NSAL's Photography Competition Judges Featured in Sun-Sentinel
Your cell phone camera is not just a feature, but an instrument, which after a bit of practice, you can use to capture interesting things you see and feel, said Cathaleen Curtiss, a former White House news photographer for three presidents.
Curtiss will be the master photography class lecturer at the annual High School Photography Program Exhibition and Student Workshop from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. March 10 at the Florida Atlantic University Theatre Lab, Parliament Hall, First Floor, 777 Glades Road, in Boca Raton. The 3-year-old event is sponsored by the National Society of Arts and Letters Florida East Coast Chapter. The exhibition will remain on display through March 23.

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.