POULSBO — North End fans of the Fox TV hit series “American Idol” need look no further than the community auditorium next weekend for a one-off show featuring heart-pouring performances and edge-of-your seat drama between students at North Kitsap High School.

“Broadway Bound,” the first event of its kind to hit the high school, will showcase the talents of 12 of North’s performing arts students. At stake is a $2,000 scholarship which will go to the night’s champion.

“There’s never been anything like this,” said NKHS drama teacher Randy Powell, an admitted “Idol” fan. “The idea comes down to (the fact) really good artists perform with preparation and pressure. It’s a joy to be able to give money to someone for that. They’re rewarded purely for their talent.”

The idea of the contest is to offer performing arts students money to help further their craft — which can be hard to come by — or pay for college.

“There are very few drama scholarships offered,” Powell said. “And many of our students would like to apply their skills now.”

Powell expects the contestants, who had to have auditioned for either the fall performance of “The Crucible,” or the spring musical “Hello, Dolly!”, will make for a great night of entertainment.

“It’s going to be a very classy show,” Powell said. “We’re very excited about it.”

Four additional scholarships will be given out for best supporting actor and actress ($500 each) and best actor and actress ($1,000 each) from the spring and fall performances. The scholarships were decided by a panel of three judges: Jim Noeldner, North Kitsap School District Director of Career and Technical Education, Gwen Adams, a community theater director and Terry Baldwin, a vocal coach and musical director from Boise, Idaho.

The main event’s 12 contestants are: senior Alicia Krueger, senior Scott Shawcroft, senior Kelsey French, senior Mallory McAfee, senior Adam Owens, senior Kyle Friedman, senior Liana Rogayan, junior Zane Zuchowski, junior Stevie Minder, junior Ricky Delaney, junior Jacob Cole and sophomore Mark Sanders.

Contestants mentioned that the night will give them a chance to once again be center stage and an opportunity to earn money toward their goals in the performing arts.

“It’s nice to go out with a good performance,” said French, who will be competing in Ellensburg the same day at the state band competition, but is rushing back to Poulsbo for the event. “And the money is good, of course.”

Students will do a Broadway number, choreographing their own performance and also taking care of costuming. They’ll have five minutes on stage.

The judges for “Broadway Bound” will be Trina Williamson, president of Central Stage Theater of County Kitsap (CSTOCK), Michael Falatico, a former Broadway choreographer and a dance instructor at Liberty Bay Dance Studio and Judy Gallant, the Poulsbo Junior High School choral director.

The event is expected to become annual, Powell said, and the first 50 donors of $100 for the drama scholarship’s endowment will have their names placed on a plague at the auditorium.

Powell admitted he has no idea who’s going to win the big award. But the director said he knows how they’ll win it.

“It could be any one of them,” he said. “They key will be dynamics. How entertaining can you be for the audience?”

To donate, make checks out to “North Kitsap Drama Scholarship Fund” and send them to 1780 NE Hostmark, Poulsbo, WA, 98370.