Ever wonder what happened to those young actors you used to see in plays at Kansas University and Lawrence’s high schools?

Well, here’s what a few of them are up to:

 Nancy Opel, who attended Kansas University in the late 1970s and then transferred to the Juilliard School, is nominated for a Tony Award in the Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical category. She plays Penelope Pennywise in “Urinetown,” which opened in September at the Henry Miller Theatre in New York City and has received nine Tony Award nominations. The awards ceremony will be June 2.

 James Still, who graduated from KU in 1982, was nominated for a Daytime Emmy Award in the Best Children’s Series category. Still wrote the script for the nominated episode of “Little Bill,” a series backed by Bill Cosby and Nickelodeon. Still was nominated two years ago for a Daytime Emmy for his work on “Little Bear.” “The Little Bear Movie,” which he wrote, has been released on video.

Still is working on a new television show for The Discovery Channel, and his play “He Held Me Grand” will open the 2002-2003 main stage series at the Indiana Repertory Theatre in Indianapolis.

 Kansas University alumni Jake Karnes and David Snell are among cast members of the FX series, “The Shield.” Karnes plays Detective “Dutch” Wagenbach, while Snell has a recurring minor role. The cop drama airs at 9 p.m. Tuesdays.

 Lydia Hull, a Lawrence High School alumna and model who appeared on several magazine covers, appeared in the teen movie “Sorority Boys” and in the National Lampoon movie “Van Wilder: Party Liaison.” Hull, who lives in Los Angeles, had speaking roles in both movies.

 Mark Devine, a 1991 KU graduate, plays a young Magtag repairman who takes over for Ol’ Lonely, played by Gordon Jump since 1989, in the ad campaign for the appliance company. Devine joined the campaign in January and can be seen in television and print commercials as well as at trade shows.

 A new screen adaptation of “Harvesting Ballads” by Mat Hostetler, a 1998 KU graduate, was presented as a staged reading last fall at the Henry Fonda Theatre in Hollywood, Calif. The reading featured actor Billy Campbell of ABC’s “Once and Again.” The adaptation is based on a novel by Philip Kimball.

 “The Shape of Things,” a new play by 1989 KU graduate Neil LaBute, played at the Promenade Theater in New York City. The play, starring Paul Rudd, a 1992 KU graduate, features a soundtrack with 11 songs by the Smashing Pumpkins.

 “The Good Things,” a short film produced by Scott McPhail and directed by Seth Wiley, both 1994 KU graduates, was purchased by Hypnotic and screened in October in Hollywood to help it qualify for the Academy Awards. The film also made it into the Deauville Film Festival in France, where it was in final competition for the grand and jury prizes.

 Thomas Newton, a 1996 KU graduate, was seen earlier this year in a national commercial for Riesen chocolate candies. In the spot, three men are leaving a sports arena, walking toward a camera. A salesman gives them each a piece of candy and asks them what they think. Newton, the man in the center, says, “It’s not too sweet.”

 Mike Robe, who graduated from KU in the late 1960s, premiered his film “Scared Silent” May 20 on the Lifetime channel. It starred Penelope Miller and told the true story of four small-town women who brought to justice a cop-rapist. Last summer, Robe’s film “Within These Walls” premiered on Lifetime. That film starred Ellen Burstyn and Laura Dern.

Robe also is writing “Stranger in Paradise,” a new film for the USA Network, based on the work of mystery writer Robert B. Parker.