer, musician, director, and a person. He thanks his parents, his voice teacher Lauren Langa, and Beth for supporting him and being driving forces in his life.
Caiti Fallon is a second-year Top Teen as a rising senior at Montverde Academy as a part of their Theatre Conservatory, focusing on Musical Theatre. She was an ITS officer this year, and earned multiple recognitions at Districts this year, receiving “Best in Show” for Large Group Musical, Small Group Musical, and Student Directed Scene; the large group also selected to represent the District at Opening Ceremonies for State. She also received the “All Star Cast” award for her role as the Nurse in “Medea”. This year, she also received a Dance Nomination from the Applause Awards as a part of the ensemble of “The Hunchback of Notre Dame”, understudied Amanda in “The Glass Menagerie” (which was selected as a mainstage at State), and directed a one-act version of “Actually” at her school. She also recently portrayed Young Vi in “Violet” at the Garden Theatre, and plans to pursue both acting and directing for stage.
Matthew Gray is a musical theater student at Daytona State College who plans on transferring to a BFA program next year. You’ve seen him at the Orlando Fringe festivals, best drama “Girl” as Isaac and Daytona States productions of “Avenue Q” as Nicky, “Arms and The Man” as Sergius, “1940’s Radio Hour” as Johnny Cantone, and most recently “Sister Act” as Sweaty Eddie. He’d like to thank Beth Marshall for involving him in this amazing program and giving him the opportunity to showcase his talents.
Joshua Huff is the co-producer for this year’s BMP Top Teens program. He is a graduate from Lake Howell High School and has been actively doing theater in Central Florida for five years now. He will be attending Pace University in the fall to pursue a BFA Acting degree. His three main areas of focus include stage acting, film acting and musical theatre. Some of his favorite roles include Jean Prouvaire in Les Miserables (Wayne Densch Performing Arts Center), Spencer in Snappy’s Happy Half Hour at the Orlando Fringe Festival 2016, Judas in Godspell (Breakthrough Theatre of Winter Park), Josh in Bang Bang You’re Dead (Oviedo High School) and Benedick in Much Ado About Nothing (Lake Howell High School). His passion is straight plays and acting for film and television though he also loves musical theater as well. Joshua is a 4th year BMP Presents Top Teen and was also awarded with a BMP Presents Internship for the 2018 – 2020 seasons. Joshua has won numerous awards in the past four years at both the district and state level, including, 2018 Best Supporting Actor Award District 3 Thespians, 2019 Top Honors (Ensemble Acting) State Thespians, 2018 Best in Show/Critic’s Choice Award (Ensemble Acting) District 3 Thespians, 2019 Best in Show (Duet Acting) District 3 Thespians, 2019 Honorable Mention (Monologues) District 3 Thespians, 2018 Honorable Mention (Duet Acting) District 3 Thespians, 2019 Superior (Duet Acting) State Thespians, 2019 1st Annual Top Teen Play In A Day Scholarship and 2019 BMP Presents Wild Card Scholarship.
Eislinn Gracen is thrilled to be back for her second year with Top Teens. She is a rising junior at West Orange High School and a proud member of troupe 1983. Her main focus is on stage acting, playwriting, and singing. This past season’s credits include both WOHS’s one-act (Lilies on the Land as Margie) and mainstage production (Curtains as Jessica Cranshaw) which were both scheduled to go to the Thespians State Competition. Some of Eislinn’s favorite past credits include: Mammy Yokum (Li’l Abner), Bodey (A Lovely Sunday for Creve Cour), and Schwartzy (25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee). She won best supporting actress at the district competition (District 5) for her role in Lilies on the Land. She also won best in show for her contrasting monologues (Monologue B). Eislinn was a winner in the inaugural Be Original playwriting festival hosted by Generation Productions and Dr. Phillips Performing Arts Center. She won the Florida Theater Association Award for her play, Wolf in a Concrete Jungle, which was performed as a table read at the festival and also as a staged reading at UCF this January.
