Education NewsMegan Hilty and Wicked Composer Stephen Schwartz Set for 2018 Junior Theater FestivalThe three-day celebration will host the premiere of Children of Eden JR and honor “Rainbow Connection” songwriter Paul Williams.
By
Adam Hetrick
December 21, 2017
More than 6,500 theatre students and educators will head to Atlanta for the 2018 Junior Theater Festival, which takes place January 12–14. The event, which is the largest of its kind, unites young theatre lovers for a weekend of performances, workshops, and special events with Broadway guest stars.
Smash star Megan Hilty will headline the festival with a special concert, while Stephen Schwartz, the composer-lyricist of Wicked, Pippin, and The Hunchback of Notre Dame, will be on hand to introduce a new student edition of his biblical musical Children of Eden during the New Works Showcase. Also highlighted during the performance will be Disney’s Aladdin JR, and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang JR.
JTF will also honor Grammy- and Oscar-winning songwriter Paul Williams with the Junior Theater Festival Legacy Award. Williams, who wrote such hits as “Evergreen” and “We’ve Only Just Begun,” also authored the popular licensing title Bugsy Malone, as well as The Muppet Movie and its classic song “Rainbow Connection.” The JTF Legacy Award is presented annually to “individuals whose vision and artistry have shaped the minds and hearts of educational musical theatre students and audiences all around the globe.” Past recipients include Alan Menken, Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty, Jeanine Tesori, and Stephen Schwartz.
University School of Nashville, Roy Waldron Elementary Drama, and Bradley Academy Musical Theatre Present Peter Pan JR at JTF 2016
“We want to make sure that all young people have the same access to musicals as they do to youth sports programs, because being part of a show is the ultimate, all-inclusive team sport. Theater allows students to gain life skills, including collaboration, team-building, and problem-solving. Furthermore, musicals introduce and draw in young people to the five pillars of the arts—music, language, dance, visual arts, and the digital arts—all in one experience,” said Timothy Allen McDonald, Founder and CEO of iTheatrics and the Junior Theater Group in a statement. “When the Junior Theater Festival was founded in 2003, the intent was to create a World Series-like experience for theater. And, just like many Little League members go on to continue to participate in sports for the rest of their lives, the educational musical theater movement and its Junior Theater Festival are creating the audiences of tomorrow today.”
The Junior Theater Festival is sponsored by iTheatrics, along with Music Theatre International (MTI), Disney Theatrical Group, and Playbill, Inc.
Playbill will again present The Playbill Community Service Award. All groups attending the iTheatrics Junior Theater Festival are encouraged to document their organization's community service projects. Up to five finalists will be highlighted on Playbill, where the public will vote on its favorite. (Voting ends at 11:59 PM ET January 15.)
The winning organization will receive $1,000 to support continued charitable efforts as well as Playbill’s educational resources such as PLAYBILLder.com, a DIY program maker allowing schools to personalize an authentic Playbill online.
Throughout the weekend, students and teachers participate in interactive workshops led by Broadway and West End professionals, gain from professional development, and meet other theatre lovers from across the world.
The festival will shine the spotlight on the next generation of composers and artists during Pathways, a Q&A event in which Broadway writers talk candidly about their experiences and present works from new shows.
The Junior Theater Festival is the world’s largest festival celebrating young people and the transformative power of musical theatre.
30 PHOTOS
iTheatrics founding chairman welcomes educators to a Friday night reception.
Team iTheatrics launches its new textbook, The iTheatrics Method.
Marcus Woollen/MTI
Cade Garafola of Holy Ghost’s Spirit of the Stage in Hammond sings the National Anthem.
iTheatric Founding Chairman Timothy Allen McDonald officially opens the 2017 iTheatrics Junior Theater Festival Atlanta.
Marcus Woollen/MTI
iTheatrics Founding Chairman Timothy Allen McDonald and Luca Padovan (School of Rock The Musical) talk about EdTA’s JumpStart Theatre, a program which builds self-sustaining musical theatre programs in under-served schools.
Parents and students wait to meet award-winning author Mary Pope Osborne and Will Osborne, co-writer and composer of the Magic Tree House musicals.
