Road to the Jimmys, Episode 6: Inspiration Meets Collaboration at Shea's Performing Arts Center in Buffalo, NY

If the Tony Awards speak to what’s happening on Broadway now, the Jimmy Awards provide a forecast of Broadway's future. Formally known as the National High School Musical Theatre Awards, the Jimmy Awards are an annual celebration of outstanding musical theater talent in high schools across America—from Dallas to Des Moines, San Antonio to San Diego, Memphis to Minneapolis. This year's Jimmy Awards will be held on June 24 at the Minskoff Theatre. Until then, The Broadway Show will be chronicling the Road to the Jimmys, spotlighting a few of the regional competitions that send their most talented teens to New York City each spring.

This week, we meet Cindy Ripley, board member at Shea's Performing Arts Center in Buffalo, NY and co-chair of the organization's education committee. "For young theater makers in our area, Shea's stage is their Broadway," says Ripley. "When they have the chance to be on stage preparing for the Jimmy Awards, that's equivalent to a star high school football player trying to play in Highmark Stadium where the Buffalo Bills play."

Students who participate in the Buffalo program train with theater professionals who volunteer their time to cultivate this rising generation of talent—a mutually inspiring endeavor, Ripley says. "Anyone who has had anything to do with this program ever, they feel so honored to work with these kids because the kids give us back more than we give them." At the end of the day, that spirit of generosity and collaboration is what keeps theater alive and well across the country. "The majority of them are building a lifelong love for theater," Ripley says of her students, "and that's building our audiences."