Source: Coronado Unified School District
Coronado School of the Arts (CoSA) senior Isabella Pruter was awarded the highest category, ‘Winner with Distinction,’ medallion in the Theater/Musical category of the 2024 YoungArts national competition. Pruter is a four-year CoSA Musical Theatre and Drama conservatory student.
“It’s surreal for me, and I’m so grateful and honored. I actually got the call while I was on an airplane coming back from college auditions,” said Pruter.
“We are so proud of Izzy! The YoungArts winner with distinction award is extraordinarily prestigious for high school theater; it’s one of the most important recognitions there are,” said CoSA acting teacher Kim Strassburger, who worked with Pruter on her application which included one monologue and two songs.
The winner with distinction category recognizes the best of the best, students whose work “demonstrates exceptional technique; a strong, sophisticated, nuanced, and clear artistic point of view; and a depth of thinking/performance that far exceeds the level of peers at this career stage.” Winners are chosen by esteemed discipline-specific panels of artists through a rigorous blind adjudication process.
The annual YoungArts awards are highly competitive and attract the best young artists (ages 15-18 or grades 10-12) in the nation. Nearly 700 winners were selected from more than 9,000 applications across 10 artistic disciplines. As part of the recognition, for the duration of their careers, winners are eligible for exclusive creative and professional development support; microgrants and financial awards; presentation opportunities in collaboration with major venues and cultural partners nationwide; and access to YoungArts Post, a free, private online platform for YoungArts artists to connect, collaborate and discover new opportunities.
Pruter lives in Clairemont and commutes to Coronado High School daily to be part of the prestigious CoSA program. “I have performed professionally in San Diego since I was eight years old. I’m passionate about it and wanted to be pushed and challenged in the best high school program. I have learned so much here (at CoSA) from my teachers,” she shared.
CoSA turned out to be a great choice for Pruter. “I’ve had roles in Mamma Mia, The Laramie Project and The Laramie Project: Ten Years Later, and my favorite role, Lenora in Cry Baby,” she said. “Izzy is a powerhouse and we saw it right away in her freshman year when she was cast in The Laramie Project,” said Strassburger.
The role in CryBaby was extra special to Pruter because her teachers accommodated her playing the role while on crutches. “It’s a crazy ‘fun fact’ story. I got nerve damage in my foot just before junior year, I got stung by a stingray at Coronado beach. I couldn’t dance for a whole year. I crewed for shows, and then they allowed me to have crutches in the show. I’m so grateful for that!” she said.
“I am also very thankful that my teachers allowed me to take the time and supported my performances outside of CoSA. I got to play Betty Lou Who in How The Grinch Stole Christmas at the Old Globe Theater,” she shared.
Strassburger added that, “CoSA is a pre-professional program for the arts, which is a different type of program from most other regional high school programs. Our faculty have or are working professionally in the artistic areas they teach.” Pre-professional training programs not only offer intensive training and study, they provide career guidance and direction.
As a winner with distinction, Pruter will participate in National YoungArts Week, January 7-13, 2024, in Miami. During the week, artists have opportunities to share their work, experience interdisciplinary classes and workshops, and receive mentorship from leading artists in their fields. The 2024 winners with distinction will have the chance to learn from notable artists such as Denyce Graves, Lois Greenfield, and Ranee, Aparna, and Ashwini Ramaswamy of Ragamala Dance. Throughout the week award winners are further evaluated for cash awards of up to $10,000.
Following National YoungArts Week, Pruter will be eligible to be nominated to become a U.S. Presidential Scholar in the Arts, one of the highest honors given to high school seniors by the President of the United States. YoungArts, the sole nominating agency, nominates 60 artists to the White House Commission on Presidential Scholars, from which the 20 U.S. Presidential Scholars in the Arts are selected.
Pruter is looking forward to going to Miami and says her family is very supportive of her. “I definitely got my love of singing and arts from my Dad. We love listening to music together. He has a huge music collection and he’s also really into movies. He used to be in a band called The Jam Daddies. My younger brother is 14 and not artistic at all, but loves sports. And my mom, who immigrated from the Philippines when she was young, supports all of us!”
YoungArts, the National Foundation for the Advancement of Artists, is a non-profit organization established in 1981 to identify accomplished young artists and provide them with creative and professional development opportunities throughout their careers.
Source: Coronado Unified School District
