BROUGHT TO YOU BY THE WOODLAND HILLS FOUNDATION.
WOO DL AN D HI LL S S C HOO L D IS TRI C T NE WS
oodland Hills
for the arts. Other philanthropic organizations such as the CLO
Ambassadors grant scholarships to students participating in their
schools’ musicals, but who will pursue degrees outside of the
arts. This year, over $110,000 was awarded. Point Park University
awarded Woodland Hills’ Keaton Runco with $20,000 and the CLO
Guild presented Woodland Hills’ Miranda Miller with $2,500 to
continue her art education at Carnegie Mellon University.
In addition to performing at the Benedum Center, the cast and
crew of Woodland Hills’ musicals have the opportunity to work
with professional actors and technicians. This year, four-legged
Bowdie joined the cast. Bowdie, a rescue dog, played Nana, both
at Woodland Hills and on NBC’s Peter Pan Live. He is trained by Tony
Award honoree William Berloni, and accompanied by Equity actor
Brian Michael Hoffman. Also working with the Woodland Hills
crew and cast was Russ from flying company ZFX. Together, these
professionals have done thousands of productions of Peter Pan;
their insight proved to be invaluable.
Year after year, audience members remark at the professional
nature of Woodland Hills’ musicals. People who have seen the
Broadway productions of these high school shows say there is
no difference. With the continued support of the Woodland Hills
administration and community, as well as the staff, volunteers,
parents, and students, year thirty promises to be exciting —
grades 9-12 will bring Monty Python’s Spamalot to the Thomas
G. Crone Auditorium April 27–29 and May 4–6, 2017. Students
from WHJSHS and the WH Academy in grades 7 and 8 will take
audiences from Woodland Hills to Pride Rock in Disney’s Lion King
Jr. this winter. Check www.whsd.net for more information.
2016 Gene Kelly Award nominations:
*Best Scenic Design
*Best Lighting Design
*Best Costume Design
*Best Crew and Technical Execution
Best Choreography
Best Musical
Best Supporting Actor
(Keaton Runco – Smee)
Best Supporting Actress
(Tessa Douglas – Tiger Lily)
Best Actress (Leah Prestogeorge –
Peter Pan)
*Indicates 2016 Gene Kelly Award Winner
See www.whsd.net for complete Woodland Hills Gene Kelly
Awards Archives.
Andrea M. Sisk is proud to be a resident of the Woodland Hills
School District, an alumnus of Woodland Hills High School, and a
faculty member of the Woodland Hills Junior Senior High School
Math Department. In the spring, you can find her “in the wings” as Mr.
Crone’s Executive Producer.
The cast of Peter Pan with
Patricia Ward Kelly, wife of
the late Gene Kelly.
The crew of Peter Pan
with their sixteenth
award for Best Crew and
Technical Execution.
52 Woodland Hills