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Press Releases
Students Take Their Show on the Road to 2011 Junior Theater Festival
Imagination and teamwork will be center stage when a
diverse cast of over 2,000 students and teachers
representing 50 schools and educational theatre groups from
15 states and Canada join Broadway creatives in a
monumental celebration of the arts at the 2011 Junior Theater
Festival happening January 14 - 16, 2011, at the Cobb
Galleria Centre in Atlanta, GA, it was announced today by
Theater of the Stars president, Nick Manos and Timothy Allen
McDonald, founding chairman of iTheatrics. Four-time Tony
nominated composer Jeanine Tesori (Thoroughly Modern
Millie, Shrek the Musical) will receive the Junior Theater
Festival Award for Advancement of Musical Theatre for Young
People, while Broadway producer and Disney Theatrical
Group president Thomas Schumacher will be the festival's
keynote speaker and Grammy award-winning musician,
producer and songwriter Bryan-Michael Cox will participate in
a Q&A session with all attendees. For the first time, in honor
of the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday weekend, the festival will
also feature 'Dream Video Booths' where students will record
30 second messages with their dreams for the future to be
uploaded on the Internet.
The Junior Theater Festival is the world's largest musical theatre festival dedicated to schools and organizations working with elementary and middle school students and is sponsored by leading theatrical licensor Music Theatre International (MTI) and Disney Theatrical Productions and produced by Atlanta's Theater of the Stars and New York City based iTheatrics. The 2011 Festival is the seventh celebration to be held over Martin Luther King, JR weekend in Atlanta. The weekend offers an enthusiastic environment for students and teachers to interact with thousands of others who share their passion for musical theater.
In tribute to the leadership and dedication of MTI chairman Freddie Gershon, the festival's student awards for excellence are named 'The Freddie G's.' In 1995, Gershon created MTI Education, the first educational division in a major musical theatre licensing firm, which, over the past 15 years, has literally transformed the marketplace for age appropriate performance material for young performers. 'There have been over 50,000 separate grade school productions in the U.S.A. and the thousands of students at the Junior Theater Festivals show the world why experiential learning through musical theatre is so important. The experience of being part of a show allows our young people to become valuable members of society by learning life skills like working together, problem solving, public performance and utilizing their imagination and creativity as a team. It also lets them build a life-long appreciation for one of America's unique art forms, musical theatre,' says Gershon, chairman of Music Theatre International.
'Since 1953, Theater of the Stars has played an important role in offering young people the opportunity to participate in professional musical theater. It is part of our mission to include local young performers in some of the family friendly musicals that we produce each year. It is our passion to introduce Atlanta's youth to the joy of musical theater with the belief that their participation will ultimately make them better students, better citizens and advocates for the arts in their adult years,' says Nick Manos, president of Atlanta's Theater of the Stars. 'We helped found the Junior Theater Festival as a wonderful way to celebrate that mission with grade school students from all over America and around the globe,' he adds. While the festival isn't about creating the stars of tomorrow, many of the stars of today play a role. This year's onstage and backstage celebrities and personalities include: Broadway director, choreographer and performer Baayork Lee, who originated the role of Connie in A Chorus Line; Atlanta's own Tony award nominated Director Kenny Leon (Fences, A Raisin in the Sun), and Tony Award winning lighting designer Ken Billington (Chicago, The Scottsboro Boys) who has worked on over 100 Broadway shows; Broadway performer and choreographer Maddie Kelly (Chita Rivera: The Dancer's Life and Taboo); Broadway Sound designer Matt Kraus (Liza at the Palace and Lone Star Love); actor Stephen Eng (The King and I and Pacific Overtures); Brad Simmons, the music director and head of the Juniors Program for The O'Neill Theatre Center; Nick Pramik, Director of the Marketing and Partnerships at the leading entertainment advertising agency SpotCo, and Broadway, film, and television wardrobe specialist Jay Woods.
