>> Hi, and welcome to Inside Louisville, where we introduce you to the people, places and things that make up Kentucky's largest city.

This week, we take you inside the KPA Bradley Awards, sometimes referred to as the Tonys for teenagers.

These are the regional awards for high school musical theater, and they lead to the Jimmy Awards.

The National High School Musical Theater Awards held in New York City.

[MUSIC] The Kentucky Performing Arts in Louisville Theatrical Association partnered to launch the Bradley Awards in 2025 to celebrate young artists and highlight the importance of theater arts education.

The awards are named in honor of Bradley Broecker, a Louisville legend in the arts community who is best known for bringing touring Broadway productions to our area and has had a lasting impact on youth arts education.

Here's a look inside the KPA Bradley Awards.

>> The Bradley Awards.

This is fun.

This is new.

[MUSIC] The Jimmy's is basically the most talented musical theater kids from the United States get together and compete.

[MUSIC] The best actor, best actress in High School Musical Theater, and for the Bradley Awards.

It's also a showcase of all the amazing talent that happens in Kentucky, which I think is super special because High School Musical theater is intense and it is so special, and I think it deserves to be recognized.

>> It's a great little world we live in.

I'm happy, I love since World one, I'm happy at the box is blocked up at me.

>> The process of.

>> Going through it really wasn't any different as far as how we went about doing our directing and all that stuff here, but when we got to the actual event, just having our students interacting with other students from all over the region that love the same things that they do, especially our students that got to be in the ensemble to be able to be with other students that love what they love.

It was almost this instant connection.

And that's what theater does, honestly.

So yeah, it was a great experience.

I think what it did is it brought a validity to, wow, this is, this is a big deal to be on the same stage with Broadway, where Broadway shows are performed with a huge deal for our students.

I also think it broadened their horizons to see how many really talented young people there are in the region and what that could mean for them.

And so I it was a fantastic experience.

The whole process was really great, but I think them being in the room and having that or factor and seeing the possibilities and seeing, you know, musical theater is a really legit thing.

>> So I had always known about the Jimmy Awards.

I watched it all the time, but I don't think I fully realized what I was doing could get me there.

I think that was something that I thought was, oh, that's just for those other kids.

But I was like, oh no, that's for me too.

It was so cool.

I mean, I'd never really been on a red carpet before, so it felt really nice just to be in my pretty dress, walking down the carpet.

And the rehearsal process itself was so unique.

It was a lot of I don't really know what I'm doing because this is the first year, so we had nothing to compare it to.

But I think that was also what made it so cool, and getting to do it with some of the most talented kids in Louisville or in Kentucky as a whole was amazing.

>> Student who receives the KPA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role, becoming one of the first ever to represent our region at the Jimmy Awards in New York City.

>> And then hearing my name, I think there's a video of me like playing at the Kentucky Performing Arts Center.

>> Is Kennedy Williams.

>> My face, my jaw just drops.

I was like, is this real?

We got private coaching from Broadway voice coaches and acting coaches, and in those small groups, we got to work on two songs each and those critiques, and the way they coached us was so unique.

And I've taken so much of their expertise with me and it was so cool.

We got to just a random spot on Broadway.

We pulled over, everybody got off the bus, and we walked to Times Square, and from there we all saw our headshots on Times Square and it was insane.

They captured a photo of me on the Jimmy's Instagram and I'm just like, what is happening?

That's me.

It was so incredible.

It's always been my dream to perform on Broadway.

Ever since I was little, I was like, mom, I want to be on Broadway.

And I don't think I fully realized what that meant until I was in the minskoff and I was performing on a Broadway stage, and I made my Broadway debut, and I realized I just reached my whole goal.

And so now I can have even bigger dreams.

[MUSIC] >> The world has.

>> Changed significantly.

They have to be able to innovate.

They have to be able to reframe failure and look, instead of failure at opportunities, they have to be able to be growth minded instead of fixed mindset.

And listen, theater does that.

Okay, so and actually the arts do that.

You can't walk into a music studio and start with Brahms.

You can't start with ballet en pointe.

Everything is process oriented.

I don't think that there's another platform that gives students the breadth of confidence that's going to set them up to be a 21st century leader like the arts, because our students have become so technology driven, they actually don't even do a really great job at making eye contact, being able to be socially comfortable in situations.

And I think what the arts does is it navigates that, it navigates collaboration, it navigates them being able to stand up in front of a 500 seat auditorium.

And honestly, you got to make some eye contact because the lights are going to do a job, but not that good.

Right?

So and then I think there's that sense of breaking through that communication barrier that has been created through technology.

Technology is great and it's going to be here to stay.

AI is going to be here to stay.

