Young Performer Max Pink Heads to the Jimmy Awards

By Katie Korek

One of our First Stage Young Performers will be representing the state of Wisconsin at the 2017 National High School Theatre Awards, also known as the Jimmy Awards. Max Pink of Shorewood High School will travel to New York at the end of June to reprise his role of Sweeney Todd on a NYC stage.

The Jimmy Awards began in 2009 as a way “to elevate the importance of theatre arts education in schools and reward excellence in student performance.” Each year one actor and one actress from dozens of regional programs travel to New York to participate in a 10-day training intensive with New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts, culminating in a final awards show.  At the awards, scholarships are awarded for exemplary performances. This year’s Jimmy Awards will be held on June 26th and hosted by Ben Platt, who just recently won the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical for his performance in Dear Evan Hansen.

Max received an Outstanding Lead Performer award at this year’s Tommy Awards through the Overture Center in Madison, WI. He then earned his spot at the Jimmy’s through an audition process with all Outstanding Lead Performer recipients. The Tommy Awards are Wisconsin’s regional affiliate of the Jimmy Awards, reviewing productions from over 70 schools throughout Wisconsin. This is Max’s second time receiving an individual award at the Tommy’s, and he enjoys that the awards are a true “exercise of what one day could be happening in a professional setting for aspiring theatre artists.”

As a Young Performer, Max has performed in many shows with First Stage both at the Todd Wehr Theater and as a part of the Young Company.  Main stage shows include Shrek the Musical, Sherlock Holmes: The Baker Street Irregulars, Ella Enchanted and Goosebumps the Musical: Phantom of the Auditorium. Young Company performances include Our Town, Once Upon a Mattress, Maul of the Dead and Hamlet.

Max in ELLA ENCHANTED 

When asked how First Stage has impacted who he is as an actor today, he points to his experiences with Young Company.  “Young Company has truly been the biggest teacher for me as an actor. It is there that I truly learned how to move, analyze text, and make informed choices as an actor.” He also credits First Stage directors John Maclay, Matt Daniels, Marcella Kearns, Jeff Schaetzke, and Jeff Frank for teaching him many of the skills he now utilizes as an actor.

Congratulations to Max and break a leg at the Jimmy Awards!