The immediate shock that comes with being nominated for not just one, but two Cappies, entered the mind of junior Laura Hackfeld the night of May 15 as she scrolled through the names of nominees on the official Cappies website. Once the shock began to wear away, the immediate feeling of excitement began to kick in.

“The Cappies are like the high school Tony Awards. I can’t believe this is happenening,” Hackfeld said. “We deserve this nomination.”

AHS’s fall production of “Arsenic and Old Lace” had been up for a record 15 number of Cappies critics choice nominations for this year’s competition, putting it on the map as a favorite to be nominated since its performance in the beginning of December. Hackfeld was nominated for both Comic Actress in a Play and Best Ensemble in a Play along with junior Gwen Levey for their portrayal of two sweet, but lunatic aunts in the production.

The Cappies fan base stretches all over the county, as well as in the D.C. and Northern Virginia area. Some of the shows that compete even take place in Maryland and since it’s start in 1999, it has spread all over the U.S. and even to parts of Canada, making it an international event. For high school theater students, it legitimizes everything that they work for when putting on a production and is a highly competitive, prestigious honor to be nominated.

“I am really looking forward to this event,” Hackfeld said. “I am really proud of all of our efforts. I only wish the whole production could have been nominated, but two nominations is amazing in itself.”

The Cappies gala will take place at the Kennedy Center on June 10 at 7 p.m. and Hackfeld and Levey will be going to not only represent the production and the AHS theater department, but the entire school as well. Anyone is welcome to attend the gala, however, and can purchase tickets from theater teacher, George Bennett, in the theater room for $35.

For more information about this year’s nominees, the nomination process, and the Cappies, visit http://www.cappies.com/nca/.