By. Kevin Ray Johnson (Staff Writer for OnStage Blog)

Every year as the days go by I get inspired by the young talent I come across and even more so with those artists who did not let the likes of Covid discourage them from chasing the very thing that makes them feel the most alive and that is performing on stage. There are so many obstacles you have to face as someone wanting a career in the performing arts and to be honest, I don't know how I would have handled Covid when I was 17 or 18. But enough about Covid let's talk about these amazing five young performers. I have had the privilege of directing, and sharing the stage with these talented young artists in the past year or so and I am so honored to share them with you. I promise you when I say that these five young performers are the future and you heard it hear first.

Here are my five young performers in this country you should know, 2022 Edition!

OLIVER TAM

I had the opportunity to work with Oliver this summer (briefly) and was just blown away when I found out that he just graduated Highschool. His amazing voice is beyond his years and he truly has all the talent to back it up. Oliver has appeared Off-Broadway in A Brave New World (Isaac Lebowitz). Some other credits include - Rent (Roger), Spring Awakening (Moritz), Heathers (J.D.), and Bright Star (Jimmy Ray Dobbs), among many others. He is a 2022 Finalist for the Roger Rees Award for Excellence in Student Performance and was Nominated for a National Youth Arts Award for Outstanding Featured Performance in a Play. Oliver will be attending Northwestern in the fall where he'll be majoring in theatre. That department is very lucky to have a bright, gifted, and talented young man!

Leah Henry

LEAH HENRY

Leah performed the role of Samantha in the Regional Premiere of my play The Unpredictable Times at Rise Above Performing Arts where also performed the role of Brittany in the Florida Premiere of The Love Note. Leah will be appearing in the first Public Reading of Hey! We're Done Here! - An unauthorized parody based on characters from the cartoon "Hey Arnold!" this January, 2023 in New York City. Leah is a Senior at Western Carolina University where she has performed in Heathers among others. Before that she attended Booker Highschool and studied under Scott Keys and Sunny Smith. I love a lot of things about this young lady but the most important thing is her commitment to getting better every time she walks on the stage. Her performance only gets stronger every time and she has a lot of natural abilities that you just can't teach. I am very excited to see where her career goes in the next five years!

JUDAH TAYLOR

I had the honor of performing with this talented young man when he played Young Robert in the historic production of Terence Blanchard's and Kasi Lemmons Fire Shut Up in My Bones at The Metropolitan Opera which was directed by James Robinson and Tony Award Nominee Camille A. Brown. His talent blew me away the first time I saw him perform and I am so excited and the thought and possibilities of this young man's future! He truly has the right attitude all the tools to make it in this industry!

KATE MOBLEY-TARPLEY

Kate is a Senior at Booker Highschool and is a part of their theatre program in Sarasota, Florida led by Sunny Smith. At Booker she has performed in Tuck Everlasting, Funny Thing Happened..., among others. Some of her other credits include performing in All Shook Up (Natalie), 13: The Musical (Lucy), and Grease (Cha-Cha) at Rise Above Performing Arts and in Pippin at The Manatee Players. Kate will be seen next as Carmen in Rise Above's production of Fame. Kate is honestly one of the youngest true triple threats that I have ever come across in my 20 + year career and it makes me very happy knowing she wants to pursue theatre as a career. The sky is the limit for this talented young lady even if she does not see it yet! She's got all the tools to have a very long and successful career in this industry! Kate is going to go very far and I am very excited to witness it.

HANNAH HEIL

A recent graduate of NYU where she performed in Applause, Cry Baby, The Magic Flute, and Macbeth. Hannah is a very talented young lady who truly makes every show she's a part of better through her talent and more importantly her professionalism. She has performed regionally with The Rocky Mountain Repertory Theatre. I truly hope to have the chance to not only see her perform on stage but to work with her as well. Make sure you visit her official website at - https://www.hannahheil.com

To learn more about the theatre's and programs mentioned in this article make sure you visit - Rocky. Mountain Repertory Theatre -https://www.rockymountainrep.com; Rise Above Performing Arts -https://riseabovearts.com; The Manatee Players -https://www.manateeperformingartscenter.com; NYU -https://steinhardt.nyu.edu; Booker High School VPA -https://www.bookervpa.com; Western Carolina University Theatre -https://www.wcu.edu/learn/programs/theatre/index.aspx; Northwester University -https://communication.northwestern.edu/theatre/; The Metropolitan Opera -https://www.metopera.org

Five Young Performers in This Country You Should Know! (2022)

Subscribe