But now our job is to come behind these students and empower them to be the best humans they can be.

>> Well, we are excited to welcome Leslie Broecker, the president of Broadway in Louisville and the Louisville Theatrical Association, and Nick Covault, the Vice President of education and Community at KPA.

Kentucky Performing Arts.

Thank you all so much for being here.

What an incredible story.

They're just seeing the Kennedy, the past winner, and all of the other schools that have been locally here involved in the Bradley Awards.

Last year was the first year going into our second year here.

And when Leslie, if you'll just explain the the conception of the Bradley Awards and being named after your father, a local arts legend.

>> Which is really magical and certainly very special.

The Jimmy Awards were created in 2009, I think it was by James M Nederlander and the Pittsburgh Civic Light Orchestra, and it was the intention was to create a program that showcased High School Musical students and also focused on getting arts into the classroom.

We know how important arts are to our students, and this was a way to recognize them, to kind of lift it up and, and maybe move past the football game or something.

And, and so they started there and have been going ever since.

And programs have been joining over the years.

But it's a huge lift.

And our little theatrical association, while we've always wanted to do it, we really didn't have the manpower, which is where Nick and KPA team came in.

And so really, since before Covid, we've been talking about how do we make this happen?

How do we showcase the amazing talent throughout our state and throughout southern Indiana?

We know the productions are really good, so we worked on it.

Then we hit pause during Covid.

And then when it came back, Nick and team came and said, you know, we're ready to do it.

We need to figure out what the name's going to be.

As we get rolling out and the the awards across the country are named about by all kinds of luminaries.

The Tommy Tune Awards, Gene Kelly Awards, Lucie Arnaz So it's all people in their community that then it was named after because they kind of brought Broadway home.

And when they suggested Bradleys, my dad said, no way, I'm not behind the scenes guy.

Not going to happen.

And then we kind of let him go on a cruise and he came back and, and, and they brought it up again.

And we had been brainstorming other names.

And finally I said, this is pretty super cool.

I mean, you've done this your whole life.

Even when it wasn't your job, you cared about getting theater to Louisville and you were in plays at Eastern High School.

You were a magician growing up.

This things Brad.

And so we were able to sell it to him.

And that's how it happened.

And last year at the inaugural certainly was magical.

You know, being on the red carpet with your pop, knowing his heart and passion for this business, for the Kentucky Center and for our state, you know, it really worked out very magical.

>> And that legacy will obviously live on in these awards for for many generations.

And I want to hear your perspective being in education, space and KPA, which I know is very important to your all's mission.

What was it like for you being there last year at the Bradley Awards?

>> It was amazing.

It was so amazing to be a part of something new, to be a part of celebrating Bradley's legacy.

And of course, just to be in a room full of young people from Kentucky and southern Indiana and their educators just celebrating each other, you just felt that from the second the curtain went up.

I mean, the audience roared.

>> The energy was incredible.

I mean, even louder than maybe Hamilton, right?

I mean, it was it was goosebump loud.

>> Yeah.

And so just not only seeing the talent of these students showcased, but really feeling the theater arts community of our region, celebrating each other, cheering each other on and ultimately us, you know, selecting two students to go represent everyone in that room in New York City at the Jimmy Awards.

You know, I think it's important that we're celebrating our regional arts community through the KPA Bradley Awards.

But I think it's also really important that, hey, if there's a national stage for young musical theater talent in this country, Kentucky and southern Indiana need to be on that stage.

And now they are.

>> Yeah.

And I think that's important too.

You know, the the winners here don't just get a trophy or even their name in lights.

This is an experience at ten days in New York City with some of the most incredible coaches in the business.

We heard a little bit about that experience, but tell us what all that entails for these kids to be able to do in New York.

>> Well, I think first and foremost is when they get to perform on stage, they're performing in front of 10 or 15 Broadway producers.

I mean, these are the people that I'm booking shows with.

So you recognize the faces and and they're keeping an eye out.

I mean, not only are they judging for this competition, but don't I mean, you know, they're looking for their next talent and the next person they can find.

Last year's winner is now the lead in an Juliet on tour.

She went from senior in high school to Jimmy Award winner to her professional career.

So I mean that in and of itself.

But all week long they're at Juilliard.

They're going back and forth with different instructors, personal instruction.

They get to take a cool picture in the middle of Times Square that then they're standing there and it's running.

So, I mean, they're seeing their faces on Broadway.

And when you're coming from McCracken County, you know, I think that's something you dream of and you can't believe it's going to happen.

>> Yeah.

This this is obviously, as we mentioned, so important to the Louisville community.

But as as you said, this is for all of Kentucky and southern Indiana as well.

And explain that reach and how it brings all of these students together.

