Young Thespians Earn National Honors At 2023 Junior Theater Festival

LAKELAND, FL — All the world's a stage, or at least it was on Jan. 13 to 15, when students from three Tampa Bay youth theater troupes had a chance to perform in front of some of the country's top actors, voice coaches and choreographers currently performing on Broadway and touring nationally.

When the weekend was over, young actors from Backstage Theater in Lakeland, Center Stage Youth Theatre in Odessa and Florida Academy of Performing Arts in Brandon walked away with national national honors from the 2023 Junior Theater Festival Atlanta.

The weekend dedicated to celebrating excellence in student-driven musical theater programs took place at the Cobb Convention Center in Atlanta.

• Center Stage Youth Theatre's Grant Tushaus received a Freddie G Outstanding Individual Performance award.
• Florida Academy of Performing Arts won a Freddie G Excellence in Ensemble Work award.
• Florida Academy students Noah Ochalek and Morgan Sheriff were named to the Technical Theatre All-Stars, a select group of students who worked side-by-side with tech professionals to help run events.
• Backstage Theater's student Guillermo Casanova, Center Stage Youth Theatre's student Jace Skinner and Florida Academy of Performing Arts student Timothy Addie made it to the callback for a yet-to-be-announced special video project which will promote musicals in schools.
• Students Tyson Cooper and Phoebe DiBona-Liberatore from Backstage Theater, Center Stage Youth Theatre's students Violet Parkes and Jace Skinner and Florida Academy of Performing Arts students Malachi Trim and Mariela Zenowere were named Junior Theater Festival All-Stars, a select group of outstanding performers.

At the festival, each theater troupe performed 15 minutes of a Broadway Junior musical for adjudicators.

Backstage Theater presented "Seussical Jr." before actor Brion Watson (of the national tours of "Hamilton" and "Wicked), Bay Area Children’s Theatre founding CEO Nina Meehan and Peter Avery, director of theater for the New York City Department of Education.

"Backstage Theater delivered sweet performances that captured the lively but at times melancholy score of this iconic show," Avery said.

Watson agreed.

"This cast's joy in performing was so breathtaking. They reminded us that no matter who you are, you can be anything, anyone that you want to be.'"

Center Stage Youth Theatre presented "Honk! Jr." to actor Michael Wordly (from the U.S. tour of "The Color Purple"); iTheatrics master teacher and music director Derek Bowley and Lisa Mitchell, director of education and audience engagement at Disney Theatrical Group.

"This presentation had every ounce of heart that a production of 'Honk! Jr.' should," Bowley said. "They made me cry and filled my soul with joy. The little ducklings were too cute for words, and the older performers, especially Violet Parker as Ida and Grant Tushaus as Ugly, gave performances with a maturity beyond their years. These performers are learning the importance of character development and strong ensemble work. They are also learning that musical theater isn’t just about big production numbers (which they performed beautifully), but also about telling the story in the smaller moments as well."

Florida Academy of Performing Arts presented "Children of Eden Jr." to actor Bob Lenzi (of "Tina," "South Pacific" and "Tuck Everlasting" on Broadway), dancer, singer and choreographer Francine Espiritu (national tour associate choreographer for "The Lightning Thief: The Percy Jackson Musical") and Amanda Flynn (vocal coach for "Be More Chill" and "The Lightning Thief" on Broadway).

"The ensemble in this production worked together so beautifully," Flynn said. "It's clear this program values teamwork and creating an ensemble."

"I enjoyed Florida Academy of Performing Arts' Imaginative ensemble storytelling," Lenzi said. "This group was one of the deepest talent pools in our pod."

Called a “rousing celebration of theater” by the New York Times, the Junior Theater Festival applauds and empowers young people and educators to create student-driven musical theater around the globe.

The 2023 JTF Atlanta drew 125 groups from 28 states, as well as Washington D.C., Canada and Australia.

The weekend included panels and performances from the original "Mean Girls" Broadway cast members Krystina Alabado, Erika Henningsen, Grey Henson, Kate Rockwell and Kyle Selig; Katy Geraghty of Broadway's "Into the Woods;" Taylor Iman Jones of "SIX" on Broadway; Daniel Yearwood of "Hamilton" on Broadway; and Pasek & Paul of "Dear Evan Hansen, The Greatest Showman."

Thomas Schumacher, president and producer of Disney Theatrical Productions, delivered the festival keynote.

Additional talent appearing at the festival and cheering on the young artists were director, choreographer and producer Jeff Calhoun ("Newsies" on Broadway); actor Cori Jaskier ("Ratatouille: The TikTok Musical" and TheaterWorksUSA's "Charlotte's Web"); lyricist and librettist Kate Leonard ("Ratatouille: The TikTok Musical," and "Breathe, For You, Paige"); composer and music supervisor Daniel J. Mertzlufft ("Ratatouille: The TikTok Musical" and "Breathe"); Michael Wordly ("Kinky Boots," Chicago); actor Luca Padovan ("Newsies," Broadway); New York Times best-selling author Jodi Picoult ("Between the Lines," Off-Broadway), and Wren Rivera ("Jagged Little Pill," Broadway).

Groups enjoyed a New Works Showcase of performance selections from upcoming Broadway Junior musicals presented by JTF groups, and other mainstage performances featuring powerhouse Broadway guests and took part in workshops.

iTheatrics and the Junior Theater Group produce the Junior Theater Festivals. 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. iTheatrics works with leading public and private companies around the world—including the Kennedy Center, NBC and all the leading theatrical licensors—to make sure that young people everywhere have access to quality musical theater programs.

In addition to the Junior Theater Festival Atlanta, iTheatrics produces, hosts, and supports Junior Theater Festivals and one-day Junior Theater Celebrations in the U.S., U.K., Australia and New Zealand.

Past festival attendees have included Ahrens & Flaherty, Skylar Astin, Joshua Bassett, Shoshana Bean, Sierra Boggess, Nicholas Christopher, Darren Criss, Zac Efron, Cynthia Erivo, Megan Hilty, Arielle Jacobs, Kenny Leon, Caissie Levy, Kara Lindsay, Ryan McCartan, Lindsay Mendez, Alan Menken, Pasek and Paul, Ben Platt, Olivia Rodrigo, Samsel & Anderson; Steven Schwartz, Ali Stroker and Jeanine Tesori.