Jimmy Award Winner Samia Posadas Is Ready to Work

An excerpt of this interview first appeared in Stage Whisperer, Vulture’s weekly newsletter for theater news, gossip, interviews, and more. Sign up here.

If you’re a regular Jimmy Awards watcher, you might have already known Samia Posadas before she won the Best Actress award Monday night. The Jimmy Awards ceremony, which is essentially the Tonys for high schoolers, takes students from around the country who have won their regionals, brings them to New York, and then has them compete in rounds to crown one boy and one girl each year. Posadas has competed at the Jimmys twice before. As a freshman, she played Elle Woods in her high school’s production of Legally Blonde and was a finalist in the competition. She returned her sophomore year, was a finalist again, but lost her regional award the next year, meaning she couldn’t compete at the national level. Finally, in her senior year, she took home the big trophy with a performance from her school’s musical, Bright Star, that got her into the finals. Then she performed her winning solo: a stunningly clear rendition of “Where Am I Now?” from the obscure 2010s musical Lysistrata Jones.

Now she’s off to USC’s musical-theater program. That is, unless she books a job, like many previous winners do. I chatted with her about her various years with the Jimmys, what it feels like to win, and what her future ambitions are. 

How are you feeling after your big win?
After the show, we went to our after-party at the Hard Rock Cafe and got back to Juilliard around 1 a.m. I had to be up a couple hours later because [her fellow winner] Jake [James] and I had to go on Good Morning America. Then we went back to Juilliard. I was crying because I had to say good-bye to all of my friends who I spent ten days with. Now I’m in Indiana for the International Thespian Festival for the next three days.

You were a finalist all three years you went to the ceremony. How did you approach choosing your solos through the years?
My freshman year, I went in wanting to sing “A New Life” from Jekyll & Hyde. I went into my coaching group with Max Chernin that year, and he was like, “What other songs do you have?” I had “Stupid With Love” from Mean Girls. I performed it for him, and he was like, “You’ve got to do this.” That was incredibly unexpected for me. It fit the actress that I was at 15. Sophomore year, I was like, “This is my last chance.” And Kim from Miss Saigon is one of my dream roles, so I was thrilled to perform “I Give My Life for You.” I love that role more than words can express.

You first appeared at the Jimmies four years ago, your freshman year, after playing Elle Woods in Legally Blonde. How has your approach to the ceremony changed over the years?
Legally Blonde was my first real show. I did Disney Jr. musicals with my middle school, and then I decided to try out in the spring of my freshman year for Legally Blonde. Elle Woods is a very demanding role and I felt out of place at times, because I was this five-foot Asian girl with a blonde wig and I cared so much about what people thought. I was worried people weren’t going to like the art I was putting out. I felt really self-conscious because I felt like I didn’t really fit into the mold of the role.

Going into the Jimmy Awards, at that time I didn’t really know what I was getting myself into. I’d watched the Jimmy Awards the year before because my friend Chloe Harris went when I was in eighth grade and she was a freshman. I was like, “Wow, that’s really cool.” I did my show, I got nominated for my regional program, and then I got shot off to the Jimmy Awards at age 15, and it was insane. The Jimmies were incredible for me that year just because that year was a very hard one for me. I was going through a lot in life, feeling really lost, and a lot was happening in my personal life. Going to the Jimmys at the end of the year was rewarding. 

You were a finalist all three years you went to the ceremony. How did you approach choosing your solos through the years?
My freshman year, I went in wanting to sing “A New Life” from Jeckyll & Hyde. I went into my coaching group with Max Chernin that year and he was like, “What other songs do you have?” I had “Stupid with Love” from Mean Girls, I performed it for him, and he was like, “You got to do this.” That was incredibly unexpected for me. It fit the actress that I was at 15. Sophomore year, I was shocked I had the opportunity to come back. I was like, “This is my last chance.” And Kim from Miss Saigon is one of my dream roles, so, I was thrilled to perform “I Give My Life for You.” I love that role more than words could express

Why do the Lysistrata Jones song “Where Am I Now?” this year?
My sophomore year, when I won my regional awards program, the song that I chose as my finalist song was “Where Am I Now?” When I got selected to go to the Jimmy Awards, I was like, “I’m going to take Miss Saigon.” This year, “Where Am I Now?” really resonates with me. I just graduated from high school. I’m going off to college. There was a lot of power and passion that I was able to relate to through the lyrics that were in that song.

What do you think goes into making a Jimmy Awards performance a winning one?
I approach all of the adjudication side of the Jimmy Awards by saying I have nothing to prove, only to share. I’m not going to form my performance around what I think people want. The best performers always say, Stay true to yourself, be authentic, and soak in your uniqueness, because you never know what the judges are looking for.

You’re heading to USC in the Fall. How did you land on that school?
I actually didn’t apply to that many MT schools. I know a lot of people applied to 10 plus. I applied to six to eight, because I had a very specific list of programs that I wanted to go to. I also applied to schools academically because I wanted to leave a door open in case I didn’t get into one of my top programs.

At the end of the day, the college audition process has rejection. And I do believe that rejection is redirection. I’m one of the people that people are always like, “Don’t get stuck on a certain school.” My heart was so stuck on a school for my whole process. And then I ended up not getting in. Well, I got waitlisted. I got into USC and I’m going to end up in sunny Southern California and I couldn’t be more excited. 

After winning the Jimmys, a lot of kids end up getting jobs and putting off or skipping college. Would you do that if the offer came in?
I’ve had representation all throughout high school from the Jimmys. I auditioned for stuff, but before I graduated from high school, I was like, I need to focus on my education and I’m going to get my high-school diploma because high school never comes back. Now that I’ve graduated and I’m going to college … if the opportunity of a job presents itself, I would love to take up that offer. I most likely will. School is always there. But, especially in this industry, when an opportunity presents itself, it’s important to say “yes” if your heart is inclined. Follow your gut. If I think it’s a good opportunity, of course I’m going to take it.