“Musical theatre really brings everyone together,” Luca Yi, star of local productions Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat and The Addams Family said after hearing his performances had raised eyebrows on a regional scale.

The 12-year-old has been nominated for the Patricia Kelson Encouragement Award in this year’s Canberra Area Theatre (CAT) Awards in Dubbo, and has been invited to perform on the night in February next year.

Luca has been performing in the family’s living room in front of friends and family since the age of six.

“I’ve always wanted to act since I was small,” the 12-year-old said on Tuesday after hearing of his nomination.

“I was taking acting lessons with Jane Gordon then mum told me about an audition for Matilda in Sydney, so I took singing lessons.”

Although he didn’t get a role in the hit musical, the experience has inspired Luca to follow his dreams.

“It was really nerve wracking, but it was a good experience,” he said with a smile.

“It showed me the industry is bigger than I thought and the auditions are harder than I thought, but it’s really fun.”

From Westside Story to Fiddler on the Roof and new musical Hamilton, he’s practised them all, and dreams of one day of hitting the stages on New York’s Broadway and London’s West End.

“We have a lot of musicals on record at home, so I sing along to those all day,” he said.

“I love the feeling of being on stage in front of all those people.”

He said he’s also looking forward to a solo performance on the night, where he has decided to perform a solo rendition of the song Those Canaan Days from Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat.

“I was so excited when I heard I would be performing,” he said with a smile.

Also starring is Joseph was his nine-year-old sister Anise and his father Myoung, who played Luca’s older brother and was also a tenor.

“Being on stage with Luca gave me confidence because he knew every dance move and every vocal line, so I knew if I forgot anything I could go off him,” Mr Yi said with a laugh.

Luca’s mother Marianna  said she’s happy to watch the performances from the comfort of an audience seat, and was surprised by her son’s nomination.

“I was shocked,” she said.

The nominations were announced in Canberra on December 12 from local productions and as far afield as Canberra, Cooma, Dubbo, Bathurst and Wagga Wagga.