Last Sunday, March 20, the Orange County Register published a complete list of nominations for the 2022 Artist of the Year. Included in this list were several very talented Royals.

The Artist of the Year competition recognizes high school juniors or seniors who live in Orange County and “represent excellence in their artform(s)” (artistoftheyear.wixsite.com). In the winter of each school year, instructors, directors, and teachers have the option of nominating their students for this prestigious award.

Kimiko Watanabe ’23 was nominated in the category of Film: Directing and Editing. She shared, “It’s just really exciting because I’ve never really done anything like this. I wasn’t very artsy when I was growing up so getting into it in high school was super fun and different.”

Anna DiCrisi ’22 received a nomination in the Acting category and is “very grateful for the chance to be part of this process. This is my second and last time auditioning for artist of the year so I can’t wait to find out the results!”

Updates on the competition will be posted in the Orange County Register and more information can be found on the Artist of the Year website, www.artistoftheyear.wixsite.com. Below is a list of all Royal nominees with their respective categories:

Giovana Watson ’22: Acting, Anna DiCrisi ’22: Acting, Katie Thomas ’22: Musical Theater Performance, Brigette Sanders ’23: Musical Theater Performance, Grace Horeczko ’22: Musical Theater Performance, Morelia Garcia ’22: Digital Visual Arts, Chloe Hoyos ’23: Digital Visual Arts, Jaclyn Rodriguez ’22: Film: Directing and Editing, Kimiko Watanabe ’23: Film: Directing and Editing, Samantha Guerrero ’23: Animation, and Lily Demman ’22: Commercial Dance.