Each Junior Theater Festival group performs a 15-minute selection of a musical for professional adjudication by a panel of distinguished theater professionals. In addition, both students and teachers participate in interactive workshops led by Broadway and West End professionals, gain from professional development, enjoy theatrical fellowship and attend a world-class professional production of Disneys Beauty and the Beast at the Fox Theatre. True to the Junior Theater tradition, technical theatre students work side-by-side with festival staff in running all aspects of the festival experience
'The Junior Theater Festival celebrates and inspires teachers and their students who day-in and day-out are making the world a better place through the arts. Having stars like Jeanine Tesori, Thomas Schumacher and Bryan-Michael Cox work with and applaud these students reminds the world that young people and their teachers are vitally important to the future of the arts everywhere. There's a real ah-ha moment when a kid connects performing in their school musical to producing ground breaking musicals like Tom has, creating new music like Jeanine has, or becoming a Grammy award winning record producer like Bryan-Michael' says McDonald.
An award winning composer, record producer and conductor, Jeanine Tesori has been hailed as the one of the leading voices in American musical theatre. Her most recent stage project, Shrek The Musical, earned Tesori both Tony and Drama Desk Award nominations for her music. She won the honor of being the first female composer to have two musicals running on Broadway concurrently: Caroline, or Change at the Eugene O'Neill Theatre and Thoroughly Modern Millie at the Marquis Theatre. As a composer, Tesori's musical score for Caroline, or Change with Pulitzer Prize winner Tony Kushner as librettist won the 2004 Drama Desk Award for Best Score and was nominated for a Tony award. She also created the musical score for the 2003 Tony Award winner for Best Musical, Thoroughly Modern Millie, which ran on Broadway for over two years. Her score for Nicholas Hytner's production of Twelfth Night at Lincoln Center earned her a 1999 Tony Award nomination and Drama Desk Award. With lyricist and librettist Brian Crawley, Tesori wrote the score to the Off-Broadway musical Violet, which garnered the 1997 Drama Critics Circle Award, the Lortel Award for Best Off-Broadway Musical, an Obie, a Richard Rodgers Production Award, an AT&T Production Award and seven Drama Desk nominations. Tesori wrote the score for Disney's Mulan II with lyricist Alexa Junge, and several pieces for Disney's Lilo and Stitch II and Emperor's New Groove II. Tesori is one of the main record producers for Holt Reinhardt, Silver Burdett Ginn (SBG). Through SBG, she produces an educational music series used nationwide in schools comprised of 90 albums of music genres such as world music, classical and rock. Tesori has worked extensively as a Broadway arranger and conductor on shows including: Tommy, The Sound of Music, How to Succeed in Business without Really Trying, Dream, Gypsy, Big River, The Secret Garden and Swing.
Named by Billboard magazine as a #1 music producer, Grammy award-winning Bryan-Michael Cox is the only music producer to break the Beatles record with the most consecutive #1 hits on the Billboard Hot 100 Chart. This multi-instrumentalist, producer, and songwriter has co-written and co-produced hit singles for artists including Usher, Alicia Keys, Destiny's Child, Jessica Simpson, Jagged Edge, Mariah Carey, Janet Jackson, Lil Mo, Aaliyah, Monica, B2K, Ginuwine, Mary J. Blige and Fantasia. His first professional project happened while he was still a student at The Performing Arts High School in Houston, working with classmate and Grammy award-winner Beyonce on what would turn out to be a demo for the now Multi-Platinum Group Destiny's Child. Today, Cox has over 280 consecutive hits on the Billboard Hot 100 Chart. He founded his production company Blackbaby, Inc., and is working on an unprecedented venture deal with Warner Chappell Music, which will award up and coming writers with low-risk publishing deals. Cox is developing his own imprint with partner Chris Hicks called the BEAT FACTORY and is currently collaborating with Whitney Houston, JOE, Mary J. Blige and the Isley Brothers. He has been inducted into the Georgia Music Hall of Fame, earned four Grammy awards and has been honored five-times as SESAC's Songwriter of the year.