Sarah Isola is a rising junior. She is so excited to be back at Top Teens this year! Some of her favorite recent credits include Fiona/Rosemary in The Giver (Orlando Repertory Theatre), Elle Woods in Legally Blonde (Theater West End), and Shulie in School House Rock Live! (Winter Park Playhouse). She has had the pleasure of performing around Central Florida at Theater West End, The Garden Theatre, The Orlando Repertory Theatre, and The Winter Park Playhouse. She thanks Beth Marshall, Theresa Smith-Levin, her friends, and family, and all of the amazingly talented teens!
Ryleigh Lawton is thrilled to be joining this year’s BMP Top Teens. She is a Freshman at Lake Minneola High School and has been a professional working actress since the age of 7. Ryleigh has appeared on stage at Garden Theatre, Orlando Repertory Theatre, and Breakthrough Theatre of Winter Park and trained last summer in NYC with Broadway Artists Alliance. While she has appeared in many musicals, her real love is straight acting especially dramatic pieces. Her top three areas of focus are stage acting, film/TV and musical theater. Ryleigh is a recipient of a Dr. Phillips Center Applause Award for her role as Jane Banks in the musical “Mary Poppins” and was honored with a Critics Choice award for monologue at the Florida State Jr. Thespian festival in 2019. This past fall she was awarded a Critics Choice award for monologue at the District 12 Florida Thespian competition and looks forward to continuing to represent Troupe 7719. Past shows include: “Billy Elliot the Musical” (Allison), “Brighton Beach Memoirs” (Laurie), “A ChristmasStory”, (Helen) and the Southeastern US premier of the Southern gothic play , “A Tennessee Walk” (Bobbie Coleman). Ryleigh is a working voice over actress and can be heard voicing several animated characters for children’s language videos. Ryleigh would like to thank Beth Marshall for this exciting opportunity, her mom for her support and her acting coach Sarah Lee Dobbs for always pushing her to be her best.
Anthony Morehead is a rising Senior at Montverde Academy. His three main areas of focus are Musical Theatre, Stage Acting, and Film. Some of Anthony’s favorite roles include Claude Frollo in “The Hunchback of Notre Dame”, Cinderella’s Prince in “Into the Woods”, Bill Austin in “Mamma Mia!”, Mercutio in “Romeo and Juliet”, and Georg in “She Loves Me”. This is his second year with BMP Top Teens, and last year he was awarded; “Best Image” and “Best Musical Theatre”. Along with the awards he’s won at the Florida Thespian District and State Competitions including; Lead Performer in a Mainstage Production (She Loves Me), Best Supporting Actor in a One Act (Next to Normal and Medea), Honorable Mention Solo, and Critics Choice Small Group, he was also awarded the 2019 Charlie Cinnamon Theater Scholarship. He would also like to thank his parents, Beth Marshall, and all of his teachers for always pushing him to be the best he can be!
Steele Mycroft is a rising freshman who will be attending the University of Central Florida in the fall! This will be Steele’s first year as a part of the Top Teens program and he is beyond grateful to Beth Marshall for this opportunity!
His main focuses include Stage Acting, Front of House Management, and Theatre Leadership. At Lake Howell High School, Steele was a member of their thespian troupe, a representative for the Class of 2020, and a member of National Honor Society. Steele has been awarded Straight Superiors for his Duet Acting and Monologue individual events, as well as being a cast member in two Straight Superior One Acts at the District 3 Thespian Festival. Steele would like to thank his family, friends, Tiffany Ortiz, and Beth Marshall for their constant support and continuously pushing him to be the best performer he can be.
Maddie O’Brien is currently a freshman at Seminole State College, but she will be joining Rider University’s BFA musical theatre program in fall 2020. Maddie is thrilled to be at Top Teens for the first time this year! Her favorite credits include Heather Chandler in Heathers (Theater West End), Elle Woods in Legally Blonde (Winter Springs Performing Arts Center), and Sandy in Grease (Sweetwater Episcopal Academy Theatre Company). She would like to thank her friends, her family, Theresa Smith- Levin, and Beth Marshall!
