Senior Scholarship Winners
2026: Ayla Collins
Ayla has been involved with MVCCT for the past thirteen years. She discovered her love of performing and theatre at just five years old when she first attended MVCCT’s summer camp!
Ayla’s first show with MVVCT was three years later, in the 2016 production of The Little Mermaid, performing as a fish and cook. Ayla then went on to participate in nine additional MVCCT musicals and plays including: The Wizard of Oz (Munchkin), Grease (Cheerleader), Charlotte’s Web (Templeton), Peter Pan (Tinkerbell), Shrek (Young Fiona), Matilda (Matilda), Sherlock Holmes (Mrs. Scruples), Puffs (Cedric), and Spongebob (Sandy). Additionally, Ayla has worked backstage during shows and has been an assistant teaching artist at MVCCT’s summer camps. In her scholarship application, Ayla credited the amazing mentors and role models at MVCCT for teaching her professionalism, respect and hard work.
Ayla will be graduating from West Potomac High School this spring after performing in 12 productions at the high school over four years; most recently as the Witch in Into the Woods. After graduation, Ayla plans to attend Ithaca College of Music, Theatre and Dance to study acting.
2025: Eliza Froemke
A West Potomac senior, Eliza has been part of the MVCCT family for 10 years, as a camper, musical cast member, and backstage crew. Her first major role in a show was as the Goose in MVCCT’s Charlotte’s Web. She credits the organization with being a safe space for her to grow as a performer, leading her to confidently take the stage with several theatre companies. Next year she’ll be off to Virginia Commonwealth University, where she plans to major in social work and minor in theatre.
2024: Will Johnson
Will first came to MVCCT’s stage for our fall 2022 production of SpongeBob the Musical in the role of intrepid reporter Perch Perkins. After that, Will returned to MVCCT for three additional productions: Newsies (Davey), The Lighting Thief (Percy Jackson) and Beauty and the Beast (Gaston).
Will eloquently shared in their scholarship essay “Pursuing a career in musical theatre is a dream that MVCCT has helped me turn into a reality. I’m grateful for the learning opportunities and the friends made, and I’m glad that MVCCT will help more kids down the line be inspired to create art just like I was.”
At Hayfield Secondary School, Will was active in theatre arts performing in shows such as Les Misérables, Room Service, Mary Poppins, Matilda, Anything Goes, The Play that Goes Wrong, Spamalot, The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Mr. Burns and The Addams Family. Additionally, Will recently performed with Voices of Now: Boots on the Ground, sponsored by Arena Stage.
Will plans to attend the Belcher College of Fine and Performing Arts at Western Carolina University. He is pursuing a BFA in musical theatre at the School of Stage & Screen. He is also part of the honors college and has been accepted into the Freshman Leadership Initiative.