Since 1988, Thomas Schumacher has worked with The Walt Disney Company setting new standards of excellence in film, television and theatre. Currently, he serves as President of Disney Theatrical Group where he oversees the development, creation and execution of all Disney live entertainment around the globe including Broadway, touring and licensed productions, as well as Disney on Ice and Disney Live! shows produced in partnership with Feld Entertainment. His Broadway, West End, touring and international production credits include Beauty and the Beast, King David, The Lion King, Der Glockner von Notre Dame, Elton John and Tim Rice's Aida, On the Record, High School Musical, TARZAN, Mary Poppins and The Little Mermaid along with several new projects currently in development. Disney Theatrical Group has an unprecedented global reach with over 25 Disney produced and licensed productions performing daily around the world. Intensely passionate about theatre from an early age, Schumacher recognized the impact that theatre has on the lives of young people and developed a licensing program with Music Theatre International to make select Disney theatrical titles available for performance in schools and amateur theatres throughout the world. Schumacher's career at Disney began in Walt Disney Feature Animation producing the animated classic The Rescuers Down Under. He was ultimately named President and oversaw some 21 animated features including The Lion King, The Nightmare Before Christmas, Pocahontas, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Mulan, Tarzan, and Lilo & Stitch, as well as working closely with Pixar on their first five films. Prior to joining Disney, he was associate director of the 1987 Los Angeles Festival of Arts, presenting the American premiere of Cirque du Soleil and the English-language premiere of Peter Brook's The Mahabharta. Previously, he spent five years on staff at the Mark Taper Forum, served as a line producer on the 1984 Olympic Arts Festival, and served as assistant general manager of the Los Angeles Ballet. Mr. Schumacher is the author of the book 'How Does the Show Go On? An Introduction to the Theater' as well as a member of the Board of Trustees for Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS, the Tony Administration Committee and the Advisory Committee of the American Theatre Wing. He is mentor for the TDF Open Doors program and serves as an adjunct professor at Columbia University.
The first Junior Theater Festival was held in January of 2003 and featured the premieres of new MTI Education Broadway Junior titles Honk! JR., Dear Edwina JR. and Godspell JR. The 2005 festival featured the world premiere of the Disney Collection of Musicals and a talk-back with television and Broadway actress Christy Carlson Romano (Disney's Beauty and the Beast, Avenue Q). In 2007 the festival went international, and highlights included guest appearances by Zac Efron and American Idol's Michael Orland, plus the world stage premiere of Disney's High School Musical. In 2009, the festival included appearances by Broadway stars Henry Hodges, Jenifer Foote and Jenn Colella. In 2010, the festival became an annual event and 1,700 students from across the nation had the opportunity to meet Stephen Schwartz (Wicked, Godspell) and work with Playbill columnist and Talkin' Broadway radio host Seth Rudetsky, and Broadway actor Rashad Naylor (Hairspray, Chicago Company of Jersey Boys).
Highlights of the Junior Theater Festival include:
Adjudication in Elementary, Middle and Academy Categories: In the spirit of celebration rather than competition, groups perform 15-minute selections from their Broadway Junior or KIDS Collection productions for a panel of leaders in theatre and education. The panel evaluates each group's music, acting, dance and overall performance. Each cast receives valuable feedback about its creativity, engagement in the performance, understanding of the material and connection to the lyrics and movement. The most joyful and student-driven performances are celebrated with awards, and a select few groups are invited to perform during the closing awards ceremony for their peers.
Technical Theatre All-Stars: Each group attending the festival may nominate two students who take a hands-on role in helping to run the festival's many theatrical events. The young technical artists take part in workshops designed to help develop their talents and work side-by-side with seasoned professionals, and serve on the technical crew for the awards ceremony.
Professional Educators' Workshops (for teachers attending the festival with students): The Junior Theater Festival workshops empower teachers and professionals to present musicals in their communities and offers educators the knowledge, skills and tools necessary to grow their program in every possible way. The workshops focus on different aspects of putting on a show, including the 'how to's' of starting a drama club, choreographing musical numbers and creating great-looking sets and costumes on any budget. These workshops also serve as a professional exchange for teachers.
Disney Musicals New Works Showcase: Disney Musicals will sponsor a special performance of musicals for all Junior Theater Festival attendees. Selected performance groups are among the first in the country to present a new title in their community and receive an in-school residency with iTheatrics' teaching artists.