Andy Otwell is wrapping up his time at Seminole High School where he had the privilege of being a part of Troupe 3266. During that time, he was able to play the roles of Claudio in Much Ado About Nothing, Chip in 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, and Jack in Into the Woods. He also played Ponyboy in The Outsiders at Gateway Center for the Arts. His Sophomore year, he was honored to be awarded Best in Show at Districts for the Ensemble Scene “Conflict”. His Junior year, their small group musical was awarded Best in Show for “Turn if Off”. Senior year, his Contrasting Monologues were awarded Best in Show and Critic’s Choice. This is Andy’s first year in Top Teens. His top 3 areas of focus are Acting, Singing and Props. Andy would like to pursue an acting career in film.
Laura Powalisz is an upcoming freshman at Rollins College and will be Majoring in Music with a Minor in Theatre Arts. This is Laura’s 2nd year as a Top Teen and she has previously been awarded the Best Newcomer Award. Her top three areas of focus are Singing, Acting for Stage and Screen, and Theatre Leadership. While at Lake Howell, Laura was President of Wings Show Choir, Vice President of the Theatre Company and Thespian Troupe, and a member of the National Honors Society. Her favorite credits include Gabriella (High School Musical), Crystal (Little Shop of Horrors), Susan (The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe) and Clairee (Steel Magnolias). Recently, Laura has been awarded Straight Superiors on her Classical and Musical Theatre Solos at Solo & Ensemble and Straight Superiors with a Perfect Score on her Solo Musical and Ensemble Acting Scene at the Thespian Festival. Laura would like to thank her Mom and Dad, her brothers, Theresa Smith-Levin, Rebecca Senko, Tiffany Ortiz, James Brendlinger, and Beth Marshall for their love, support, and guidance.
Destiny Sam is a rising Junior at Lake Howell High School. Her passion is in Scenic, Lighting, and Sound Design. This is her first year as a Top Teen member. Some of her favorite credits include Stage Managing “Little Women: The Musical” and “Men: A Family Dinner Conversation” from the 2019 Play-In-A-Day, Lighting Design for “The Lion, The Witch, And The Wardrobe”, and Lighting crew for “Li’l Abner” and “Little Shop of Horrors”. She competed in District competition this past year, winning an Honorable Mention in Scene Design.
Emerson Short is going into her senior year at Lake Howell High School. She is currently the secretary of troupe 4937 as well as President of the school’s AV Tech Club. Emerson has been active in theatre for over seven years and has been competing in it for three. Her awards include All-Star Crew Member for Troupe 4937’s production of The Other Room at the district level in 2018, Best Female Technician for LHTC in the 2028-2019 school year, Best Actress (JoJo in Seussical) and Best Newcomer for LHTC in the 2017-2018 school year, All-Star Cast Member for LHTC’s production of You’re a Good Man Charlie Brown (Marcy) and Honorable Mention for Student Directing at the district level in 2019 with her scene from the show, Lysistrata. Emerson also has had the honor of having her first one-act play, Inverse Psychology, be produced through LHTC and was able to assistant direct it as a sophomore. Emerson’s top 3 areas of focus include directing, musical theatre, and playwriting.
Alondra Trinidad-Colon is a graduating senior at Lake Nona Highschool, where she was Co-President of her school’s troupe. This is her very first year as a member of BMP Top Teens. Her top three contributions to BMP Top Teens are her strengths in Musical Theatre Performance, Acting (for the stage), and abilities in Makeup Design and Application (for the stage). Alondra‘s awards include “Outstanding Female Lead” for her portrayal of Aida in Aida. Some of her favorite theatre credits include: Ensemble – In The Heights, Aida – Aida , Black Stache – Peter and the Starcatcher, and Janet van De Graff – The Drowsy Chaperone. She would like to thank Beth Marshall for the incredible opportunity to be a part of the Top Teens program. As well as thank her mother Brenda Colon for always supporting her in her pursuit of the arts.