>> Absolutely.

So we understand that there's a lot of talent across our region.

So we really made an intentional decision starting this out to say, let's bring, of course, Southern Indiana into the fold and also reach out to the entire state of Kentucky.

And we're really proud.

In our first year, last year, we had 16 participating schools, and this year that is more than doubled to 35 in 20 counties from as far east as Morehead to as far west as Paducah and up into southern Indiana.

So that's, I think, a really important part of what the KPA Bradley Awards are accomplishing as well is, you know, making sure that we understand there is talent in this area, and it is from all over the place, from all sorts of different schools and communities.

And I think that that is something really that our region should be very proud of.

>> Yeah.

Explain how the process works.

How do you choose the schools?

How do they get involved or nominated and how are they judged ultimately?

>> So our schools that there is an application process that they go through.

But, you know, we're mostly just interested in making sure that we can get adjudicators to their musical in terms of when it's scheduled.

So we have a team of about 25 adjudicators.

They're all theater professionals of some kind, and we send teams of three adjudicators to each high school musical.

So all across the region, there are three people going to that high school theater to see the musical in person.

They've got some rubrics and things like that where they will provide scores to the musical.

But I think most importantly, they're providing written feedback to each of these schools, each of the individual performers, on how they did not only on stage, but how were the technical elements of the performance.

And we also have some other categories around student designers.

So the students who are maybe designing the sets or the costumes behind the behind the scenes excellence, maybe the students who are working in the box office are promoting the show.

We even have categories around community engagement and how students are creating impact off the stage with their work, and also, of course, outstanding arts mentor, really celebrating the adults who are shepherding these students on.

So these adjudicators are seeing these shows really all year long.

Our adjudication process just ended right before Derby here.

And so now we go through the process of tabulating scores and so on.

And of course, ultimately the award ceremony.

But I really have to emphasize we've heard so much from the schools how much that written feedback from adjudicators can be really impactful to hear outside perspective of what they should be proud of.

Opportunities for growth from theater arts professionals outside the school.

>> Absolutely new.

This year, we have students, reporters, people applied to become student reporters.

So you'll see them on the red carpet and doing interviews.

And it's just another natural, you know, to blend in because as you well know, broadcasting is another art.

And that's a way to get those kids involved.

>> Yes.

After my own heart.

Right.

>> Right, right.

>> I would have applied for in high school, but I think it's an important point that you bring up, too, is that the students behind the scenes are being honored too.

And I love the idea too, of them being honored, but also students kind of learning the business of it, right?

As you know, which is a hugely important part.

>> Well, so only so many people make it to the stage and only so many people make it to the front of the stage.

Right.

And so I think we all like to eat and we all like to be surrounded by our art.

I mean, we're behind the scenes, you know, folks.

And that's what I said to my dad, who he's now sponsoring the behind the scenes award.

I said, because you're the ultimate behind the scenes kind of guy.

And, and so I think pulling everybody in, I mean, when I was in high school, I did spotlights because I wasn't great.

Going to be great on the stage, but I love running the lights and being a part of it, being a part of the blocking and all the intricacies.

And I think, you know, making a show, making a musical is magical.

So we're just.

Yeah.

>> Well, I think it comprehensively highlights the importance of theater programs in our schools because they are so much more comprehensive than I think sometimes we think about.

So we're teaching students all these skills, not just courage on stage, but how to collaborate with people behind the scenes, how to apply your design skills.

So I think that it's really important to, to showcase just the wide range of impact that these programs are having.

>> Yeah, absolutely.

And we heard a little bit about that from the executive director of Sacred Heart Performing Arts when she talked about how the kids that are involved in theater, where she teaches are some of the most adept and becoming leaders in their own community.

Because you're learning teamwork, you're learning collaboration, you're learning how to be confident in front of a group of people.

And these are skills, particularly students in this generation █are sometimes lacking and otherwise.

>> Being able to get up in front of a small meeting, a big meeting or a crowd or standing on the stage introducing a show is so important.

And I think, you know, the teachers, very rarely are there just a dedicated I produce the musicals at my high school teacher.

They're librarians.

They're, you know, they're, they're working in all other facets.

So to know that they recognize this and can come from their place and really go the extra mile for kids, because that's what a director or a choreographer or anybody working on these shows is really going the extra mile.

Similarly to our education program, we don't have student performances at the Broadway series.

We have our regular run.

So when the teachers bring kids, they're taking their night time to bring the kids.

They apply for it and make that extra effort because I think they know it opens some door in their heart and in their mind.

And and the kid finds a little bit of confidence, or I can do that.

And if I can't do that, I bet I can be the one that deals with the sequins and the bobbles or the lights and the gels.

