The Bobby G Awards celebrate outstanding achievement in Colorado high-school musical theatre. The sixth annual awards take place at 7 p.m. Thursday, May 24, at the Buell Theatre. (Reserve your seat here)

Today we continue our daily rollout of the five students who are finalists for Outstanding Lead Actor. The winner will advance to represent Colorado at The Jimmy® Awards/The National High School Musical Theatre Awards™ (NHSMTA) in New York City.

TRAVIS TURNER

Edward Bloom in Big Fish
Fossil Ridge High School, Fort Collins
Class of 2018

• Twitter bio (to a sick rap beat):
  Song Singing Fellow, Dancing like some Jell-o.
  Acting like I’m mellow, on stage cause I love it.
• What’s your handle? travisj.turner on Instagram
• College plans: I will attend the University of Northern Colorado to pursue a BFA in Musical Theatre
• First role: In eighth grade, I performed the role of Horatio Miles in And Then There Was One.
• Why do you perform? As an audience member, I know the feeling I get when I watch a production. The sense of awe and amazement in how the show is performed and how the performers showcase their perfected art. As an actor, that is what I want to give to an audience. I perform so that I can showcase my best work and to tell a story that people will love and remember after they leave the theatre.
• One time you saw greatness play out in front of you: I had the chance to see Disney’s Aladdin, both on Broadway and the touring production. This show is truly a technical work of art. The Genie’s appearance was one of the best visual parts of the show. I found myself at the edge of my seat in excitement for whatever scene was going to come next. Of every show I have ever seen, I have enjoyed Aladdin the most.
• Ideal scene partner: My favorite TV show of all time is “The Office.” Watching this show, I gained an immense amount of respect for Steve Carell. His ability to portray the challenging role of Michael Scott is so inspiring to me. It would make my life if I could act in a scene with him. I feel like lines and reactions would be so easy to bounce off him. 

• What’s playing on your Spotify right now?  I really love listening to John Mayer and Jack Johnson. Any kind of relaxing tunes. Though, when I want to sing, I love to listen to showtunes — anywhere from Memphis to Newsies.
• Favorite moment from your show: The night Big Fish ended, as heart-wrenching as it was. That’s when I truly realized that all the work we put into show had paid off. I was overwhelmed with gratitude, and before I knew it I was in tears. I was sad the show had ended, but so happy it went as well as it did.
• How does it feel to be nominated? It has literally been a dream come true. It is such a special feeling knowing I have been recognized for my hard work and determination. I am beyond thankful for the Bobby G adjudicators for giving me this experience that I will remember for my entire life.

Reserve your seat for the May 24 Bobby G Awards

• What has this experience taught you about the value of arts education and extracurricular activities at your school? It has taught me to appreciate the opportunities we are given, especially in this state. Colorado has a very connected group of high-school performers. You meet people at Thescon and they are the same people you see at Colorado All-State Choir. I love that the arts have brought me so close to the whole community of artists.

Our featured nominated actors and actresses to date:

• Coco Justino, Denver School of the Arts
• Anton Karabushin, Eaglecrest High School, Aurora
• Abby Lehrer, Castle View High School, Castle Rock
• Travis Turner,  Fossil Ridge High School, Fort Collins

Selected recent coverage of the Bobby G Awards:

• 2018 Bobby G Award finalists are announced
• 2017 Bobby G Awards: Persistence pays off at Valor Christian
• Video: The 2017 Bobby Awards welcoming montage
• Videos: Complete coverage of the 2017 Bobby G Awards
• 2017 Bobby G Award finalists are announced
• Mamma Mia‘s Cashelle Butler returns to Cherry Creek High School
• Authentic voices: 2017 student playwriting winners announced

More Colorado theatre coverage on the DCPA NewsCenter