Jazzlynn Whiddon is a graduate of Lake Howell High School and will be attending Daytona State College in the fall. She is entering her 4th year of Top Teens and her 2nd year of interning with Beth Marshall Presents and couldn’t be more excited to be able to co-produce an event that she’s grown up with. She has been doing theatre for the past 8 years in various parts of Florida. Her three main areas of focus include stage acting, stage management and singing. Some of Jazzlynn’s favorite theatrical credits include Ouiser in “Steel Magnolias”, Cecily Cardew in “The Importance of Being Earnest”, Gary Coleman in “Avenue Q”, stage managing “Much Ado About Nothing” and “High School Musical”. She is Co-Historian of her troupe and the secretary of choirs at LHHS. A few award’s Jazzlynn has received are Best of Show Duet Acting (D3 Thespians 2019), Best of Show Large Group Musical (D3 Thespians 2019), All Star Cast for in a One Act (D3 Thespians 2019), All Star Crew (Lake Howell, Much Ado) and the 2019 FTA Charlie Cinnamon Acting scholarship. She would like to thank her mom, James Brendlinger, Tiffany Ortiz and Beth Marshall for believing in her and giving her the confidence and push she needs to pursue what she loves.
THANK YOU FOR SUPPORTING THE ARTS AND HELPING US REACH OUR GOALS!
(BMP Core Interns, TOP TEENS & Resident Artists from L to R: Matthew Gray, Joshua Huff, Clark Levi, Beth Marshall, Gabriel Neil Barnert, Jazzlynn Whiddon)BMP TOP TEENS 2020 is a curated arts program supporting emerging young theatre makers, film makers, actors, directors, playwrights, designers, arts activists, arts educators and the next generation of arts leaders.
The program takes a holistic approach to being an artist and covers a wide variety of practical training, techniques, workshops, panels, adjudications and educational experience with arts professionals that provide feedback and opportunity for internships and jobs for these up and coming talents.
BMP TOP TEENS training is that space that bridges the gap from high school to college training and/or to real world opportunities.
The program costs are kept low for our young artists as partial scholarships are offered to each student for their training and some receive cash scholarships for awards at their showcase.
While Beth Marshall has been in the business 30+ years and
Beth Marshall Presents has been around for 11 years,
BMP TOP TEENS is turning 6 years old in June 2020 and is proud that our program has given out over 60,000 worth of scholarships in a mix of training and cash. Our Teens all are pursing professional fields in the arts with leading focus on theatre.
Learn more about us at BethMarshallPresents.com
(TOP TEENS 2018)WHY DO WE NEED YOUR FUNDING?
As the novel CoronaVirus (Covid-19) swept our globe and hit us all in ways we were unprepared for, it has particularly hit our TEENS right as they were gearing for finals, college auditions, season auditions, pilot season, final spring theatre shows, proms, graduations and summer camps. Normally during this time we would still be doing an annual appeal ask, but the need is even greater this year as we are unable to do any of our live annual fundraising events, activities, classes, workshops and shows which generally raise 10k that goes directly to the program fund.
The money raised for the program goes directly back to our 16 teens.
It covers costs of their training and awards them each scholarships to the program, workshop, panels, professional training, materials, new virtual platform needs, guest artist fees and ensures they have an amazing summer even of opportunity even if we are physically distanced while doing so.
Our program has already begun, but it strongly kicks in to gear from June 12th-28th. This is the time frame YOUR donations will help them the most. And as the saying goes... "no donation is too small".
We are a small company with little overhead. This helps us to support our teens directly. We know every dollar matters right now and YOURS goes to help a teen that might not otherwise have been able to afford this type of training.
And YOU will get to see some of what you are donating toward as we will (for the 1st time) be offering select video presentations by some of our teens so you can directly sponsor a teen if you desire.
You can dedicate your donation in honor of a specific teen or to the program as a whole.
Below you will see bios of each of our emerging teens as well as videos that will be added thru the duration of the fundraiser.
