• Teachers registertheir high school musical for the Diamond Awards. 

• Adjudicators are sent to your school’s musical. 

• Students receive written feedback for their performance. 

• The top placing students are invited to participate in the Diamond Awards “bootcamp” and perform during the awards show on May 23, 2026, at Walton Arts Center. 
  > The Best Lead Actor or Best Lead Actress winners will advance to New York City to compete in the Broadway League Foundation’s National High School Musical Theatre Awards®, “The Jimmy Awards®." 

• Walton Arts Center will cover the cost of this trip for the two winners. Once there, they’ll receive training from Broadway professionals and compete for The Jimmy Award for Best Lead Actor or Best Lead Actress. 

Timeline: 

• September 4, 7:30am or 4:30pm – Info Session for Teachers 

• October 1 – Deadline to submitregistration 

• November 1– April 24 - Productions must occur during this time to be adjudicated 

• April 27 –Finalists Announced 

• May 20-23 – Diamond Awards Rehearsals (students may need to be excused from classes) 

• May 23 – The Diamond Awards  

• June 22 – The Jimmy Awards 

• Best Lead Actor 

• Best Lead Actress 

• Best Supporting Performers 

• Best Ensemble Performance 

• Spirit of the Diamonds 

• Outstanding Vocal Performance 

• Outstanding Acting Performance 

• Outstanding Dance Performance 

• Sparkle Award for Outstanding Educator  

• The Diamond Awards is open to all high schools producing a qualifying musical in Arkansas, as defined by the National High School Musical Theatre Awards. 

• It is recommended, but not required, that high schools be within a 2.5 hour driving distance from Walton Arts Center. 

• Each high school may only participate in one Regional Awards Program. 

• Each high school may only submit one application for one production per school year. 

• Only instrumental tracks/recordings or live musicians may be used for accompaniment during performances. 

• Per the NHSMTA program, 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 either select 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. All casting or script change requests for performances in the NHSMTA program must be approved beforehand. 

• ALL student finalists and nominees must fall into one of these categories: 

1. They must be enrolled at the participating high school presenting the musical. 

2. They are cast in a show at a single-gender school who engages students of different genders to fulfill casting requirements. 

3. They are a homeschooled student cast in a participating school’s show. 

• Adjudication Process – The Diamond Awards uses a 2-step adjudication process to determine finalists for Best Lead Actor and Best Lead Actress. Utilizing a comprehensive rubric provided by the Diamond Awards, the Best Lead Actor and Best LeadActress winners are determined by a combined total score of the following: 

1. Performance in high school musical: 
   > A panel of 2-3 theater professionals will attend and evaluate a performance of each participating school’s musical production. 
   > Adjudicators will review all qualifying roles in the approved musical to determine Lead and Supporting finalists. 

2. Audition during Diamond Awards Rehearsal: 
   > Each finalist for Best Lead Actor and Best Lead Actresswill perform one 32-bar cut from a song of their choice from a NHSMTA approved musical. 
   > This is a private audition in front of a panel of adjudicators. This song should not be from your high school musical role. 

• Best Lead Actor & Best Lead Actress Finalists: 
  > To be eligible for Best Lead Actor and Best Lead Actress at the Diamond Awards and compete at the NHSMTA, students must perform a role considered a qualifying role in an approved musical by the NHSMTA (The full list and guidelines can be found on the National Awards website).
  

• Finalists must be a current high school student, grades 9 through 12. 

• A finalist may participate in one (1) Regional Awards Program only. 

• All students performing qualifying roles in an approved musical will be adjudicated. Teachers will not be asked to nominate individual students for awards.  

• Best Lead Actor and Best Lead Actressfinalists will be determined by the adjudication scores. Winners will be determined using the 2-step process above. 

• Best Supporting Performers must be enrolled at the participating high school, presenting the musical. These awards are chosen at the discretion of the adjudicators. 
  > Nominated supporting performers will be invited to participate in a portion of the Diamond Awards rehearsals May 22 & perform during the show on May 23. 

• Best Ensemble Performance - Students must be enrolled at the participating high school presenting the musical, and award is chosen at the discretion of the adjudicators. 
  > The ensemble will be invited to perform a group number from their musical during The Diamond Awards show. To provide time to prepare, they will be notified on April 27. 

• Spirit of the Diamonds - This award is to recognize a student who embodies the spirit of this musical theatre celebration.This award will be determined by votes from students during the Diamond Awards show rehearsal process. 

• The Sparkle Award for Outstanding Educator - This award is to recognize a teacher who has made an impact in the life of their students through arts education. 
  > A teacher will be selected from nominations submitted by students, fellow teachers, administrators, and parents and presented the award during the Diamond Awards show. 

• Outstanding Vocals, Acting, & Dance Performances - These awards are to recognize students who excel in a particular musical theatre skill.Awards in each category are chosen at the discretion of the adjudicators. 

• Act as the primary liaison between Walton Arts Center’s Diamond Awards and the school. 

• Attend Virtual Information Session – September 4, 7:30am or 4:30pm 

• Provide high quality photographs of your production to Walton Arts Center for use during and for promotion of the Diamond Awards. 

• Provide full cast list with student names. 

• Distribute information and updates regarding the Diamond Awards to the students and school community. 

• Respond to correspondence from Walton Arts Center in a timely manner. 

• Ensure production sheet music is available to Walton Arts Center. 

• Assist in preparing students selected to perform in the awards show. 

• List participation in the Diamond Awards in your musical’s playbill. The logo and copy will be provided to schools. 

• Provide up to 7 complimentary tickets (2 for each adjudicator and 1 for a Walton Arts Center staff member) for performance dates selected to review. 

• Tickets should be held at the box office for adjudicators under “Diamond Awards.” Digital tickets should be sent to diamonds@waltonartscenter.org  

• Must be available for the Diamond Awards rehearsals and show: May 20-23, 2026. 

• Be available and able to travel to NYC for Jimmys week: June 12– 23, 2026.  

• Provide current color headshots. (no selfies) 

• Sign participation forms- including personal release, waiver, photo/video release. 

• Prepare a 32-bar cut from The Jimmys’ qualifying show and role for a panel of judges. This audition is private. This song is different from your nominated role’s songs, and is up to you to choose the song that shows off your talent. 

• Provide Walton Arts Center with all necessary components to be sent to The Jimmys (We will assist with completing these, if needed: Resume with template provided, Essay, Bio, Response Video, Information and Medical forms, Parent Permission form, etc).