BRAVO! Celebrates Junior Theater Festival for 8th Consecutive Year

Submitted by Gwendolyn Brooks Middle School.

Oak Park, IL - Forty-five students from the award-winning BRAVO! program, representing Gwendolyn Brooks Middle School in Oak Park, will travel to Atlanta, Georgia, Jan. 14, 2016, for the International Junior Theater Festival.

Founded in 2003, the Junior Theater Festival is the world’s largest musical theater festival of its kind and attracts students and instructors from across the United States who gather to participate in workshops and lectures, as well as perform highlights from their respective productions.

The Junior Theater Festival is dedicated to students ages 8- 18, celebrating young people and the transformative power of musical theater. This is the 8th consecutive year BRAVO! has been invited to the festival. This year’s festival will host 5,000 students and teachers representing almost 110 groups from around the United States. BRAVO!

has earned the top coveted honor of Outstanding Production for six consecutive years.

BRAVO! has been selected to perform in the New Works Showcase on Saturday evening for the entire festival audience. Of the 110 groups in attendance, BRAVO! is one of 4 groups to receive this prestigious honor. BRAVO! was also selected to perform excerpts from Annie and Aladdin for the festival audience on Sunday in celebration of Broadway Junior’s 20th Anniversary.

Saturday morning, BRAVO! will perform a 15 minute excerpt from Seussical, the Musical for adjudication. Following their adjudicated performance, Broadway professionals provide fantastic feedback to the young performers.

From the adjudicated performance, the Broadway judges select students to audition for a Choreography DVD in NYC this summer or to perform with Festival All-Stars at the Awards Ceremony, held Sunday evening. Also on Saturday, January 16, students will participate in one of the many festival highlights – exciting workshops with Broadway professionals.

Marty Johnson, the educational director of iTheatrics was in Oak Park at Brooks Middle School, Friday, December 18 to work with the BRAVO! students in preparation for all of the performances presented for the festival audiences and representing Broadway Junior, iTheatrics and Music Theater International.

Students representing District 97, the greater Oak Park community, the entire state of Illinois and the award-winning, nationally recognized BRAVO! program include:

Julia Anton, Luca Bosco, Thomas Brandstrader, Armando Carlo, Magnolia Chesney, Claire Cooke, Evelyn Crane, Ruby Dalton, Caroline Diskin, Maria Donlin, Nina Donlin, Collette Donlin, Lily Doody, Cait Egan, Montgomery Ellwanger, Jack Farrar, Carson Flemming, Emily Fliszar, Alexandra Fliszar, Seth Flynn, Anna Freivogel, Lindsay Gooch, Samantha Gotti, Max Halle-Podell, Meenah Harbaugh, Ava Hart, Lilian Hermann, DeAnthony Howard, Charlie Inksetter, Alex Johnson, Zora Johnson, Yana Keane, Olivia Marmer, Tess McConville, Johnny McGillen, Gina Montalvo, Matthew Murphy, Sarah Pilditch, Abby Pridmore, Ella Renner, Elise Scheuring, Ty Schirmer, McKale Thompson, Mari Wolter and Carrie Wolter BRAVO! is the performing arts program at Gwendolyn Brooks Middle School in Oak Park, IL.

The theater program is open to all students and welcomes children throughout the community to its annual Bravo Summer Performing Arts Academy.

Under the artistic direction of Tina Reynolds, over 500 students annually participate in the eight theater productions produced each year. The JTF BRAVO Team includes Director, Tina Reynolds; Musical Director, Cameron Burgess; Choreographer, Rachel Caron; Costume Designer, Lisa Morrow and Trip Manager, Randi Orlin.