TEENS are tasked with doing their own fundraising asks so they can learn this part of the business. The teen that raises the most funds will receive an award.
https://bethmarshallpresents.wordpress.com
(TOP TEENS 2019 w/Guest Artists Rob Ward, Theresa Smith-Levin & Julian Bond) Our program is grateful for our partners Florida Theatrical Association, Class Act Studios & The Billy Manes Society for offering direct scholarship funds, studio space and guest artist support.
Our program is also grateful to each guest workshop host, panelist and adjudicator that makes this possible.
And from the bottom of our hearts... we THANK YOU, our DONORS!
We wish you and yours all the best in this time and always!
Artistically Yours,
(Photo by Rob Bartlett)Beth Marshall
BMP TOP TEENS Producer/Manager/Coach
BethMarshallPresents.com
MEET OUR 2020 TOP TEENS
Among the 100’s of emerging young people Beth coaches, mentors and adjudicates across the state of Florida, these 16 were selected to the program for their talents in all areas of theatre and all have been awarded scholarships into the summer intensive. These are the teens your funding goes toward.
2020 Top Teens:
4th Year TOP TEENS
Joshua Huff (BMP Intern)
Jazzlynn Whiddon (BMP Intern)
3rd Year TOP TEEN
Sarah Isola
2nd Year TOP TEENS
Jackson Chase
Caiti Fallon
Matthew Gray (BMP Intern)
Eislinn Gracen
Anthony Morehead
Laura Powalisz
1st Year TOP TEENS
Ryleigh Lawton
Steele Mycroft
Madeline O’Brien
Andrew Otwell
Destiny Sam
Emerson Short
Alondra Trinidad-Colon
MEET THE TEENS: (Alphabetically order)
Jackson Chase is an rising Sophomore at Lake Nona High School. This is his second year as a Beth Marshall Presents “Top Teen.” Jackson has performed at numerous theaters including the Orlando Repertory Theatre (Shrek in “Shrek Jr,” Will Bloom in “Big Fish,” Jeremy Potts in “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang”), The Orlando Shakespeare Theatre (Gavroche in “Les Misérables”), Lake Nona High School Theatre (Ted in “Peter and the Starcatcher,” Gangster in “The Drowsy Chaperone.”) and many more around Orlando. He was also the Critics Choice for Solo Musical at the Jr. Thespians District Festival in 2019. He loves to play music and has been in numerous jazz bands including the OCPS All County Jazz 1 Middle School. He was grateful for this opportunity that helped him grow so much last year and he looks forward to continuing to grow as an actor, singer, musician, director, and a person. He thanks his parents, his voice teacher Lauren Langa, and Beth for supporting him and being driving forces in his life.Caiti Fallon is a second-year Top Teen as a rising senior at Montverde Academy as a part of their Theatre Conservatory, focusing on Musical Theatre. She was an ITS officer this year, and earned multiple recognitions at Districts this year, receiving “Best in Show” for Large Group Musical, Small Group Musical, and Student Directed Scene; the large group also selected to represent the District at Opening Ceremonies for State. She also received the “All Star Cast” award for her role as the Nurse in “Medea”. This year, she also received a Dance Nomination from the Applause Awards as a part of the ensemble of “The Hunchback of Notre Dame”, understudied Amanda in “The Glass Menagerie” (which was selected as a mainstage at State), and directed a one-act version of “Actually” at her school. She also recently portrayed Young Vi in “Violet” at the Garden Theatre, and plans to pursue both acting and directing for stage.Matthew Gray is a musical theater student at Daytona State College who plans on transferring to a BFA program next year. You’ve seen him at the Orlando Fringe festivals, best drama “Girl” as Isaac and Daytona States productions of “Avenue Q” as Nicky, “Arms and The Man” as Sergius, “1940’s Radio Hour” as Johnny Cantone, and most recently “Sister Act” as Sweaty Eddie. He’d like to thank Beth Marshall for involving him in this amazing program and giving him the opportunity to showcase his talents.Joshua Huff is the co-producer for this year’s BMP Top Teens program. He is a graduate from Lake Howell High School and has been actively