Jeff Calhoun, Christopher Gattelli and More to Work with Educators for 2017 Freddie G Fellowship

Eight outstanding educators from schools and performing arts centers around the U.S., and (for the first year Australia), will work one-on-one with Broadway greats at the 8th Annual FREDDIE G FELLOWSHIP July 12th - 15th.

The event has once again been underwritten by Myrna and Freddie ("G") Gershon, Chairman and CEO of leading theatrical licensor Music Theatre International (MTI).

The four days of classes and activities honor instructors and teachers who are working to make a difference for their students and communities through the process of staging musical theatre productions in their schools and educational theatre groups.

In addition to the all-expense paid visit to the New York Experience, each of the teachers' schools receives $5,000 from Freddie and Myrna. The teachers are empowered to choose the manner in which their respective school's theatre program can best utilize the funds.

This year teachers will attend special master classes led by Tony Honor winning director and choreographer Jeff Calhoun, musical director and conductor Kristen Blodgette, Tony Award winning director, choreographer and actor Christopher Gattelli, Tony Award winning lighting designer Ken Billington and Broadway sound designer Matt Kraus. They join the tradition of Broadway professionals who have given workshops and joined the Freddie G winners in prior years (including Stephen Schwartz, Jeanine Tesori, Warren Carlyle, Baayork Lee, Chad Beguelin, Nell Benjamin and Laurence O'Keefe, among others). Additionally, there will be surprise appearances by Broadway greats. Past Freddie G surprise guests have included Stephen Sondheim, Bobby and Kristen Lopez, Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty, Benj Pasek and Justin Paul, and Bernadette Peters.

"The four days will fully engage the winning teachers in the Broadway musical theatre world and provide one-of-a-kind learning opportunities for them to take back to their schools, students and communities," says Gershon. "These teachers perform inspiring work with limited financial resources. We want to give them the opportunity to live the Broadway experience and interact with qualified professionals to reward them for all they do to introduce the next generations to live theatre and simultaneously enhance their knowledge, skills and experience."

Dozens of educators attending the 2017 annual Junior Theater Festival in Atlanta and the Junior Theater West Festival in Sacramento with thousands of attendees, applied for the program, and eight in total were selected (a full list follows). The educators will participate in dynamic, hands-on master classes with some of Broadway's leading choreographers, directors, producers, actors and designers. They will be immersed in Broadway, will attend a current hit show and then take a backstage tour, observe a developmental workshop performance of Matilda Junior, and experience Broadway as theatre insiders...giving their feedback to the developmental process from their p.o.v.

"Without teachers there is no Broadway Junior. Myrna and I feel strongly about our personally investing in teachers and immersing them in experiential skills they can take home and utilize to guide their students and pass on to other teachers," added Gershon. "It's crucial we keep live theatre thriving in this country by working with both educators and children," said Myrna. "We believe that teachers should be honored and appreciated. Our future is in their hands."

The Junior Theater Festival is the world's largest musical theatre festival dedicated to educational musical theatre groups that work with elementary and middle school students. Over 5800 attendees were in Atlanta in 2017. This year's title sponsors were Music Theatre International, Disney Theatrical Group, and Playbill.

Following are the eight teachers attending the 8th Annual Freddie G Fellowship:

Bridget Burrows
Porter Ridge Middle School
Monroe, NC

Angelo Cerniglia
Hilton Head School for the Creative Arts
Hilton Head Island, SC

Amber Dyson
Bay Area Children's Theatre
Concord, CA

Shawna Linck
KIDSALIVE!
Oklahoma City, OK

Laurilea McDaniel
Mountain Ridge Middle School
Highlands Ranch, CO

Nicole Oliver
Conwell Kidz Drama Program
Bayonne, NJ

Mandy Seymore
Inspiration Stage
Sugar Land, TX

Daniel Stoddart
Hunter Drama
Cameron Park, NSW, Australia

Music Theatre International www.mtishows.com is one of the world's leading theatrical licensing agencies, protecting the rights and legacies of composers, lyricists and book writers. MTI's core business is issuing licenses, scripts, musical materials and dynamic theatrical resources to schools as well as amateur and professional theatres across the globe.

With over 400 classic and contemporary show titles from Broadway, Off-Broadway, and London's West End, MTI shows have been performed by over 70,000 theatrical organizations in the US and in over 60 countries worldwide.

MTI is a strong proponent of educational theatre. In 1996 (after a two-year developmental incubation period) MTI Chairman and CEO Freddie Gershon launched "MTI's Broadway Junior musicals" - 30 and 60-minute shows for younger performers. In 2012 he was awarded a Tony Honor for conceiving and creating this revolutionary program. During the past twenty one years over 5,000,000 students and over 500,000 educators have been involved in at least one of the close to 200,000 global productions of a Broadway Junior musical.