Professional Development (for teachers who attend the festival without students): Teachers who attend the Junior Theater Festival without performers take part in the iTheatrics Teaching Intensive Professional Development track with master teacher Cindy Ripley (named to the 2005 USA Today All-Star Teaching Team). This series of intensive professional development courses has been created in association with the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, is sanctioned by the New York City Department of Education, and has been presented at top performing arts centers all over the country. Grounded in the belief that one can't create a musical sitting at a school desk, the iTheatrics Teaching Intensive is designed to be a full- immersion, hands-on experience addressing all elements of musical theatre production. It gives educators the tools to create self-sustaining arts programs in their communities. Furthermore, the series offers teachers a safe atmosphere to candidly discuss their own obstacles and solutions with each other and the iTheatrics staff.
Student Workshops: The festival's workshops and master classes inspire students to build skills that will have a positive impact on productions for years to come. Topics include: auditions, movement and making the most out of rehearsals.
Choreography Video Casting: The Broadway Junior scouts will be on the lookout for outstanding students who will be invited to audition for iTheatrics resident choreographer Steven G. Kennedy for future Broadway Junior DVD shoots. These videos will be used in thousands of schools across the country. This past summer, 20 students selected from the 2010 Junior Theater Festival worked with Kennedy to film 'how-to' choreography DVDs for the musicals Fame JR. in New York City. Professional Production: In the spirit of inspiring young people to perform, all festival attendees will attend a professional production of Disney's Beauty and the Beast at Atlanta's Fox Theatre, presented by Theater of the Stars.
FESTIVAL CO-HOST and CO-PRODUCER: One of the oldest regional theaters in America, Atlanta's Theater of the Stars (TOTS) has produced and presented more than 750 productions in Atlanta, across the country and around the world. Founded in 1953, TOTS mounts lavish productions of new and classic musicals at affordable prices with the goal of expanding traditional audiences, enhancing the availability of quality family entertainment, and exposing new audiences to the magic of live theater. TOTS is an active participant in the national theater community and is a founding member of the National Alliance for Musical Theater, the Independent Presenters Network and the Broadway League. In 2009, TOTS celebrated the 50th year of leadership from its producer, Chris Manos.
FESTIVAL CO-HOST and CO-PRODUCER: iTheatrics uses the transformative power of the arts to make the world a better place. The company adapts existing Broadway and West End musicals for students at all age levels--including elementary, middle, and high school--to perform. iTheatrics also creates a teacher's tool chest of resources which provides educators with enhancements such as choreography DVDs, accompaniment CDs, director's guides and curriculum connections. iTheatrics' clients include Music Theatre International, Disney Theatrical Group and McMillan/McGraw- Hill. iTheatrics also develops new musicals for family audiences such as The Musical Adventures of Flat Stanley, The Phantom Tollbooth and Roald Dahl's James and the Giant Peach. iTheatrics' Junior Teaching Intensives provide professional development for teachers in the area of musical theater and its Junior Theater Academy provides young artists with an innovative outlet for developing their skills as performers and artists.
PRESENTING SPONSOR: Music Theatre International (MTI), www.mtishows.com, is the leading theatrical licensing agency in the world, representing the performance rights to over 350 musicals. MTI is particularly dedicated to the idea of theatre as education and has created special collections for younger audiences including The Broadway Junior Collection, which features 70-minute adaptations of major musicals designed for middle school children to perform, and the MTI KIDS Collection, which provides 30-minute musicals for performance by elementary school children. MTI launched MTI ShowSpace, www.mtishowspace.com, a free online community giving thespians and fans a space to connect with anyone and everyone involved in the theatrical process.
SHOWCASE SPONSOR: Disney Theatrical Productions, a division of The Walt Disney Studios, was formed in 1994. Operating under the direction of Thomas Schumacher, it is currently producing or co-producing 14 productions around the globe. The company produced Beauty and the Beast, its inaugural Broadway production, in 1994. In November 1997, Disney opened The Lion King, which received six 1998 Tony Awards including Best Musical and continues in its 13th smash year, having welcomed over 50 million visitors worldwide. Elton John and Tim Rice's Aida opened on Broadway next, followed by Mary Poppins, a co-production by Disney and Cameron Mackintosh, which opened in London in 2004 and has established itself as one of the biggest stage musical successes to emerge in recent years. Tarzan opened on Broadway in 2006,and in 2008, The Little Mermaid opened on Broadway, becoming the #1-selling new musical of that year. In addition to producing musicals, DTP licenses stage performance rights to more than a dozen Disney musicals in The Disney Collection around the world through Music Theatre International. The recently launched DisneyMusicals.com is an online HUB where kids, parents, educators and theatre professionals can find more information on titles in The Disney Collection, see photos and watch videos from school and community-theatre productions, and link to MTI's website to download applications for licenses.
