Altoona Community Theatre's Isaac Mishler Awards for Excellence in High School Musical Theatre

myIsaacs: Share your stories!

We all know how many great stories come from experiences in theatre. Some of them are hilarious, some of them are touching, and all them deserve to be shared. Here's your chance to share your favorite theatre stories and memories with ACT and all of your fellow Isaac award participants. Feel free to browse through the stories below or add your own!

Submitted by Amy Vinglish from Altoona Area High School (Altoona, Blair County)
Tuesday, May 25, 2010 @ 10:26 am

I am the director at Altoona Area High School, and I chose Singin' in the Rain this year because I knew that we had a group of very talented performers. For a second year director, this show was a great challenge because we had to face the daunting task of tap dancing. We worked hard every single day, and my cast went home many nights with sore feet and legs, but they really shined on that stage. Besides the tap dancing, we also had another challenge: What do we do about the old time films, the silent black and white films and the ones with sound that is out of sync? As a hater of technology, I am positive I never would have made it this year without Jorden Heitkamp. Jorden directed, filmed, and edited all of the film pieces that we used. The films looked professional and truly added another dimension to our show. I am so incredibly proud of my cast and crew for bringing my favorite musical to life on our stage, and I'm so grateful to ACT and the Isaacs committee for recognizing their talent and hard work.

Submitted by Michael DePiro from Altoona Area High School (Altoona, Blair County)
Wednesday, April 29, 2009 @ 5:34 pm

Im a Jr this year at Altoona I work as a Professional Magician and Actor Local and on tour, and I just have to say BIG the musical is one of the best musicals I have ever been involved with. The Cast, Crew, and everyone involed was so kind, loving, and helpful. The Shows were fun and exciting. Even the Directors were great, they made us laugh and kept us strong through the entire show. All the music,dances, and acting, was great as well. Everyone made the show a never ending memory!!

Submitted by Gabbi Hertzog from Penn Cambria High School (Cresson, Cambria County)
Thursday, April 23, 2009 @ 12:50 am

I'm a senior at PC this year and I've done the musicals there for three years now. Every year the musical somehow gets even better, with improvements in every area that i found unimaginable the year before. Godspell this year was a complete and total success, and in the process of creating the show, I realized so much about myself and about the people around me. Theatre is an amazing thing, and i commend ACT for putting together such an amazing and fun program for it. Not only does it encourage us to improve, it also encourages us to visit other schools in our community for their musicals as well. We all boost each other up with the help of the Isaacs, and I wanted to say thank you. Thank you for your support, ideas, and honesty that helped make my last years in high school an exciting and amazing theatrical experience.

Submitted by A.J. Pagano from Central Cambria High School (Ebensburg, Cambria County)
Wednesday, April 15, 2009 @ 6:00 pm

My name is A.J. Pagano and I'm a junior at Central Cambria High School. We did Little Shop of Horrors this year. We had a great time this year and it was because of how well everyone in our cast worked together. We had a very unique cast this with many people who were new to the stage. It was very neat to watch them grow and develop onstage. We have people who are involved in so many different activities and that just makes the experience even more cool. I've been in three of our musicals so far and this was by far my favorite show. It was just an amazing year all together and we created a great show in the end. And of course we wouldn't have all our success without Mrs. Wolf, Mr. Seymour, Mr. Nagy, Mrs. Kokus and Mrs. Davis. They do so much to make our musicals amazing every year.