doing theater in Central Florida for five years now. He will be attending Pace University in the fall to pursue a BFA Acting degree. His three main areas of focus include stage acting, film acting and musical theatre. Some of his favorite roles include Jean Prouvaire in Les Miserables (Wayne Densch Performing Arts Center), Spencer in Snappy’s Happy Half Hour at the Orlando Fringe Festival 2016, Judas in Godspell (Breakthrough Theatre of Winter Park), Josh in Bang Bang You’re Dead (Oviedo High School) and Benedick in Much Ado About Nothing (Lake Howell High School). His passion is straight plays and acting for film and television though he also loves musical theater as well. Joshua is a 4th year BMP Presents Top Teen and was also awarded with a BMP Presents Internship for the 2018 – 2020 seasons. Joshua has won numerous awards in the past four years at both the district and state level, including, 2018 Best Supporting Actor Award District 3 Thespians, 2019 Top Honors (Ensemble Acting) State Thespians, 2018 Best in Show/Critic’s Choice Award (Ensemble Acting) District 3 Thespians, 2019 Best in Show (Duet Acting) District 3 Thespians, 2019 Honorable Mention (Monologues) District 3 Thespians, 2018 Honorable Mention (Duet Acting) District 3 Thespians, 2019 Superior (Duet Acting) State Thespians, 2019 1st Annual Top Teen Play In A Day Scholarship and 2019 BMP Presents Wild Card Scholarship.Eislinn Gracen is thrilled to be back for her second year with Top Teens. She is a rising junior at West Orange High School and a proud member of troupe 1983. Her main focus is on stage acting, playwriting, and singing. This past season’s credits include both WOHS’s one-act (Lilies on the Land as Margie) and mainstage production (Curtains as Jessica Cranshaw) which were both scheduled to go to the Thespians State Competition. Some of Eislinn’s favorite past credits include: Mammy Yokum (Li’l Abner), Bodey (A Lovely Sunday for Creve Cour), and Schwartzy (25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee). She won best supporting actress at the district competition (District 5) for her role in Lilies on the Land. She also won best in show for her contrasting monologues (Monologue B). Eislinn was a winner in the inaugural Be Original playwriting festival hosted by Generation Productions and Dr. Phillips Performing Arts Center. She won the Florida Theater Association Award for her play, Wolf in a Concrete Jungle, which was performed as a table read at the festival and also as a staged reading at UCF this January.Sarah Isola is a rising junior. She is so excited to be back at Top Teens this year! Some of her favorite recent credits include Fiona/Rosemary in The Giver (Orlando Repertory Theatre), Elle Woods in Legally Blonde (Theater West End), and Shulie in School House Rock Live! (Winter Park Playhouse). She has had the pleasure of performing around Central Florida at Theater West End, The Garden Theatre, The Orlando Repertory Theatre, and The Winter Park Playhouse. She thanks Beth Marshall, Theresa Smith-Levin, her friends, and family, and all of the amazingly talented teens!Ryleigh Lawton is thrilled to be joining this year’s BMP Top Teens. She is a Freshman at Lake Minneola High School and has been a professional working actress since the age of 7. Ryleigh has appeared on stage at Garden Theatre, Orlando Repertory Theatre, and Breakthrough Theatre of Winter Park and trained last summer in NYC with Broadway Artists Alliance. While she has appeared in many musicals, her real love is straight acting especially dramatic pieces. Her top three areas of focus are stage acting, film/TV and musical theater. Ryleigh is a recipient of a Dr. Phillips Center Applause Award for her role as Jane Banks in the musical “Mary Poppins” and was honored with a Critics Choice award for monologue at the Florida State Jr. Thespian festival in 2019. This past fall she was awarded a Critics Choice award for monologue at the District 12 Florida Thespian competition and looks forward to continuing to represent Troupe 7719. Past shows include: “Billy Elliot the Musical” (Allison), “Brighton Beach Memoirs” (Laurie), “A