The Junior Theater Festival is the world's largest musical theatre festival dedicated to schools and organizations working with elementary and middle school students and is sponsored by leading theatrical licensor Music Theatre International (MTI) and Disney Theatrical Productions and produced by Atlanta's Theater of the Stars and New York City based iTheatrics. The 2011 Festival is the seventh celebration to be held over Martin Luther King, JR weekend in Atlanta. The weekend offers an enthusiastic environment for students and teachers to interact with thousands of others who share their passion for musical theater.
In tribute to the leadership and dedication of MTI chairman Freddie Gershon, the festival's student awards for excellence are named 'The Freddie G's.' In 1995, Gershon created MTI Education, the first educational division in a major musical theatre licensing firm, which, over the past 15 years, has literally transformed the marketplace for age appropriate performance material for young performers. 'There have been over 50,000 separate grade school productions in the U.S.A. and the thousands of students at the Junior Theater Festivals show the world why experiential learning through musical theatre is so important. The experience of being part of a show allows our young people to become valuable members of society by learning life skills like working together, problem solving, public performance and utilizing their imagination and creativity as a team. It also lets them build a life-long appreciation for one of America's unique art forms, musical theatre,' says Gershon, chairman of Music Theatre International.
'Since 1953, Theater of the Stars has played an important role in offering young people the opportunity to participate in professional musical theater. It is part of our mission to include local young performers in some of the family friendly musicals that we produce each year. It is our passion to introduce Atlanta's youth to the joy of musical theater with the belief that their participation will ultimately make them better students, better citizens and advocates for the arts in their adult years,' says Nick Manos, president of Atlanta's Theater of the Stars. 'We helped found the Junior Theater Festival as a wonderful way to celebrate that mission with grade school students from all over America and around the globe,' he adds. While the festival isn't about creating the stars of tomorrow, many of the stars of today play a role. This year's onstage and backstage celebrities and personalities include: Broadway director, choreographer and performer Baayork Lee, who originated the role of Connie in A Chorus Line; Atlanta's own Tony award nominated Director Kenny Leon (Fences, A Raisin in the Sun), and Tony Award winning lighting designer Ken Billington (Chicago, The Scottsboro Boys) who has worked on over 100 Broadway shows; Broadway performer and choreographer Maddie Kelly (Chita Rivera: The Dancer's Life and Taboo); Broadway Sound designer Matt Kraus (Liza at the Palace and Lone Star Love); actor Stephen Eng (The King and I and Pacific Overtures); Brad Simmons, the music director and head of the Juniors Program for The O'Neill Theatre Center; Nick Pramik, Director of the Marketing and Partnerships at the leading entertainment advertising agency SpotCo, and Broadway, film, and television wardrobe specialist Jay Woods.
Each Junior Theater Festival group performs a 15-minute selection of a musical for professional adjudication by a panel of distinguished theater professionals. In addition, both students and teachers participate in interactive workshops led by Broadway and West End professionals, gain from professional development, enjoy theatrical fellowship and attend a world-class professional production of Disneys Beauty and the Beast at the Fox Theatre. True to the Junior Theater tradition, technical theatre students work side-by-side with festival staff in running all aspects of the festival experience
'The Junior Theater Festival celebrates and inspires teachers and their students who day-in and day-out are making the world a better place through the arts. Having stars like Jeanine Tesori, Thomas Schumacher and Bryan-Michael Cox work with and applaud these students reminds the world that young people and their teachers are vitally important to the future of the arts everywhere. There's a real ah-ha moment when a kid connects performing in their school musical to producing ground breaking musicals like Tom has, creating new music like Jeanine has, or becoming a Grammy award winning record producer like Bryan-Michael' says McDonald.
