Click to read more.

2002 NOCCA Drama Alum Chris Latzke surprising Janet Shea with masterclass, as she counts down to retirement.

Below are photos from this year’s Celebration Ceremony.

Guest speaker Benh Zeitlin connects with the Class of 2013

President/CEO Kyle Wedberg

Scholarship recipients from the Class of 2013

WHAT: Next on Mark Cortale’s BROADWAY AT NOCCA series: AUDRA MCDONALD!

WHEN: Saturday, May 18 at 7:30pm

WHERE: NOCCA – 2800 Chartres St.

Visit www.BroadwayNOLA.com for tickets or call 800-838-3006!
Audra McDonald — the five-time Tony Award-winner and recent star of Porgy and Bess on Broadway and TV’s Private Practice — makes her New Orleans debut with two shows only on Saturday, May 18 at 7:30 and 9:30. Both performances will take place in NOCCA’s Lupin Hall, with Sirius XM Radio star Seth Rudetsky as pianist and host.

What’s more: the Broadway @ NOCCA series announced last month that it will initiate a new, $2,500 scholarship! Each year, the scholarship will be awarded to one NOCCA senior who is attending a conservatory or college and specializing in Musical Theatre performance. Each award recipient will be selected by the school’s faculty, based on merit and need. Ms. McDonald will give out the first Broadway @ NOCCA scholarship onstage immediately after her performance!

The Broadway @ NOCCA season closes with Megan Hilty — star of NBC’s Smash (role of Ivy) and Wicked on Broadway — with one show only on Saturday, June 1 at 7:30 (replacing the previously programmed Betty Buckley due to a scheduling conflict). Preceding Ms. Hilty and Ms. McDonald in the star-studded series this season were Patti LuPone in January, Sutton Foster in March, and Megan Mullally of Will & Grace in April. Broadway @ NOCCA artists also give master classes for NOCCA’s Musical Theatre students.
Tickets for all remaining concerts can be purchased atwww.BroadwayNOLA.com or by calling 800-838-3006. All concerts are produced by Mark Cortale, long -time producer/manager of Jeffery Roberson, aka Varla Jean Merman, and will be hosted by Sirius/XM radio star Seth Rudetsky at the piano. The series is sponsored exclusively by the New Orleans Hotel Collection and Gambit.

BIOGRAPHY

Audra McDonald became a three-time Tony Award-winner by the age of 28 for her performances in Carousel, Master Class, and Ragtime, placing her alongside Shirley Booth, Gwen Verdon, and Zero Mostel by accomplishing this feat within five years. She won her fourth in 2004 for her role in A Raisin in the Sun, a role she reprised for a 2008 television adaptation, earning her a second Emmy Award nomination. On June 10, 2012, McDonald scored her fifth Tony Award win for her portrayal of Bess in Broadway’s The Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess, thus tying a record held by Angela Lansbury and Julie Harris for most Tony Awards won by an actor.

She also maintains her ties to classical repertoire with an active concert and recording career, performing song cycles and operas as well as concerts throughout the U.S. Audra’s many television appearances include four seasons as Naomi Bennett in Private Practice, as well as Homicide: Life on the Street, Law & Order: SVU, Having Our Say, Mister Sterling, The Bedford Diaries, Kidnapped, the television remake of the musical Annie, and HBO’s Wit with Emma Thompson. She was recently announced as joining the cast of The Good Wife. Her film roles include Cradle Will Rock, Object of My Affection, It Runs in the Family, Best Thief in the World, and Seven Servants.

Click to listen to the full story.

Students Completing Studies At Arts Conservatory Have Received Largest Sum Of Scholarship Offers In School History

 New Orleans Center for Creative Arts (NOCCA) Class of 2013 is a special one. The class of 123 students from across southeastern Louisiana has received over $14.5 million dollars in scholarship offers from the most prestigious colleges and art conservatories in the country. This figure averages over $118,000 per student, exclusive of TOPS awards. This year, NOCCA has the highest per capita and total scholarship awards in NOCCA’s history.

