Rules and Guidelines

2025 Broadway In Chicago IHSMTA: Musicals must take place on or after September 20, 2024 and prior April 13, 2025

Registration for the 2025 IHSMTA is now closed. If you have any questions about this, please reach out to us at ihsmta@broadwayinchicago.com . To receive further information, including information regarding next year’s applications, Click here to be added to the Illinois High School Musical Theatre Awards email list.

School Rules

Eligibility Requirements

• Eligible high schools must be a public or private school within the state of Illinois.
• Schools may only submit an application for one qualifying high school musical per school year.
• The  high school musical production submitted must be a full-length qualifying musical from the Jimmy Awards list here (Scroll to bottom of page, subject to change).
• Eligible musicals must be performed prior to the musical submission deadline (above).
• Schools will provide the Broadway In Chicago IHSMTA four complimentary tickets (two pair) to their production, on the date(s) IHSMTA chooses, for Broadway In Chicago adjudicators to attend and evaluate the show.
• Schools must be accepted as an IHSMTA Participating High School in order to have their students apply for consideration as a Best Performer in an Actor/Actress Role, as well as all other awards.

Double Casting

• Schools that choose to double cast their musical must select one cast for adjudication. Only the students in the selected cast will be eligible to be nominated and apply for Best Performer in an Actor/Actress Role. An exception will be made only if both students who are double cast in the same role have been previously nominated for IHSMTA. (Please note, a nominated student is defined as a student who was one of the 24 Best Performer nominees the year prior, not a student applicant from the previous year)
• If a school chooses to double cast and has a student who was previously nominated for IHSMTA, the cast with the previously nominated student is the cast that will be evaluated.
• Educators must include all performance dates the selected cast will be performing when completing their school application. Once these dates are submitted, no changes will be accepted.

2025 IHSMTA Categories and Evaluation Categories 

Best Performer in an Actor Role: Evaluates the student’s complete proficiency in the areas of singing, acting, and dancing.

Best Performer in an Actress Role: Evaluates the student’s complete proficiency in the areas of singing, acting, and dancing.

Best Ensemble: Evaluates how the ensemble both on and off stage is utilized appropriately throughout the entire show, as well as their overall proficiency in the areas of singing, acting, dancing and technical theatre efforts off stage.

Best Direction: Evaluates how the director has used all the elements at their disposal to create the strongest production they can with their available resources.

Best Production Evaluates the overall excellence of the production and considers all above elements. Best Production is awarded to a school who produces an outstanding example of a high school musical both on and off stage.

Eligibility Requirements for Best Performer in an Actor/Actress Role

Student applicants for Best Performer in an Actor/Actress Role must:

• Be a resident of the state of Illinois.
• Be enrolled in grades 9-12 in an Illinois public or private high school participating in The Broadway In Chicago IHSMTA
• Have performed a qualifying role in a full-length high school musical theatre production, at an IHSMTA Participating High School, during the 2024-2025 academic year. A supporting role does not qualify. A comprehensive list of Jimmy Awards® qualifying roles can be found here (Scroll to bottom of page, subject to change).
• Should a student want to apply, but they attend high school that does not produce a full-length musical, they should reach out to IHSMTA to explore a potential alternative.

For the purposes of IHSMTA and The Jimmy Awards® , students are adjudicated in the category corresponding to their gender identification, not the gender of the role that they played.

• Students identifying as non-binary or gender-fluid may:
  • choose to select either the category in which they wish to be adjudicated (regardless of the gender of the role)
  • OR they may be adjudicated based on the gender of the role they played.

In all cases, the role must be performed as written in the script. Schools who make changes to the script must provide written documentation from the licensing house, with approval of those changes to IHSMTA. For example, in Big Fish, if two actors share the role of Edward Bloom (i.e., Young Edward and Old Edward) or if two or three actors share the role of the Narrator in Joseph…, none of these students would be considered eligible to apply for IHSMTA. 

Student applicants for Best Performer in an Actor/Actress Role must agree to the possible videotaping, televised opportunities, photos, press interviews, and print advertising in conjunction with the Broadway In Chicago Illinois High School Musical Theatre Awards.

Students must be willing and available to participate in both the Broadway In Chicago Illinois High School Musical Theatre Awards tentatively scheduled for May 11-12, and The Jimmy Awards® (National High School Musical Theatre Awards) in June 2025 (Approx. June 13-24, 2025).

Broadway In Chicago’s IHSMTA Nominees and Award Recipients:

The 24 nominees will be evaluated through an audition process that includes two live performances of two solo songs: one song (up-tempo or ballad, if applicable) from the qualifying role they played in the musical for which they have been nominated and one song of the nominee’s choosing from a provided list of Jimmy Awards approved songs. Nominees must provide their own clearly marked sheet music in a 3-ring binder in page protectors. All nominees must perform with the provided accompanist – no recordings or a cappella singing will be allowed. Two students (one from each category) will be selected as the IHSMTA award recipients to compete at The Jimmy Awards® on behalf of Illinois. Additionally, two students will be selected as the runners-up and will step in for the winners if applicable.

If selected as the Best Performer in an Actor/Actress Role Recipient:

• The student must be available and willing to participate in The Jimmy Awards held in New York City in late June 2025.
• The two award recipients will travel on an all-expense paid trip with a Broadway In Chicago chaperone. Air transportation, meals, and housing in New York will be provided for the week of the program.
• Additional release forms for the trip and for the NHSMTA program must be signed by the student and a parent/guardian.
• The Jimmy Awards® week includes one-on-one coaching, auditions and rehearsal for the Jimmy Awards. Finalists are selected by a panel of judges made up of Broadway professionals.