An award winning composer, record producer and conductor, Jeanine Tesori has been hailed as the one of the leading voices in American musical theatre. Her most recent stage project, Shrek The Musical, earned Tesori both Tony and Drama Desk Award nominations for her music. She won the honor of being the first female composer to have two musicals running on Broadway concurrently: Caroline, or Change at the Eugene O'Neill Theatre and Thoroughly Modern Millie at the Marquis Theatre. As a composer, Tesori's musical score for Caroline, or Change with Pulitzer Prize winner Tony Kushner as librettist won the 2004 Drama Desk Award for Best Score and was nominated for a Tony award. She also created the musical score for the 2003 Tony Award winner for Best Musical, Thoroughly Modern Millie, which ran on Broadway for over two years. Her score for Nicholas Hytner's production of Twelfth Night at Lincoln Center earned her a 1999 Tony Award nomination and Drama Desk Award. With lyricist and librettist Brian Crawley, Tesori wrote the score to the Off-Broadway musical Violet, which garnered the 1997 Drama Critics Circle Award, the Lortel Award for Best Off-Broadway Musical, an Obie, a Richard Rodgers Production Award, an AT&T Production Award and seven Drama Desk nominations. Tesori wrote the score for Disney's Mulan II with lyricist Alexa Junge, and several pieces for Disney's Lilo and Stitch II and Emperor's New Groove II. Tesori is one of the main record producers for Holt Reinhardt, Silver Burdett Ginn (SBG). Through SBG, she produces an educational music series used nationwide in schools comprised of 90 albums of music genres such as world music, classical and rock. Tesori has worked extensively as a Broadway arranger and conductor on shows including: Tommy, The Sound of Music, How to Succeed in Business without Really Trying, Dream, Gypsy, Big River, The Secret Garden and Swing.
Named by Billboard magazine as a #1 music producer, Grammy award-winning Bryan-Michael Cox is the only music producer to break the Beatles record with the most consecutive #1 hits on the Billboard Hot 100 Chart. This multi-instrumentalist, producer, and songwriter has co-written and co-produced hit singles for artists including Usher, Alicia Keys, Destiny's Child, Jessica Simpson, Jagged Edge, Mariah Carey, Janet Jackson, Lil Mo, Aaliyah, Monica, B2K, Ginuwine, Mary J. Blige and Fantasia. His first professional project happened while he was still a student at The Performing Arts High School in Houston, working with classmate and Grammy award-winner Beyonce on what would turn out to be a demo for the now Multi-Platinum Group Destiny's Child. Today, Cox has over 280 consecutive hits on the Billboard Hot 100 Chart. He founded his production company Blackbaby, Inc., and is working on an unprecedented venture deal with Warner Chappell Music, which will award up and coming writers with low-risk publishing deals. Cox is developing his own imprint with partner Chris Hicks called the BEAT FACTORY and is currently collaborating with Whitney Houston, JOE, Mary J. Blige and the Isley Brothers. He has been inducted into the Georgia Music Hall of Fame, earned four Grammy awards and has been honored five-times as SESAC's Songwriter of the year.
Since 1988, Thomas Schumacher has worked with The Walt Disney Company setting new standards of excellence in film, television and theatre. Currently, he serves as President of Disney Theatrical Group where he oversees the development, creation and execution of all Disney live entertainment around the globe including Broadway, touring and licensed productions, as well as Disney on Ice and Disney Live! shows produced in partnership with Feld Entertainment. His Broadway, West End, touring and international production credits include Beauty and the Beast, King David, The Lion King, Der Glockner von Notre Dame, Elton John and Tim Rice's Aida, On the Record, High School Musical, TARZAN, Mary Poppins and The Little Mermaid along with several new projects currently in development. Disney Theatrical Group has an unprecedented global reach with over 25 Disney produced and licensed productions performing daily around the world. Intensely passionate about theatre from an early age, Schumacher recognized the impact that theatre has on the lives of young people and developed a licensing program with Music Theatre International to make select Disney theatrical titles available for performance in schools and amateur theatres throughout the world. Schumacher's career at Disney began in Walt Disney Feature Animation producing the animated classic The Rescuers Down Under. He was ultimately named President and oversaw some 21 animated features including The Lion King, The Nightmare Before Christmas, Pocahontas, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Mulan, Tarzan, and Lilo & Stitch, as well as working closely with Pixar on their first five films. Prior to joining Disney, he was associate director of the 1987 Los Angeles Festival of Arts, presenting the American premiere of Cirque du Soleil and the English-language premiere of Peter Brook's The Mahabharta. Previously, he spent five years on staff at the Mark Taper Forum, served as a line producer on the 1984 Olympic Arts Festival, and served as assistant general manager of the Los Angeles Ballet. Mr. Schumacher is the author of the book 'How Does the Show Go On? An Introduction to the Theater' as well as a member of the Board of Trustees for Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS, the Tony Administration Committee and the Advisory Committee of the American Theatre Wing. He is mentor for the TDF Open Doors program and serves as an adjunct professor at Columbia University.
