🎭 DA Theatre Shines! Four Students Named 2025 YoungArts Award Winners! 🌟

The Douglas Anderson Theatre Department is proud to announce that four of our theatre students have been selected as YoungArts Award Winners for 2025!

Samuel Nelson - Senior Musical Theatre major Samuel Nelson was named a 2025 YoungArts Winner with Distinction by the National Foundation for the Advancement of Artists! Samuel will travel to Miami in January for National YoungArts Week where he will participate in masterclasses and workshops lead by the industry’s top theatre artists and makers.

Grace Klefman - Senior Musical Theatre major Grace Klefman was named a 2025 YoungArts Winner in the Theatre/Musical category.

Lucien Martin - Senior Performance Theatre major Lucien Martin was named a 2025 YoungArts Winner in the Theatre/Spoken category.

Selena Nejal - Senior Musical Theatre major Selena Nejal was named a 2025 YoungArts Winner in the Popular Vocal Category.

Congratulations to all of these outstanding theatre students!

About YoungArts:

Established in 1981 by Lin and Ted Arison, YoungArts – the national foundation for the advancement of artists – identifies exceptional young artists, amplifies their potential, and invests in their lifelong creative freedom. YoungArts provides space, funding, mentorship, professional development and community throughout artists’ careers. Entrance into this prestigious organization starts with a highly competitive application for talented artists ages 15–18, or grades 10–12, in the United States that is judged by esteemed discipline-specific panels of artists through a rigorous adjudication process. Learn more at youngarts.org.

Past winners include Viola Davis, Michael Urie, Nicki Minaj, Josh Groban, Brandon Victor Dixon, Mandy Gonzalez and Steven Pasquale.