JIMMYS BLOG: Riley Thad Young- Reflecting on the Big Night!

The 2018 Jimmy Awards took place on Monday, June 25, 2018 at 7:30pm at the Minskoff Theatre on Broadway. Laura Benanti hosted. The coveted Jimmy Awards for Best Performance by an Actress and Best Performance by an Actor were presented to Reneé Rapp, The Blumey Awards (Charlotte, NC) and Andrew Barth Feldman, The Roger Rees Awards for Excellence in Student Performance (New York, NY).

The 2018 Jimmy Awards ceremony, presented by the Broadway League Foundation, included a record number of 80 participants from 40 regional programs across the country. They competed for the coveted Jimmy Award for Best Performance by an Actor and Best Performance by an Actress at the 10th annual presentation. The talent showcase featured dynamic ensemble and solo performances.

Jimmy Awards nominees prepared for their debut on a Broadway stage during a nine-day professional training intensive with NYU Tisch School of the Arts' New Studio on Broadway faculty members plus other theatre professionals. Winners were selected by a panel of industry experts.

BroadwayWorld has been bringing you the inside scoop on this year's Jimmy Awards with student blogger Riley Thad Young- a nominee from Memphis' Orpheum High School Musical Theatre Awards, who made it to the top eight! Earlier this year, he won the title of Best Leading Actor in a Musical for his portrayal of Grasshopper in Hernando High School's James and the Giant Peach.

Read Riley's final entry below and click here for more.

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Performing on Broadway is the most exhilarating feeling a person can have. That experience topped anything performance wise I have ever done. Hearing the crowd is such a boost. Unlike most performances where the crowd noise says "You better be good!", the sound Monday night said "We want you to be great!"

I feel a bit biased but I think my favorite part of the night was the process of being chosen as a finalist, the feeling when I was chosen, singing a solo on the Minskoff stage, and riding up on the lift at the end. The overall pleasure and blessed feeling I received from that will never go away.

I would absolutely love to participate in the Jimmy Awards again if I could. The experience of the Jimmy Awards is the best thing a high schooler going into the business could do; you get a taste of the process and reap the benefits. I'm so thankful for my opportunity to perform at the Jimmy Awards.