The first Junior Theater Festival was held in January of 2003 and featured the premieres of new MTI Education Broadway Junior titles Honk! JR., Dear Edwina JR. and Godspell JR. The 2005 festival featured the world premiere of the Disney Collection of Musicals and a talk-back with television and Broadway actress Christy Carlson Romano (Disney's Beauty and the Beast, Avenue Q). In 2007 the festival went international, and highlights included guest appearances by Zac Efron and American Idol's Michael Orland, plus the world stage premiere of Disney's High School Musical. In 2009, the festival included appearances by Broadway stars Henry Hodges, Jenifer Foote and Jenn Colella. In 2010, the festival became an annual event and 1,700 students from across the nation had the opportunity to meet Stephen Schwartz (Wicked, Godspell) and work with Playbill columnist and Talkin' Broadway radio host Seth Rudetsky, and Broadway actor Rashad Naylor (Hairspray, Chicago Company of Jersey Boys).
Highlights of the Junior Theater Festival include:
Adjudication in Elementary, Middle and Academy Categories: In the spirit of celebration rather than competition, groups perform 15-minute selections from their Broadway Junior or KIDS Collection productions for a panel of leaders in theatre and education. The panel evaluates each group's music, acting, dance and overall performance. Each cast receives valuable feedback about its creativity, engagement in the performance, understanding of the material and connection to the lyrics and movement. The most joyful and student-driven performances are celebrated with awards, and a select few groups are invited to perform during the closing awards ceremony for their peers.
Technical Theatre All-Stars: Each group attending the festival may nominate two students who take a hands-on role in helping to run the festival's many theatrical events. The young technical artists take part in workshops designed to help develop their talents and work side-by-side with seasoned professionals, and serve on the technical crew for the awards ceremony.
Professional Educators' Workshops (for teachers attending the festival with students): The Junior Theater Festival workshops empower teachers and professionals to present musicals in their communities and offers educators the knowledge, skills and tools necessary to grow their program in every possible way. The workshops focus on different aspects of putting on a show, including the 'how to's' of starting a drama club, choreographing musical numbers and creating great-looking sets and costumes on any budget. These workshops also serve as a professional exchange for teachers.
Disney Musicals New Works Showcase: Disney Musicals will sponsor a special performance of musicals for all Junior Theater Festival attendees. Selected performance groups are among the first in the country to present a new title in their community and receive an in-school residency with iTheatrics' teaching artists.
Professional Development (for teachers who attend the festival without students): Teachers who attend the Junior Theater Festival without performers take part in the iTheatrics Teaching Intensive Professional Development track with master teacher Cindy Ripley (named to the 2005 USA Today All-Star Teaching Team). This series of intensive professional development courses has been created in association with the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, is sanctioned by the New York City Department of Education, and has been presented at top performing arts centers all over the country. Grounded in the belief that one can't create a musical sitting at a school desk, the iTheatrics Teaching Intensive is designed to be a full- immersion, hands-on experience addressing all elements of musical theatre production. It gives educators the tools to create self-sustaining arts programs in their communities. Furthermore, the series offers teachers a safe atmosphere to candidly discuss their own obstacles and solutions with each other and the iTheatrics staff.
