NSAL on CBS 12
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Thanks to CBS 12 for having Shari Upbin and Avery Sommers on as guests to discuss the Musical Theatre Competition.

CBS News featured NSAL Board Member, Shari Upbin and local drama winner Darius J. Manuel as they prepare for the National Drama Competition. In this Mentoring Matters segement the duo share their stories, the need for mentors and the important role NSAL plays in helping emerging artists ascend to the next stage!

One at a time they will step from behind the curtain and stand center stage at the Crest Theatre in Old School Square. “Good morning,” they will say, “I’m No. 1.” Then “I’m No. 2. … I’m No. 3. ...” They have names, but the trio of judges in the front row won’t know them. They are from Boynton Beach and Delray Beach, Boca Raton, Fort Lauderdale and Miami, but the judges won’t know where they live. All the judges will know for sure on this Saturday morning, March 9, is that each of them has a dream. They are 12 aspiring actors — seven young men, five young women — dressed in black slacks, black skirts, black blouses, black shirts. They have no costumes, no sets, no music, and when they are done, they will have no applause. All they have is a chair, two brief monologues and eight short minutes with which to attempt to win one of the top three spots in the Florida East Coast Chapter awards for the National Society of Arts and Letters 2019 Drama Competition. The first-place winner will receive $2,000 and an all-expense-paid trip to Washington, D.C., for the national competition May 30-June 2 and a chance to win $12,000.

The National Society of Arts and Letters Florida East Coast Chapter ( www.nsalfloridaeast.org ) has announced that two Dreyfoos School of the Arts students secured Winston Scholarships through the NSAL program. The local chapter of NSAL selected Kathryn Dennison and Laura Santamaria Mendez to compete nationally for the Winston scholarships in 2-D Visual Arts and Voice respectively. Both students will be honored at the NSAL Star Maker Awards on April 28, 2019 at Boca West Country Club with the nonprofit organization's other scholarship and competition winners.

Winning the woodwind first-place competition in the National Society of Arts and Letters Florida East Coast Chapter and placing second in the national competition, Anna Brumbaugh said the encouragement and support she received from the organization was even more valuable than the prize money she won. “It’s one of the highest paying competitions you can do in the U.S., but I’m most grateful to become part of the NSAL family…Even if you don’t place, to be surrounded by an arts organization that cares so much about fostering a strong sense of success in the youth of classical musicians in South Florida, it’s really rare and really special. I encourage anyone who is eligible to apply,” she said. Every year the competition is different, and this year, the chapter is focusing on drama for ages 18 to 28 who aren’t currently represented by professional management.