Tesori, Cox, et al. Set for Junior Theatre Festival, 1/14-16

Imagination and teamwork will be center stage when a diverse cast of over 2,000 students and teachers representing 50+ schools and educational theatre groups from 15 states and Canada join Broadway creatives in a monumental celebration of the arts at the 2011 Junior Theater Festival happening January 14 - 16, 2011, at the Cobb Galleria Centre in Atlanta, GA, it was announced today by Theater of the Stars president, Nick Manos and Timothy Allen McDonald, founding chairman of iTheatrics.  Four-time Tony nominated composer Jeanine Tesori (Thoroughly Modern Millie, Shrek the Musical) will receive the Junior Theater Festival Award for Advancement of Musical Theatre for Young People, while Broadway producer and Disney Theatrical Group president Thomas Schumacher will be the festival's keynote speaker and Grammy award-winning musician, producer and songwriter Bryan-Michael Cox will participate in a Q&A session with all attendees.  For the first time, in honor of the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday weekend, the festival will also feature "Dream Boxes" where students will record 30 second messages with their dreams for the future to be uploaded on the Internet.

The Junior Theater Festival is the world's largest musical theatre festival dedicated to schools and organizations working with elementary and middle school students and is sponsored by leading theatrical licensor Music Theatre International (MTI) and Disney Theatrical Productions and produced by Atlanta's Theater of the Stars and New York City based iTheatrics.  The 2011 Festival is the seventh celebration to be held over Martin Luther King, JR weekend in Atlanta.  The weekend offers an enthusiastic environment for students and teachers to interact with thousands of others who share their passion for musical theater.

In tribute to the leadership and dedication of MTI chairman Freddie Gershon, the festival's student awards for excellence are named "The Freddie G's." In 1995, Gershon created MTI Education, the first educational division in a major musical theatre licensing firm, which, over the past 15 years, has literally transformed the marketplace for age appropriate performance material for young performers.

"There have been over 50,000 separate grade school productions in the U.S.A. and the thousands of students at the Junior Theater Festivals show the world why experiential learning through musical theatre is so important.  The experience of being part of a show allows our young people to become valuable members of society by learning life skills like working together, problem solving, public performance and utilizing their imagination and creativity as a team. It also lets them build a life-long appreciation for one of America's unique art forms, musical theatre," says Gershon, chairman of Music Theatre International.

"Since 1953, Theater of the Stars has played an important role in offering young people the opportunity to participate in professional musical theater. It is part of our mission to include local young performers in some of the family friendly musicals that we produce each year.  It is our passion to introduce Atlanta's youth to the joy of musical theater with the belief that their participation will ultimately make them better students, better citizens and advocates for the arts in their adult years," says Nick Manos, president of Atlanta's Theater of the Stars.  "We helped found the Junior Theater Festival as a wonderful way to celebrate that mission with grade school students from all over America and around the globe," he adds.

While the festival isn't about creating the stars of tomorrow, many of the stars of today play a role.  This year's onstage and backstage celebrities and personalities include: Broadway director, choreographer and performer Baayork Lee, who originated the role of Connie in A Chorus Line; Atlanta's own Tony award nominated Director Kenny Leon (Fences, A Raisin in the Sun), and Tony Award winning lighting designer Ken Billington (Chicago, The Scottsboro Boys) who has worked on over 100 Broadway shows; Broadway performer and choreographer Maddie Kelly (Chita Rivera: The Dancer's Life and Taboo); Broadway Sound designer Matt Kraus (Liza at the Palace and Lone Star Love); actor Stephen Eng (The King and I and Pacific Overtures);  Brad Simmons, the music director and head of the Juniors Program for The O'Neill Theatre Center; Nick Pramik, Director of the Marketing and Partnerships at the leading entertainment advertising agency SpotCo, and Broadway, film, and television wardrobe specialist Jay Woods.

