The youth awards for 2006-2007:
Youth Initiative Award:
Youth Achievement Awards:
David Caterinicchio
The Youth Initiative Award is a special award given to an RLT teaching Assistant in recognition of his or her dedication to the art of teaching theatre. Their love and respect for theatre is so contagious that they not only inspire the students in their care but the teachers they assist as well. Recipients of the Youth Initiative Award go above and beyond in RLT classrooms, casts and organizations and have proven themselves to be humanitarians, free thinkers, role models and above all else, examples of kindness, patience and insight.
This year’s recipient of The Youth Initiative Award started taking RLT classes when he was 10 years old. For the past six years, he has taken many classes, workshops and summer camps. On the stage at RLT, he appeared as a Townsperson in The Emperor’s New Clothes and as Fire Eater in Pinocchio. For Cary Applause Theatre, he played the roles of Peter in The Lion The Witch And The Wardrobe and Cairo Fred in The Pink Panther.
He joined Raleigh Little Theatre’s Teaching Assistant Program in 2004 and has assisted teachers in 22 classes, camps and workshops. “I cast him as Nate in a production of Nate The Great“, says Kathleen Rudolph. “He was really amazing and just perfect for the part. Even though he had the most lines in the play, he knew everyone else’s lines too. I truly appreciate him as my TA. He always knows what is needed and then just does it.” Linda O’Day Young says, “As an actor, he is eager to learn and to grow and always willing to push himself. As a teaching Assistant, he is self assured, supportive of both teacher and student and what I enjoy most about him is his natural sense of calm and his warm sense of humor both of which affect the class in a positive way. He is a good person to be around.”
This year’s Youth Initiative Award goes to David Caterinicchio.
Andrew Heil
The Youth Achievement Award is the highest awarded honor a member of the Youth Program can receive. It is presented to those students who demonstrate a well rounded commitment to theatre, to RLT, to their school and to their community.
It is rare that the Youth Achievement Award is given to anyone as young as a sophomore in High School but this first recipient is a rare individual. He has been performing on stage since he was 11 years old. At Martin Middle School, where by the way he earned all straight A+s ,he appeared in Pandora’s Box, The Music Man, Alice In Wonderland, Tom Sawyer, My Fair Lady, Peter Pan, Treasure Island and Bye Bye Birdie.
Recent acting credits include Giles Corey in Bare Theatre’s The Crucible, Francisco in Enloe High School’s production of Hamlet and Macbeth with RLT’s Storytellers. He has been involved with the Teens On Stage Program for the past three years playing the roles of The Mathematician in The Phantom Tollbooth, Gallo in Sleeping Beauty and Gepetto in Pinocchio. He recently appeared as Cei in Merlin And The Cave Of Dreams.
He has also provided technical support by serving on crews for RLT and set construction crews for Enloe High School. At his High School, he is an active member of the Italian Club, The Drama Club and The National Honor Society. He recently was accepted into The International Thespian Society. In April, he was awarded Honorable Mention for Short Story by the Raleigh Fine Arts Society Literary Contest.
Since 2002, he has been extremely active in The Boy Scouts Of America, where he has held numerous leadership positions. He has earned 25 Merit Badges and in October was awarded the prestigious rank of Eagle Scout. “It is always an honor to work with him. He throws himself into any project with enthusiasm, dignity, courage and a lot of heart and he inspires those around him to do the same” says Linda O’Day Young.
It is a privilege to present this year’s Youth Achievement Award to Andrew Heil.
Molly Davis
The next recipient of the Youth Achievement Award has been joyfully performing on stage since she was in Kindergarten. According her mother, “We really saw something special in her when she played Adelaide in Guys And Dolls when she was in the fifth grade.”
She is currently finishing up her senior year at Enloe High School where the senior class has voted her “Most Unique.” At Enloe, she appeared in Candide, Heartbreak Town, A Musical, Hamlet, Bat Boy, The Musical and The American Dream. She is a member of The Drama Club and The International Thespian Society and has earned a letter this year for over 200 hours of service to the Drama Department. She is heading to UNC-G this Fall to major in Theatre.
Fortunately, this recipient also brought her special talents to Raleigh Little Theatre where she has served as a Teaching Assistant, an active member of Storytellers Squared and as an ensemble member with the Renaissance Faire and The Halloween Trail at Durant Park. She appeared in RLT’s Storytellers productions of Julius Caesar and Much Ado About Nothing as well as RLT’s production of James And The Giant Peach. She has participated in the Teens On Stage program for the past five years appearing in Story Theatre, Robin Hood, The Phantom Booth, Sleeping Beauty and Pinocchio.
She was RLT’s beautiful Sleeping Beauty in 2005 and the lovely Blue Fairy in Pinocchio in 2006 and this summer as she prepares to leave us, it is only fitting that she will be appearing as the dreaded Baba Yaga in Baba Yaga And The Black Sunflower.
“The stage loves her as much as she loves the stage. She knows how to make bold choices and still remain honest and her comic timing is delicious! On stage, she is always in the moment, a quality that is rare in young actors. She is generous and giving on stage and her scene partners benefit from that. She is generous and giving off stage and the production benefits from that. She conducts herself in a professional manner and I know that she and theatre will be lifelong friends.”
This Youth Achievement Award goes to Molly Davis.