Some incredible student highlights include:

• Angelique Montes (pictured right) New Orleans-70131, Orleans Parish, NOCCA Classical Instrumental student will be attending Oberlin Conservatory of Music on scholarship continuing her studies on the cello. Angelique was selected as a member of the National Youth Orchestra of the United States of America and will be touring the world this summer.

• Miles Berry (pictured left)Mandeville-70448, St. Tammany Parish, NOCCA Jazz student, is part of the prestigious 2013 Thelonious Monk National Performing Arts High School All-Star Jazz Sextet as saxophonist and sole member from Louisiana. He plans on attending The New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music in New York. Miles has also received the national acclaim as the 2013 recipient of the ASCAP Foundation Louis Prima Award.

• Sandy Osgood (pictured right) Gretna-70054, Plaquemines Parish, Belle Chase High and NOOCA Culinary Arts senior plans to fulfill his dream of becoming a chef by attending Johnson & Wales University in Rhode Island on scholarship. Sandy began honing his culinary training with NOCCA over four years ago in a summer program.

• Rickey Watson Jr. (pictured left) LaPlace-70068, St. John the Baptist Parish, a NOCCA Drama student who attends East St. John High School plans on continuing his studies in acting at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts. Rickey has been very active at his academic school, including his selection as a Wildcat Top 10.

• Creative Writing student Leigh Vila (pictured right), Metairie-70002, Jefferson Parish, received the level of Artistry in her NOCCA studies as well as maintaining a rigorous academic studies at Haynes Academy of Advanced Studies. Leigh is a National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Competition finalist and has been accepted to Yale University where she will be attending in the fall. As an artist, she has received several national awards from the prestigious Scholastic Art & Writing Awards and was recognized at Carnegie Hall in New York City.

• Emmanuel Chastain (pictured left) Independence-70443, Tangipahoa Parish,  faced many challenges with transportation to and from NOCCA coming from Independence, Louisiana each day. He was still able to achieve his goal of concluding his Media Arts: Filmmaking & Digital Recording studies at NOCCA. Now, he plans to continue work on his own music and produce. He will be enrolling at Southeastern Louisiana University. 

• Malerie Dempster (pictured right) Luling-70070, St. Charles Parish, has been dancing since she was a toddler. She has been accepted to the prestigious arts conservatory of The Ailey School/Fordham University. She is one of only forty students nationally accepted into this professional dance university program. She plans to receive her Bachelors of Fine Arts from Fordham and dance in Ailey’s company.

“Every year, NOCCA has an exceptional group of seniors that go out into the world and lead in the creative and cultural economies,” stated NOCCA President|CEO Kyle Wedberg. “But this class has shown themselves to be singular. We have more national merit citations, more valedictorians and salutatorians, and more scholarship awarded dollars per capita to this class than any previous year. This class will not only make great art, but they will make important contributions to this city, region, state, nation and the world as they help us better see the elements of ourselves, our collective selves, and our path forward through their work.  There are great things to come from the NOCCA Class of 2013.”

The NOCCA Institute & The Lupin Foundation present the
2013 ART & SOUL gala
Sunday, May 19, 2013
New Orleans Center for Creative Arts
2800 Chartres Street, New Orleans

 IBERIABANK patron party: 6:00 – 7:00pm
Hors d’oeuvres & sangria by 
NOCCA’s Culinary Arts Department 

ART & SOUL gala: 7:00 – 10:00pm
Catered by Hilton New Orleans Riverside
Lights & decor by Solomon Group
Specialty drinks by Plum St. Snoballs

Silent auction: 6:00 – 9:00pm
NOW LIVE: CLICK HERE TO START BIDDING!
Sponsored by the Arlene & Joseph Meraux Charitable Foundation
Powered by AuctionsByCellular

 Attire: Jazzy casual

Purchase tickets using the order form below or by calling 504 940 2900!

New Orleans Center for Creative Arts

Musical Theatre Department Showcases

Level 1:          Tuesday, May 21, 4:30pm

Level 2/3: Thursday, May 23, 4:30 pm

Lupin Theatre

Lupin Recital Hall

Wednesday, May 15

6:30pm