SAN ANTONIO – After years of training in acting and singing, a San Antonio area teen has won a national music theater competition.
Rising senior Nicholas Barron at the Northeast School of the Arts has been performing since he was nine years old.
“The first place I performed was here on the public theatre stage. I did some stuff around town. I did the Woodlawn. I did Morgan’s Wonderland. And the San Antonio Zoo,” Barron said.
Winning a regional award led Barron to Broadway this year.
“Here we have the Las Casas Foundation Joci Awards. So, I did that back in May and I was fortunate enough to win and that takes you to the Jimmy Awards in New York,” Barron said.
At the 13th annual National High School Musical Theater Awards, also known as the Jimmys, Barron won best performance by an actor and $25,000 towards his education.
“To be able to represent San Antonio in that scale was incredible. It was so cool,” Barron said.
The 17-year-old said he connected with his solo performance in many ways. He said it’s about perseverance and finding hope.
“I was born with hip dysplasia which is a lower body extremity disorder,” Barron said.
He said he couldn’t do sports because he was in and out of surgeries.
“After learning I could sing and I could act and do these things that I love for people, it was like okay, this is what I have to do,” Barron said.
Barron said when he is on stage, he feels comfortable and free.
“I’m hopeful I will have some opportunities across the country. Maybe New York. I would love to go to New York soon. But for now, I am going to settle down, go into senior year and see where that takes me,” Barron said.
Barron will be a senior in the fall and will continue to perform locally. He hopes to get into a performing arts college in the future.