The 2024 Junior Theater Festival West kicks off in Sacramento, California February 9. And, as per usual, an A-list roster of theatre notables is on hand to celebrate all things youth theatre.
Produced and hosted by iTheatrics, the weekend event (continuing through February 11) brings youth groups from around the world together for a celebration of everything theatre. The 2024 festival will see nearly 2,000 young theatre fans from 14 states and five countries in attendance for three days of singing, dancing, acting, and learning.
Scheduled to join as performers, presenters, and/or adjudicators are playwright and author Vichet Chum (Kween), Adam Faison (Everything's Gonna Be Okay), composer Zina Goldrich (Junie B. Jones), Taylor Iman Jones (SIX), DJ Kurs (artistic director, Deaf West), director Coy Middlebrook (At Home at the Zoo), writing team Elyssa Samsel and Kate Anderson (Between the Lines), Frankie A. Rodriguez (High School Musical: The Musical: The Series), Joe Serafini (High School Musical: The Musical: The Series), and actor-composer Jacob Ryan Smith (Painless: The Opioid Musical).
The weekend will close with a headliner concert February 11, starring Andrew Barth Feldman (No Hard Feelings, Dear Evan Hansen).
Esteemed educators scheduled to adjudicate sessions include Michael J. Bobbitt, Derek Bowley, Daniel Chavez, Romney Clements, Marissa Davis, Adam Fane, Celeste Javier, Mary Kennett, Eva La Pluma, Kelly Lomonte, Dean McFlicker, Nina Meehan, Lisa Morrow, Cindy Ripley, Shay Rodgers, Morgan Rose, and Eli Weinberg.
JTF celebrates musical theatre and musical theatre education with a weekend of events and performances that bring Broadway and West End professionals together with educators and young students. Youth theatre companies can bring 15-minute staged selections (from titles in musical licensor Music Theatre International's Broadway Junior collection) for adjudication. Students can also attend interactive workshops. Students interested in technical theatre can participate in the tech track, which includes the opportunity to work alongside industry professionals backstage for the festival's mainstage events.
“It is always a thrill to see such a wide variety of Broadway Junior shows presented by groups from all over the country and around the world in Sacramento," says Music Theatre International President and CEO Drew Cohen in a statement. "The energy at the Festival is what brings people back year after year and is precisely why MTI pioneered this collection of Junior musicals over two decades ago.”
Educators, whether bringing a group of students or attending individually, have access to professional development workshops. Educators traveling with groups have the chance of being selected for the Freddie G Fellowship. Named for MTI Co-Chairman Freddie Gershon, the fellowship is bestowed annually on eight exceptional educators and includes an all-expenses-paid trip to New York City for professional development with Broadway greats and a $5,000 grant for the educator's theatre program.
Music Theatre International, Disney Musicals, Playbill, and RPM are the proud sponsors of the Junior Theater Festival.
Visit JuniorTheaterFestival.com.
