Murrieta Thespian Selected as Performer of the Year

A 2011 graduate of has been named Performer/Artist of the Year by National Youth Theatre, California region.

Matthew Malecki will be presented the award during a ceremony July 25 in Carlsbad.

He was selected after judges reviewed his roles in Temecula-based Act One Theater's "13" and "Thoroughly Modern Mille;" Fallbrook Players' "Les Miserables" and "Jesus Christ Superstar;" and Vista Murrieta High School's "West Side Story."

Matthew did not grow up performing. According to his father, Matthew played basketball through his freshman year at Vista Murrieta.

"He said, 'Dad, I like to perform and sing and I don't want to play basketball anymore,'" his father, Todd Malecki, told Patch in an email.

"He had no vocal training or anything so we were a little apprehensive but wanted him to be happy. After seeing him on stage, we knew he found what he wanted to do."

His father gave credit to Jennifer Page, the Vista Murrieta choir director, Corey Finch, the Vista Murrieta drama director, and Sharon Duchi, owner and director of Act One Theater. 

"In three years, Matthew has truly learned so much from these mentors," he said, adding that Matthew was in 19 performances during that time. 

Matthew also recently took third place in vocal performance in the Riverside County Rotary Music Finals out of 28 qualifiers.

Now he has received a generous scholarship to American Musical and Dramatics Academy in Los Angeles, his father said, and will attend there this fall.

"We are so happy that he will be getting formal training at AMDA."