Twyle Doone, aged 18, received the John Hyland Award in recognition of her commitment, skill and enthusiasm.
She has been a youth theatre member for three years and, during that time, as been fully involved in a variety of projects including supporting charity organisations and events with St Wilfred's Hospice, Children on the Edge and Chichester Rotary Club, choreographing and co- ordinating youth theatre street art performances, taking on a voluntary assistant stage manager's role for the Shakespeare Schools Festival and NT Connections projects and participating in RENEW fundraising committee meetings.
Twyle also belongs to the technical youth theatre and completed a backstage work placement on the Festival 2012 production The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui. Her dedication was noted by Chichester's Artistic Director, Jonathan Church.
Church said, "Her steady enthusiasm, advanced understanding of how this theatre works and quiet intelligence allowed her to benefit from her placement in a way that few young people do. She is unfailingly positive, enthusiastic and generous with her time.
"The John Hyland Award goes to somebody who truly embodies the spirit of the youth theatre, and Twyla has been a great ambassador for both the youth theatre and the Festival Theatre as a whole over the past three years."
John Hyland, a local school teacher, was chairman of Chichester Festival Theatre in its early days, secretary of the Theatre Society and a board member of the production company. He and his wife Sue were responsible for setting up Chichester Festival Theatre's audio description service.
Following his death in 1997, a memorial award was created in his name. This recognises his huge support for Chichester Festival Youth Theatre's work and his passionate belief in the importance of young people's education.