Barn students win Junior Theater Festival West awards
Students from the Barn Theater Children’s Program in Porterville earned praise and other recognition at the 2020 Junior Theater Festival West, which happened February 7-9 at Wells Fargo Pavilion in Sacramento.
The Junior Theater Festival West united 2,200 students and educators from 48 educational musical theater groups representing 15 states, the District of Columbia, Australia, England, and South Korea.
Barn Theater Children’s
Program students presented selections from Seussical JR. for Nina Meehan, founder and executive artistic director of Bay Area Children’s Theatre; and Australian actor, producer, and director Daniel Stoddart, founder of Hunter Drama in Australia.
Meehan said, “Barn Theater Children’s Program offered an energetic, lively Seussical JR. with strong characters and heartfelt sentiments.” Added Stoddart, “This performance was all the things Seussical JR. should be: fun, energetic, and quirky!”
Barn Theater Children’s
Program’s Bella Perez made it to the callback for future shoots for “how-to” choreography videos for soon-to-be released musicals. The shoots will be taped in New York City this summer. The scouts were on the lookout for outstanding students, 125 of whom made it to the final call-back for itheatrics resident choreographer Steven G. Kennedy. The final cast will be determined later this year. These videos will be used in tens of thousands of schools across the country and interna
lly.
Barn Theater Children’s Program’s Alexandra Nicola and Naomi Walker were named to the Junior Theater Festival All-stars, made up of outstanding performers attending the festival. The All-stars performed a song during the closing ceremony for all 2,200 festival attendees.
Produced by the Junior Theater Group in partnership with itheatrics, a leading educational theater company that creates innovative experiences and products for both the public and the private sector, the Junior Theater Festival West celebrates young people and the transformative power of musical theater. This year’s title sponsors were Music Theatre International, Disney Theatrical Group, and Playbill, Inc.
Porterville’s Barn Theater has been providing live, on-stage entertainment to its community for more than 50 years. The Barn Theater Junior Company offers a preshow prior to each opening night, performing a variety of songs to honor each season’s lineup of plays.
The program has enjoyed success at past Junior Theater Festivals.
At the 2019 Junior Theater Festival West the Barn Theater won a Freddie G Award for Excellence in Acting.
At the 2018 Junior Theater Festival West Kierstin Hall won a Freddie G Inspiration Award, given to an individual or a group who touched the hearts of the adjudicators in an inspirational way. Kristina Hall was also one of a select group of students who made it to the call-back for future shoots for “howto” choreography videos for soon-to-be released musicals.
The 2020 Junior Theater Festival West was a weekend of theatrical fellowship rewarding and empowering student-driven musical theater programs.
President and Producer of Disney Theatrical Productions Thomas Schumacher; Sierra Boggess (The Little Mermaid on Broadway, The Phantom of the Opera on Broadway); Jeff Calhoun (Newsies on Broadway, Between the Lines); Jason Gotay (Bring It On on Broadway, Between the Lines); Luca Padovan (School of Rock on Broadway); Rob Rokicki (The Lighting Thief: The Percy Jackson Musical on Broadway); Marcy Heisler and Zina Goldrich (Dear Edwina Junie B. Jones), New York Times best-selling author Jodi Picoult (Between the Lines); Elyssa Samsel and Kate Anderson (“Olaf’s Frozen Adventure,” Between the Lines), Doug Besterman (The Big One-oh!, How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying), and Dean Pitchford (Fame – The Musical, The Big One-oh!) were some of the celebrities at the festival cheering on the students.
In addition to presenting selections from shows for adjudication, participants took part in interactive workshops led by Broadway and West End professionals, gained from professional development, watched outstanding performances by fellow students and Broadway stars and enjoyed theatrical fellowship.
Marcy Heisler and Zina Goldrich performed the Junior Theater Festival West’s headlining concert, with special guest Sierra Boggess.
Disney Theatrical Productions President and Producer Thomas Schumacher offered the festival keynote in collaboration with Jonah Ho’okano and Kaena Kekoa, who both perform in the Aladdin North America tour.
During the festival’s New Works Showcase, select groups performed songs from new or updated musicals: Roald Dahl’s Matilda JR. (the British Theater Academy, U.K.); Elephant and Piggie’s We Are in a Play! JR. (Kidsalive!, Oklahoma City, OK); The Drowsy Chaperone JR. (Poison Apple Productions, Martinez, CA); Disney’s Newsies JR. (Eastern Shore Rep, Fairhope, AL); and Disney’s Moana JR. (Spark of Creation, South San Francisco, CA). These titles will soon be made available as Broadway Junior musicals for licensing by Music Theatre International.
Based in New York City, for the last decade itheatrics has established itself as the world’s leading authority on musical theater for young people. The company works with leading public and private companies around the world — including the White House, the Kennedy Center, NBC and all the leading theatrical licensors — to make sure that young people everywhere have access to quality musical theater programs.