Students surprise lyricist Lynn Ahrens and composer Stephen Flaherty with a performance of “Why We Tell The Story” from Once on this Island.
Jodi Picoult, a #1 best-selling author of twenty-three novels signs her latest novel Small Great Things.
Conwell Kidz Drama Program from Jersey City, NJ, presented Magic Tree House: Pirates Past Noon KIDS for.
Conwell Kidz Drama Program from Jersey City, NJ, presented Magic Tree House: Pirates Past Noon KIDS for.
Eastern Shore Rep students from Fairhope, AL, perform Junie B Jones JR.
Eastern Shore Rep students from Fairhope, AL, perform Junie B Jones JR.
Hunter Drama from Newcastle, Australia presented Disney’s 101 Dalmatians.
Play On Players in Gainesville, GA perform Disney’s Mary Poppins, Jr. at the Junior Theatre Festival 2017
Marcus Woollen/MTI
Play On Players in Gainesville, GA perform Disney’s Mary Poppins JR.
The Center Players @ Arts of the Albemarle in Elizabeth City, NC perform Disney’s The Jungle Book KIDS.
The Center Players @ Arts of the Albemarle in Elizabeth City, NC perform Disney’s The Jungle Book KIDS.
All JTF Atlanta participants enjoyed the world premiere of the live capture performance film of Disney’s Newsies: The Broadway Musical hosted by Jeff Calhoun and Christopher Gattelli.
Musical Mayhem Productions in Elk Grove, CA received the Playbill Community Service Award, created to acknowledge all of the ways young people at the Junior Theater Festival are giving back across the country. All groups attending the Junior Theater Festival were encouraged to document their organization's community service projects. Finalists were chosen by a panel of adjudicators and highlighted on Playbill.com, where the public cast votes on its favorite. A total of 120,000 votes were cast. Musical Mayhem Productions won a $1,000 cash prize to support its continued charitable efforts.
MTI CEO Freddie Gershon and Myrna Gershon and past Freddie G Fellows welcome five recipients of the 2017 Freddie G Fellowship.
Community Theatre of Greensboro, North Carolina, performs for all festival attendees as part of the closing ceremonies.
Freddie G Outstanding Production award recipient Eastern Shore Repertory Theatre based in Fairhope, AL perform Singin' In The Rain JR. for all festival attendees as part of the closing ceremonies.
Freddie G Outstanding Production award recipient PS 124 based in Chinatown, NYC, performs Annie KIDS for all festival attendees as part of the closing ceremonies.
Freddie G Outstanding Production award recipient Red Phoenix Theatre Company, based in Buford, GA, perform Roald Dahl's James and The Giant Peach JR. for all festival attendees as part of the closing ceremonies.
Freddie G Outstanding Production award recipient in Brandenton, FL, perform Dear Edwina JR. for all festival attendees as part of the closing ceremonies.
Matthew Lee Robinson (Atlantis, Happy People) performs during Pathways to Success.
iTheatrics founding chairman Timothy Allen McDonald; Jeff Calhoun (Newsies); Elyssa Samsel (My Little Brony); Kate Anderson (My Little Brony), and Jodi Piccoult (Between the Lines) talk during Pathways to Success.
Arielle Jacobs (In the Heights) and Curt Hansen (Wicked) perform during Pathways to Success.
Broadway music director and composer Brad Simmons (Lysistrata Jones) plays music from his new CD In the Company of Strangers.
Disney Theatrical President Thomas Schumacher talks with students during the Direct From Broadway event.
From Natalie Portman to Andrew Barth Feldman, we take a look at some of the actors who had their debuts on Broadway before they even had a high school diploma.
London’s Royal Central School of Speech and Drama is among the highest ranked universities for theatre education in the U.K., and its doors are open to international students.
Three Tony nominees personally respond to questions about their favorite roles, how they made characters their own, and what it takes to be a well-rounded artist on Broadway today.
As local theatres tackle Broadway’s most technically demanding shows, new resources—from keyboard programs to prop exchange to tablet-ready scripts—provide a helping hand.
