(Enlarge) Cappies award winners, Max Lebeuf and Katie Ryerson from Canada rehearse for the International Cappies production of "Anasazi." (Submitted photo)

Bill Strauss and Judy Bowns co-founded the International Critics and Awards Program, or Cappies, in 1999 to shed light on the creativity and energy of high school theater.

High school students are trained as critics and go on to write reviews of theatrical productions at area schools in the hopes of getting their reviews published in the local media.

The night Cappies critics come to a show augments the excitement and tension as the performers invigorate the performance with extra fervor. The critics vote for awards that are presented at the year's culmination of events, the Cappies Gala, a night with all the allure of the Academy Awards.

The benefits of the Cappies program extend to all contributors of a high school performance. Observing the creative direction of other theater departments imbues a school with a desire to expand creatively.

But the benefits of the Cappies experience do not end with the school year. Cappies award winners are eligible to participate in the Cappies International Theater summer program. Cappies award winners from across the country and Canada congregate in the Washington, D.C. area to perform a musical. This year's production is "Anasazi," an original Native American musical written by Bill Strauss.

"Anasazi" is the story of the Hopi legend, "The Pahaana of the Prophecy," about a white person (Pahaana) who finds the missing piece of the prophetic "Anasazi Stone." A struggle ensues between the traditions of the ancient Anasazi tribe and the Hopi ways. Grammy nominee Peter Kater wrote the Native American-influenced score. The production is dedicated to Strauss, who passed away in December 2007. "Anasazi" will be performed at the Kennedy Center's Theater Lab Monday, Aug. 4 at 7 p.m. Tickets can be purchased through the Kennedy Center Web site, www.kennedy-center.org.

My participation as a critic in the Baltimore chapter of Cappies strengthened my writing skills to a tangible degree. As I rarely participated in the production process of a show, I struggled to express what I saw on stage in my reviews. Three years of heeding the advice from my English teachers and Carole Lehan, performing arts chairwoman at Glenelg Country School, greatly improved my descriptive abilities.

I internalized "show, don't tell" the maxim of Cappies reviews and applied the concept to all my writing endeavors. Cappies reviews must be written in just a few days which taught me how to write under pressure. I also learned that writing is an uphill climb for everyone, but the final results bring a sense of self-satisfaction making it worth the effort.

I encourage all students who want to improve their writing and learn more about theater to pursue becoming a Cappies critic. The experience was truly a significant and formative activity of my high school career.

Editors note: Maya Munoz, a 2008 graduate from Glenelg Country School, won the 2008 Baltimore Cappies Senior Critic award. She will be spending the year abroad as an exchange student in Belgium, and will attend Barnard College, in New York City, in the fall of 2009.

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