ChristmasStory”, (Helen) and the Southeastern US premier of the Southern gothic play , “A Tennessee Walk” (Bobbie Coleman). Ryleigh is a working voice over actress and can be heard voicing several animated characters for children’s language videos. Ryleigh would like to thank Beth Marshall for this exciting opportunity, her mom for her support and her acting coach Sarah Lee Dobbs for always pushing her to be her best.Anthony Morehead is a rising Senior at Montverde Academy. His three main areas of focus are Musical Theatre, Stage Acting, and Film. Some of Anthony’s favorite roles include Claude Frollo in “The Hunchback of Notre Dame”, Cinderella’s Prince in “Into the Woods”, Bill Austin in “Mamma Mia!”, Mercutio in “Romeo and Juliet”, and Georg in “She Loves Me”. This is his second year with BMP Top Teens, and last year he was awarded; “Best Image” and “Best Musical Theatre”. Along with the awards he’s won at the Florida Thespian District and State Competitions including; Lead Performer in a Mainstage Production (She Loves Me), Best Supporting Actor in a One Act (Next to Normal and Medea), Honorable Mention Solo, and Critics Choice Small Group, he was also awarded the 2019 Charlie Cinnamon Theater Scholarship. He would also like to thank his parents, Beth Marshall, and all of his teachers for always pushing him to be the best he can be! Steele Mycroft is a rising freshman who will be attending the University of Central Florida in the fall! This will be Steele’s first year as a part of the Top Teens program and he is beyond grateful to Beth Marshall for this opportunity!His main focuses include Stage Acting, Front of House Management, and Theatre Leadership. At Lake Howell High School, Steele was a member of their thespian troupe, a representative for the Class of 2020, and a member of National Honor Society. Steele has been awarded Straight Superiors for his Duet Acting and Monologue individual events, as well as being a cast member in two Straight Superior One Acts at the District 3 Thespian Festival. Steele would like to thank his family, friends, Tiffany Ortiz, and Beth Marshall for their constant support and continuously pushing him to be the best performer he can be.
Maddie O’Brien is currently a freshman at Seminole State College, but she will be joining Rider University’s BFA musical theatre program in fall 2020. Maddie is thrilled to be at Top Teens for the first time this year! Her favorite credits include Heather Chandler in Heathers (Theater West End), Elle Woods in Legally Blonde (Winter Springs Performing Arts Center), and Sandy in Grease (Sweetwater Episcopal Academy Theatre Company). She would like to thank her friends, her family, Theresa Smith- Levin, and Beth Marshall!Andy Otwell is wrapping up his time at Seminole High School where he had the privilege of being a part of Troupe 3266. During that time, he was able to play the roles of Claudio in Much Ado About Nothing, Chip in 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, and Jack in Into the Woods. He also played Ponyboy in The Outsiders at Gateway Center for the Arts. His Sophomore year, he was honored to be awarded Best in Show at Districts for the Ensemble Scene “Conflict”. His Junior year, their small group musical was awarded Best in Show for “Turn if Off”. Senior year, his Contrasting Monologues were awarded Best in Show and Critic’s Choice. This is Andy’s first year in Top Teens. His top 3 areas of focus are Acting, Singing and Props. Andy would like to pursue an acting career in film.Laura Powalisz is an upcoming freshman at Rollins College and will be Majoring in Music with a Minor in Theatre Arts. This is Laura’s 2nd year as a Top Teen and she has previously been awarded the Best Newcomer Award. Her top three areas of focus are Singing, Acting for Stage and Screen, and Theatre Leadership. While at Lake Howell, Laura was President of Wings Show Choir, Vice President of the Theatre Company and Thespian Troupe, and a member of the National Honors Society. Her favorite credits include Gabriella (High School Musical), Crystal (Little Shop of Horrors), Susan (The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe) and