Each Junior Theater Festival group performs a 15-minute selection of a musical for professional adjudication by a panel of distinguished theater professionals.  In addition, both students and teachers participate in interactive workshops led by Broadway and West End professionals, gain from professional development, enjoy theatrical fellowship and attend a world-class professional production of Disney's Beauty and the Beast at the Fox Theatre.  True to the Junior Theater tradition, technical theatre students work side-by-side with festival staff in running all aspects of the festival experience

"The Junior Theater Festival celebrates and inspires teachers and their students who day-in and day-out are making the world a better place through the arts.  Having stars like Jeanine Tesori, Thomas Schumacher and Bryan-Michael Cox work with and applaud these students reminds the world that young people and their teachers are vitally important to the future of the arts everywhere.  There's a real ah-ha moment when a kid connects performing in their school musical to producing ground breaking musicals like Tom has, creating new music like Jeanine has, or becoming a Grammy award winning record producer like Bryan-Michael" says McDonald.

An award winning composer, record producer and conductor, Jeanine Tesori has been hailed as the one of the leading voices in American musical theatre. Her most recent stage project, Shrek The Musical, earned Tesori both Tony and Drama Desk Award nominations for her music.  She won the honor of being the first female composer to have two musicals running on Broadway concurrently: Caroline, or Change at the Eugene O'Neill Theatre and Thoroughly Modern Millie at the Marquis Theatre. As a composer, Tesori's musical score for Caroline, or Change with Pulitzer Prize winner Tony Kushner as librettist won the 2004 Drama Desk Award for Best Score and was nominated for a Tony award.   She also created the musical score for the 2003 Tony Award winner for Best Musical, Thoroughly Modern Millie, which ran on Broadway for over two years.  Her score for Nicholas Hytner's production of Twelfth Night at Lincoln Center earned her a 1999 Tony Award nomination and Drama Desk Award. With lyricist and librettist Brian Crawley, Tesori wrote the score to the Off-Broadway musical Violet, which garnered the 1997 Drama Critics Circle Award, the Lortel Award for Best Off-Broadway Musical, an Obie, a Richard Rodgers Production Award, an AT&T Production Award and seven Drama Desk nominations. Tesori wrote the score for Disney's Mulan II with lyricist Alexa Junge, and several pieces for Disney's Lilo and Stitch II and Emperor's New Groove II.  Tesori is one of the main record producers for Holt Reinhardt, Silver Burdett Ginn (SBG). Through SBG, she produces an educational music series used nationwide in schools comprised of 90 albums of music genres such as world music, classical and rock. Tesori has worked extensively as a Broadway arranger and conductor on shows including: Tommy, The Sound of Music, How to Succeed in Business without Really Trying, Dream, Gypsy, Big River, The Secret Garden and Swing.

Named by Billboard magazine as a #1 music producer, Grammy award-winning Bryan-Michael Cox is the only music producer to break the Beatles' record with the most consecutive #1 hits on the Billboard Hot 100 Chart.  This multi-instrumentalist, producer, and songwriter has co-written and co-produced hit singles for artists including Usher, Alicia Keys, Destiny's Child, Jessica Simpson, Jagged Edge, Mariah Carey, Janet Jackson, Lil Mo, Aaliyah, Monica, B2K, Ginuwine, Mary J. Blige and Fantasia.  His first professional project happened while he was still a student at The Performing Arts High School in Houston, working with classmate and Grammy award-winner Beyonce on what would turn out to be a demo for the now Multi-Platinum Group Destiny's Child. Today, Cox has over 280 consecutive hits on the Billboard Hot 100 Chart.  He founded his Production Company Blackbaby, Inc., and is working on an unprecedented venture deal with Warner Chappell Music, which will award up and coming writers with low-risk publishing deals.  Cox is developing his own imprint with partner Chris Hicks called the BEAT FACTORY and is currently collaborating with Whitney Houston, JOE, Mary J. Blige and the Isley Brothers.  He has been inducted into the Georgia Music Hall of Fame, earned four Grammy awards and has been honored five-times as SESAC's Songwriter of the year.

