About Holly

Holly Templeton is in the Class of 2026 at The Harker School in San Jose, California, and is working toward a Conservatory Certificate in Musical Theater.

Originally from Palo Alto, California, Holly has loved to sing since before she could talk. Her path toward musical theater began with local girls' choirs, and she soon moved to the stage in third grade as the Sour Kangaroo in Ohlone Elementary School's production of Seussical. She delighted in portraying the famously sassy marsupial with her classmates and bringing the story to life.

During her time at Harker's Conservatory, Holly has been part of every possible mainstage production, from musicals, to plays, to one-acts. The highlight of her theatre career to date was performing at the world's largest performing arts festival—the Edinburgh Festival Fringe—for a sold-out four-run show. In addition to performing in The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, Holly has also performed in The Wedding Singer and most recently Guys and Dolls.

Outside of performing in theatre, Holly also enjoys a cappella and choral singing, painting, robotics, and community engagement. Last year, she was invited to join the school's prestigious a cappella competition show choir, Downbeat, which competes at ICHSA and also tours for holiday and charity events, including the "Los Gatos in Lights" annual tree lighting celebration. This year, Holly co-founded a girls SSAA chamber choir as well, and together with a TTBB boys choir, they book gigs and will be leading a music classroom at a summer children's camp in Hawaii.

Musical Theater Certificate, Harker Conservatory, anticipated 2026

International Thespian Society “Member of the Year,” 2024-2025

National Honor Thespian, International Thespian Society, 2024

Performer of the Month , Harker Conservatory, 2024

* Best Show Nominee (The Wedding Singer), Rita Moreno Awards, 2024

* Best Show Nominee (The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee), Rita Moreno Awards, 2023

* Invited High School Performance (The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee), Edinburgh Festival Fringe, 2023

* Denotes group or production

* High School A Cappella Quarterfinalist (Downbeat), ICHSA Western Region, 2025

Honorable Mention, Harker Poetry Out Loud, 2025

California Coastal Region SATB Honor Choir, California Choral Directors Association, 2024

California All-State SSAA Honor Choir, California Choral Directors Association, 2023

California Coastal Region SSAA Honor Choir, California Choral Directors Association, 2023

Second Place In Division In Treble For Musical Theater, Bay Area National Association of Teachers of Singing, 2023

First place Dramatic Interpretation (Speech in Latin), California Junior Classical League (Latin Convention), 2023

• Summer University Theater Experience (S.U.T.E.), Acting (2024, 2025)

• Interlochen Arts Camp, Voice & Opera (2024)

• The American Musical and Dramatic Academy (AMDA), Musical Theater (2024)

• Harker Conservatory Summer Intensives, Acting (2022, 2023) & Musical Theater (2022, 2023)

• Acting: Christine Albright-Tufts , Marilyn Fox, Grant Kretchik, John Benitz (Screen), Kathy Morath, Caitlin Moore (Opera), Peg Plambeck (Musical Theater), Stephanie Kerbis (VA), David Del Rio

• Vocal Performance: Gary Kline, Alison Collins, Erica Waxer, Emily Sinclair, Caitlin Moore, Katie Gardiner, Andre Chiang (Opera), Angela Yoon (IPA), Bryan Blaskie, Chanticleer (a cappella)

• Shakespeare: Laura Flannagan, Lenny Leibowitz, Mark Mineart, Armando McClain

• Improv: Baby Wants Candy, Justin Smith

• Voice and Speech: Lisa Velten-Smith (Linklater)

• Movement: Malcolm Tulip, Danielle Licardo-Masood, Anthony Molinaro (Eurythmics), Autumn West

• NBA Hip-Hop Dance Technique: LeAnn Reidenbach

• Auditioning: Kathleen Woods, Krisha Bullock, Jason Beck, Kevin Ramsey, Quin Gordan