North suburban high school grad prepares to represent Illinois in NYC

CHICAGO (WLS) -- Two talented local "theater kids" are getting ready to compete at the Jimmy Awards later this month.

Jane Nuich is a recent graduate of Maine South High School in Park Ridge.

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She's getting set to represent Illinois and Broadway in Chicago in New York.

Nuich competed with very talented young people from all across the state and is moving up to people across the nation.

"I think it's a huge dream for me. That's a huge opportunity to work with industry professionals. I think such a cool experience rather than a big competition," Nuich said. "Music and theater had always been in my life; I would always go and see shows with my mom. I never really thought of myself as a performer until around eighth grade, when I had some friends who were doing the show at our middle school. And I decided to audition, and I never looked back. It was just such an incredible experience to me that I couldn't imagine life without it."

The Maine South High School director of Theatre could tell Nuich had the "it" factor.

"I definitely think students come along and you realize where one is different from the rest, and Jane is definitely one of those. I just remember that audition and hearing that voice and saying, 'Oh, thank God I've got someone like that in this program,' Joey Fitzpatrick said. "I think for her, it's what accompanies the talent. And that is charisma, and it is a person who knows that what they're doing is bigger than just themselves, and has an eye on the entire piece that's she's working on as a whole and takes care of everyone around her."

Nuich said immediate access to Chicago theaters has been "incredible."

"I think it's was kind of answering a call when I was younger. It's something that I was hoping for as a kid," Nuich said. "Hearing the feedback from an audience is to any actor, to any performer, any musician, is such an incredible thing to feel. And I think performing is when I feel the most myself and I feel like at rest, almost at peace with my world around me. And everything else goes quiet for me and it's a really great moment."

Next week, Logan Arroyo, who just graduated from Lincoln-Way East High School in Frankfort and lives in Tinley Park, will be on ABC7 Chicago.

He's a "theater kid," too, heading to New York with Nuich for the Jimmy Awards.