Since 1988, Thomas Schumacher has worked with The Walt Disney Company setting new standards of excellence in film, television and theatre. Currently, he serves as President of Disney Theatrical Group where he oversees the development, creation and execution of all Disney live entertainment around the globe including Broadway, touring and licensed productions, as well as Disney on Ice and Disney Live! shows produced in partnership with Feld Entertainment. His Broadway, West End, touring and international production credits include Beauty and the Beast, King David, The Lion King, Der Glockner von Notre Dame, Elton John and Tim Rice's Aida, On the Record, High School Musical, TARZAN(r), Mary Poppins and The Little Mermaid along with several new projects currently in development.  Disney Theatrical Group has an unprecedented global reach with over 25 Disney produced and licensed productions performing daily around the world. Intensely passionate about theatre from an early age, Schumacher recognized the impact that theatre has on the lives of young people and developed a licensing program with Music Theatre International to make select Disney theatrical titles available for performance in schools and amateur theatres throughout the world.  Schumacher's career at Disney began in Walt Disney Feature Animation producing the animated classic The Rescuers Down Under. He was ultimately named President and oversaw some 21 animated features including The Lion King, The Nightmare Before Christmas, Pocahontas, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Mulan, Tarzan, and Lilo & Stitch, as well as working closely with Pixar on their first five films.  Prior to joining Disney, he was associate director of the 1987 Los Angeles Festival of Arts, presenting the American premiere of Cirque du Soleil and the English-language premiere of Peter Brook's The Mahabharta. Previously, he spent five years on staff at the Mark Taper Forum, served as a line producer on the 1984 Olympic Arts Festival, and served as assistant general manager of the Los Angeles Ballet.  Mr. Schumacher is the author of the book "How Does the Show Go On? An Introduction to the Theater" as well as a member of the Board of Trustees for Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS, the Tony(r) Administration Committee and the Advisory Committee of the American Theatre Wing.  He is mentor for the TDF Open Doors program and serves as an adjunct professor at Columbia University.

The first Junior Theater Festival was held in January of 2003 and featured the premieres of new MTI Education Broadway Junior titles Honk! JR., Dear Edwina JR. and Godspell JR.  The 2005 festival featured the world premiere of the Disney Collection of Musicals and a talk-back with television and Broadway actress Christy Carlson Romano (Disney's Beauty and the Beast, Avenue Q).  In 2007 the festival went international, and highlights included guest appearances by Zac Efron and American Idol's Michael Orland, plus the world stage premiere of Disney's High School Musical.  In 2009, the festival included appearances by Broadway stars Henry Hodges, Jenifer Foote and Jenn Colella.  In 2010, the festival became an annual event and 1,700+ students from across the nation had the opportunity to meet Stephen Schwartz (Wicked, Godspell) and work with Playbill columnist and Talkin' Broadway radio host Seth Rudetsky, and Broadway actor Rashad Naylor (Hairspray, Chicago Company of Jersey Boys).

Highlights of the Junior Theater Festival include:

Adjudication in Elementary, Middle and Academy Categories: In the spirit of celebration rather than competition, groups perform 15-minute selections from their Broadway Junior or KIDS Collection productions for a panel of leaders in theatre and education.  The panel evaluates each group's music, acting, dance and overall performance. Each cast receives valuable feedback about its creativity, engagement in the performance, understanding of the material and connection to the lyrics and movement.  The most joyful and student-driven performances are celebrated with awards, and a select few groups are invited to perform during the closing awards ceremony for their peers.

Technical Theatre All-Stars: Each group attending the festiVal May nominate two students who take a hands-on role in helping to run the festival's many theatrical events.  The young technical artists take part in workshops designed to help develop their talents and work side-by-side with seasoned professionals, and serve on the technical crew for the awards ceremony.

Professional Educators' Workshops (for teachers attending the festival with students):  The Junior Theater Festival workshops empower teachers and professionals to present musicals in their communities and offers educators the knowledge, skills and tools necessary to grow their program in every possible way.  The workshops focus on different aspects of putting on a show, including the "how to's" of starting a drama club, choreographing musical numbers and creating great-looking sets and costumes on any budget. These workshops also serve as a professional exchange for teachers.

Disney Musicals New Works Showcase:  Disney Musicals will sponsor a special performance of musicals for all Junior Theater Festival attendees.  Selected performance groups are among the first in the country to present a new title in their community and receive an in-school residency with iTheatrics' teaching artists.

Photo Credit: Walter McBride/WM Photos

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