NSAL Florida Launches the Mark Bruce & Marilyn Lee Swillinger Musical Theater Competition : Open to High School Juniors and Seniors Throughout the State of Florida

The NSAL Florida spotlight is about to find a new generation of talent. The National Society of Arts and Letters, Florida (NSAL Florida) is proud to announce the launch of the Mark Bruce & Marilyn Lee Swillinger Musical Theater Competition, a dazzling new annual opportunity for high school performers across the state of Florida to take center stage and win scholarship money to fund their education.

Open to juniors and seniors currently enrolled in high schools throughout Florida, the competition invites the state's most promising young performers to compete for a total prize purse of $7,000, with a $3,500 first prize, $2,000 second prize, and $1,500 third prize awaiting the top three finalists. The competition will be held on March 27, 2027 at Lynn University in Boca Raton.

“For over 45 years, NSAL Florida has been supporting young emerging artists,” President Shari Upbin. “With the addition of this new scholarship, we are thrilled to be able to champion high school musical theatre students and provide them with the financial support and mentoring that NSAL is synonymous with. We are extremely grateful to Mark Swillinger for this generous gift that honors his late wife’s incredible impact on the arts and their continued commitment to helping young people achieve success.”

This new competition carries the names of two of South Florida's most beloved philanthropists, Mark Bruce and Marilyn Lee Swillinger, longtime champions of the arts who chaired the NSAL Florida Red Rose Gala in 2016 and devoted their support to uplifting the region's cultural institutions. Marilyn, who passed away in 2023, spent her life turning her passion for the arts into action, from her presidency of Lynn University's Friends of the Conservatory of Music to her founding role with the Center for the Arts and Innovation. She famously said that "as a chosen child, it was my duty to give back and continually give of myself." Mark has continued that legacy in her honor, including a recent endowment of over $1 million to Lynn University for the arts and education. Now, through this gift to NSAL Florida to establish an annual competition, Mark is ensuring that the art form he and Marilyn cherished together will continue championing new voices, for years to come.

"Marilyn and I always loved attending musical theater in our community,” stated Mark Swillinger. “Watching young artists grow and take on new, challenging roles season after season was something we found especially inspiring. With this new competition, I look forward to creating a legacy gift to NSAL Florida that honors one of my wife's greatest passions and helps bring students' dreams to life for years to come."