Student Workshops: The festival's workshops and master classes inspire students to build skills that will have a positive impact on productions for years to come. Topics include: auditions, movement and making the most out of rehearsals.
Choreography Video Casting: The Broadway Junior scouts will be on the lookout for outstanding students who will be invited to audition for iTheatrics resident choreographer Steven G. Kennedy for future Broadway Junior DVD shoots. These videos will be used in thousands of schools across the country. This past summer, 20 students selected from the 2010 Junior Theater Festival worked with Kennedy to film 'how-to' choreography DVDs for the musicals Fame JR. in New York City. Professional Production: In the spirit of inspiring young people to perform, all festival attendees will attend a professional production of Disney's Beauty and the Beast at Atlanta's Fox Theatre, presented by Theater of the Stars.
FESTIVAL CO-HOST and CO-PRODUCER: One of the oldest regional theaters in America, Atlanta's Theater of the Stars (TOTS) has produced and presented more than 750 productions in Atlanta, across the country and around the world. Founded in 1953, TOTS mounts lavish productions of new and classic musicals at affordable prices with the goal of expanding traditional audiences, enhancing the availability of quality family entertainment, and exposing new audiences to the magic of live theater. TOTS is an active participant in the national theater community and is a founding member of the National Alliance for Musical Theater, the Independent Presenters Network and the Broadway League. In 2009, TOTS celebrated the 50th year of leadership from its producer, Chris Manos.
FESTIVAL CO-HOST and CO-PRODUCER: iTheatrics uses the transformative power of the arts to make the world a better place. The company adapts existing Broadway and West End musicals for students at all age levels--including elementary, middle, and high school--to perform. iTheatrics also creates a teacher's tool chest of resources which provides educators with enhancements such as choreography DVDs, accompaniment CDs, director's guides and curriculum connections. iTheatrics' clients include Music Theatre International, Disney Theatrical Group and McMillan/McGraw- Hill. iTheatrics also develops new musicals for family audiences such as The Musical Adventures of Flat Stanley, The Phantom Tollbooth and Roald Dahl's James and the Giant Peach. iTheatrics' Junior Teaching Intensives provide professional development for teachers in the area of musical theater and its Junior Theater Academy provides young artists with an innovative outlet for developing their skills as performers and artists.
PRESENTING SPONSOR: Music Theatre International (MTI), www.mtishows.com, is the leading theatrical licensing agency in the world, representing the performance rights to over 350 musicals. MTI is particularly dedicated to the idea of theatre as education and has created special collections for younger audiences including The Broadway Junior Collection, which features 70-minute adaptations of major musicals designed for middle school children to perform, and the MTI KIDS Collection, which provides 30-minute musicals for performance by elementary school children. MTI launched MTI ShowSpace, www.mtishowspace.com, a free online community giving thespians and fans a space to connect with anyone and everyone involved in the theatrical process.
SHOWCASE SPONSOR: Disney Theatrical Productions, a division of The Walt Disney Studios, was formed in 1994. Operating under the direction of Thomas Schumacher, it is currently producing or co-producing 14 productions around the globe. The company produced Beauty and the Beast, its inaugural Broadway production, in 1994. In November 1997, Disney opened The Lion King, which received six 1998 Tony Awards including Best Musical and continues in its 13th smash year, having welcomed over 50 million visitors worldwide. Elton John and Tim Rice's Aida opened on Broadway next, followed by Mary Poppins, a co-production by Disney and Cameron Mackintosh, which opened in London in 2004 and has established itself as one of the biggest stage musical successes to emerge in recent years. Tarzan opened on Broadway in 2006,and in 2008, The Little Mermaid opened on Broadway, becoming the #1-selling new musical of that year. In addition to producing musicals, DTP licenses stage performance rights to more than a dozen Disney musicals in The Disney Collection around the world through Music Theatre International. The recently launched DisneyMusicals.com is an online HUB where kids, parents, educators and theatre professionals can find more information on titles in The Disney Collection, see photos and watch videos from school and community-theatre productions, and link to MTI's website to download applications for licenses.
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Law and Disorder by GG Arts Law
Career Advice by Legendary Manager Edna Landau
An American in Paris by Frank Cadenhead
FEATURED JOBS
RENT A PHOTO