Clairee (Steel Magnolias). Recently, Laura has been awarded Straight Superiors on her Classical and Musical Theatre Solos at Solo & Ensemble and Straight Superiors with a Perfect Score on her Solo Musical and Ensemble Acting Scene at the Thespian Festival. Laura would like to thank her Mom and Dad, her brothers, Theresa Smith-Levin, Rebecca Senko, Tiffany Ortiz, James Brendlinger, and Beth Marshall for their love, support, and guidance.Destiny Sam is a rising Junior at Lake Howell High School. Her passion is in Scenic, Lighting, and Sound Design. This is her first year as a Top Teen member. Some of her favorite credits include Stage Managing “Little Women: The Musical” and “Men: A Family Dinner Conversation” from the 2019 Play-In-A-Day, Lighting Design for “The Lion, The Witch, And The Wardrobe”, and Lighting crew for “Li’l Abner” and “Little Shop of Horrors”. She competed in District competition this past year, winning an Honorable Mention in Scene Design.Emerson Short is going into her senior year at Lake Howell High School. She is currently the secretary of troupe 4937 as well as President of the school’s AV Tech Club. Emerson has been active in theatre for over seven years and has been competing in it for three. Her awards include All-Star Crew Member for Troupe 4937’s production of The Other Room at the district level in 2018, Best Female Technician for LHTC in the 2028-2019 school year, Best Actress (JoJo in Seussical) and Best Newcomer for LHTC in the 2017-2018 school year, All-Star Cast Member for LHTC’s production of You’re a Good Man Charlie Brown (Marcy) and Honorable Mention for Student Directing at the district level in 2019 with her scene from the show, Lysistrata. Emerson also has had the honor of having her first one-act play, Inverse Psychology, be produced through LHTC and was able to assistant direct it as a sophomore. Emerson’s top 3 areas of focus include directing, musical theatre, and playwriting.Alondra Trinidad-Colon is a graduating senior at Lake Nona Highschool, where she was Co-President of her school’s troupe. This is her very first year as a member of BMP Top Teens. Her top three contributions to BMP Top Teens are her strengths in Musical Theatre Performance, Acting (for the stage), and abilities in Makeup Design and Application (for the stage). Alondra‘s awards include “Outstanding Female Lead” for her portrayal of Aida in Aida. Some of her favorite theatre credits include: Ensemble – In The Heights, Aida – Aida , Black Stache – Peter and the Starcatcher, and Janet van De Graff – The Drowsy Chaperone. She would like to thank Beth Marshall for the incredible opportunity to be a part of the Top Teens program. As well as thank her mother Brenda Colon for always supporting her in her pursuit of the arts.Jazzlynn Whiddon is a graduate of Lake Howell High School and will be attending Daytona State College in the fall. She is entering her 4th year of Top Teens and her 2nd year of interning with Beth Marshall Presents and couldn’t be more excited to be able to co-produce an event that she’s grown up with. She has been doing theatre for the past 8 years in various parts of Florida. Her three main areas of focus include stage acting, stage management and singing. Some of Jazzlynn’s favorite theatrical credits include Ouiser in “Steel Magnolias”, Cecily Cardew in “The Importance of Being Earnest”, Gary Coleman in “Avenue Q”, stage managing “Much Ado About Nothing” and “High School Musical”. She is Co-Historian of her troupe and the secretary of choirs at LHHS. A few award’s Jazzlynn has received are Best of Show Duet Acting (D3 Thespians 2019), Best of Show Large Group Musical (D3 Thespians 2019), All Star Cast for in a One Act (D3 Thespians 2019), All Star Crew (Lake Howell, Much Ado) and the 2019 FTA Charlie Cinnamon Acting scholarship. She would like to thank her mom, James Brendlinger, Tiffany Ortiz and Beth Marshall for believing in her and giving her the confidence and push she needs to pursue what she loves.THANK YOU FOR SUPPORTING THE ARTS AND HELPING US REACH OUR GOALS!
Organizer
Beth Marshall
Organizer
Orlando, FL