Yeah.

Yeah.

>> Well, and I think for a lot of these students, you know, maybe their, their passion in musical theater is relegated to what is mostly an extracurricular activity of being in their high school musical.

And so it can be a new narrative and discovery for them that they live in a region that has so many other young people who are just as passionate about the arts as they are, who are just as talented as they as they are, and that there's an amazing legacy of people from this region working professionally in theater to include Broadway.

And that's an element that we want to bring into this experience for our students as well.

One of my favorite parts of the ceremony is that we have video messages that play during it, from people from our region who are working professionally on Broadway saying, hey, I'm here.

You can be too.

And there is a whole world out there cheering you on.

>> Yeah, a lot of them feel Kennedy mentioned, too, in her interview, that I just kind of thought that was something that other people could do.

I never thought that was something I could really do.

And so bringing that spark to their eye, whether they end up in theater or just knowing they could really do anything they put their mind to.

>> It's a great background for everything and to get the recognition, you know, as you said, kind of a lot of times it is the extracurricular and it isn't the spotlight of of your school, but this pulls those kids into that spotlight.

And I just, I think it's really turned out and turned into a project Kentucky center team last year made such an amazing production with the video clips, the kids, the house was packed.

It was one of those I equated to like the first time NSync played the Palace where you needed earplugs because the decibels were so loud.

Yeah.

And and it just it was such a celebration.

>> Yeah.

Anytime you see kids that excited about anything, it's, it's something to, you know, take in one thing too that was mentioned was the collaboration of and you all mentioned it too, not just the student productions themselves and the team that they're working with.

When you bring these students in from different schools, different counties, different states, and they have to work together in an ensemble, right?

For the performance on the stage during these awards.

That's a whole other group.

>> Yeah, it was a very intentional decision that we made early on that we wanted every school that was participating to see themselves represented on stage, regardless of how they did or didn't Fair in the nominations.

And so the show opens and closes with our showcase ensemble.

So that's two students from every school upstate up there on stage, and they go through an amazing process.

They receive.

Our creative team does a great job of putting together rehearsal videos for them.

So they're learning their music, they're learning their choreography really on their own.

But we don't have students show up for rehearsal at the theater until just a couple days before the show.

Yeah.

And it's amazing to watch them all work together, show up, you know, rehearse, you know, self rehearse, of course, but then just diving in and getting to know each other, trust each other, build the show together.

And I think what we saw last year was just so magical, seeing those students, you know, show what they could do when they work together.

>> Yeah.

And, and it preps the two that we send to New York because a similar number is put together in New York on a real Broadway stage.

And they they have about 3 or 4 days to come together with that number plus perform their own numbers.

So it's, it's a lot when they hit New York.

>> Yeah, yeah.

But what an experience.

Yes.

Wow.

And we talk a lot too about how Louisville punches beyond its weight in a lot of ways when it comes to the arts.

Explain how having something like this plays into that and really puts Louisville in Kentucky on the map.

>> You know, we have always said we've got a crazy number of season ticket holders who love the arts.

I think Actors Theater has a lot to do with that.

And in its early beginnings and, and it's was such a recognized and renowned entity here locally.

And I think it's very different than what we do in that they're they do more plays and we need the big house for big musicals.

And I think because Louisville in the community responds so much to those shows, I mean, the last couple of years you couldn't get tickets.

And there are bigger cities than us who struggle to sell tickets.

And so I think we've for a long time recognized, I think we had very omniscient leaders back in the 80s who said, we need a Kentucky Center for the Arts.

Our shows were at the Brown, and you had to take them when they had shrunk to littleness.

And now we get them when they're first going out on tour.

And.

And that's a big deal to get.

You don't have to go to Broadway to see the three hottest shows on Broadway because they're coming to you next season.

So yeah, I think it makes a big difference.

>> Yeah.

>> Big difference.

>> Yeah.

And I mean, you know, in this region, culture and the arts, they're almost so embedded in our past and our present that I feel like sometimes we're tempted to maybe take it for granted.

And so I think that's reflected in, you know, the talent of our schools, arts programs, and of course, our young artists.

And I also think that we live in a place where people really believe in the next generation.

They love to, you know, give young people a, you know, a, any kind of assistance they can.

And so I think the way that we're championing young artists is just a part of who we are, right in this area.

>> This year's Bradley Awards will be held Sunday, May 31st at the Brown Theater in Louisville.

You can follow along when you follow us on social media.

You can find us on Instagram at KET n Lou.

You can also stream and share this episode anytime at ket.org/insidelouisville.

Thanks for spending a little time getting to know Louisville today.

I hope we'll see you here next time.

Until then, make it a great week.