While some are terrified to stand under the spotlight in front of an audience, junior Connor Macchi feels pure joy when he is on stage.

Macchi has participated in Algonquin’s theater and music programs since his freshman year. This year, he was given the opportunity to run the a cappella group, Algoncappella.

“We have three freshmen this year, and I’m really excited because I got in my freshman year,” Macchi said. “It has been the best two years so far, and I can’t wait to have two more, especially leading it this year.”

Macchi is excited for more responsibility within the a cappella group, including selecting members and leading the group in rehearsals.

“I can’t wait,” Macci said. “We just put our list up for the members, and I think we have really good people. I’m so excited to get everybody together and see how [Algoncappella] works.”

Macchi also participated in the school musicals and theater productions directed by English teacher Tom Alera. Macchi played the part of Bobby Randall in last year’s musical, “Good News.”

“Doing the show here last year, having a lead in it, was so much fun because all the people that you know went,” Macchi said. “It was just so great to see how your friends would react to it that maybe haven’t seen you in a show yet.”

Macchi was recently selected to play the role of Billy Crocker in the upcoming musical, “Anything Goes.”

After working with Macchi for the last few years, Alera believes he has grown as a person and a performer.

“He’s really just getting better and better every year, and his parts are getting bigger,” Alera said. “Connor’s just a joy to work with.”

The cast of “Good News” won a TAMY award for the Best Featured Ensemble last Spring. TAMYs are high school musical theater awards presented by Theatre at the Mount through Mount Wachusett Community College.

“The award that we got nominated for last year was for the entire boys chorus and we actually won that,” Macchi said. “It was good, even after the show ended, having everybody together again, and having all the guys win an award like that was insane.”

Macchi was also nominated for the Massachusetts Best Youth Actor award for his performance in Brighton Beach Memoirs a couple years ago.

“And it was just so insane that a show that was that small, that I felt like nobody had heard of, I got nominated for an award,” Macchi said. “It was just so cool having the opportunity to go to the award ceremony.”

Macchi plans on continuing to pursue musical theater throughout his college career, and is excited to see where it takes him.

For junior Christina DiMare, the theatre stage spotlight is where she shines.

When she moved to Northborough at age seven, DiMare’s mother was determined for her to make friends and saw theatre as the answer.

“[My mom] signed me up for a theatre camp, but I told her I had stage fright,” DiMare said. “She said, ‘Just try it first and meet some people.’”

Her experience left her with a love for acting. A couple years ago, DiMare spent time in New York City studying theatre at Broadway Artists Alliance. Knowing there was more to theatre than just acting, Christina took up dancing and singing.

“I think there’s something special about [acting, singing, and dancing] all being together,” DiMare said. “I love each individual aspect but I wouldn’t be as happy as I am now if I were to only do one aspect of it.”

In addition to four dance classes a week and voice and piano lessons, this past summer DiMare reached a milestone: her first show at a professional theatre in Beverly.

“I got to work with a lot of professional people at North Shore Musical in the production of ‘Singin’ in the Rain,’” DiMare said. “Some of them had been on Broadway, so it was a really fun learning experience.”

Theatre director and English teacher Tom Alera has worked with DiMare since her freshman year. Alera said DiMare was a pleasure to work with and she is always looking to improve herself.

“Christina understands the acting process and character development,” Alera said. “You give her direction and suggestions and she takes them and makes them a part of her.”

In the fall 2015 school musical, “Good News,” DiMare played the role of Babe O’Day.

“It was a challenge for me to portray [Babe] because she was so different from who I am in real life,” Dimare said. “She was very outgoing and flirty while I prefer more intimate settings.”

In the upcoming school play, “Anything Goes,” DiMare will play the lead female role, Reno Sweeny. Reno is a confident, charming nightclub singer who is onboard the S. S. American to help her best pal win the love of his life.

DiMare sees herself continuing with theatre as a career.

“I’d love to be doing theatre for a long time as long as it continues to make me happy and if that means Broadway then I would love that!” DiMare said.