The Red Giraffe Theatre Troupe student Maria Warrick-Allen also received a Freddie G Award for Excellent Individual Performance by a Female.

Students representing Center for the Arts, Oakland Middle School, Siegel Middle School, The Red Giraffe Theatre Troupe and Stewarts Creek Middle School won national awards and earned recognition at the 2019 Junior Theater Festival Atlanta, which took place Jan. 18–20. The festival united over 6,000 students and educators from 133 educational musical theater groups across the globe.

Roy Waldron Elementary Drama won a Freddie G Award for Excellence in Ensemble Work.

Siegel Middle School won a Freddie G Award for Excellence in Acting.

Stewarts Creek Middle School won a Freddie G Award for Excellence in Music. Additionally, Marty Green was named to the Tech All-Stars, a select group of students who worked side by side with seasoned professionals to help run events.

The Red Giraffe Theatre Troupe student Maria Warrick-Allen also received a Freddie G Award for Excellent Individual Performance by a Female. The Red Giraffe Theatre Troupe students joined students from 13 other educational musical theater groups in presenting an opening number from Oliver Jr. at the New Works showcase.

The Center for the Arts students presented selections from Seussical Jr. for performer, educator and vocal coach Amanda Flynn and composer and lyricist Rob Rokicki.

“Center for the Arts had such great focus and ensemble work,” Flynn said.

“These students showed us strong character work—great facial expression and wonderful voices,” Rokicki said.

Oakland Middle School students presented excerpts from Disney’s The Lion King Jr.

“Oakland Middle School brought the beauty of Africa to Atlanta with their amazing performance of The Lion King,” said Kristen Singer, a music director and educator.

Siegel Middle School students presented selections from Into the Woods Jr.

“This is how you tell a story! What a great group of actors!” Singer said.

Stewarts Creek Middle School students presented selections from Roald Dahl’s Willy Wonka Jr.

“Stewarts Creek Middle School has a lovely ensemble who offered us an impeccable music performance of a complex score. Iconic characters come to life onstage, embodied with a freshness that was sophisticated for the age of the performers. There was creative staging and it was well executed by the performers,” said Disney Theatrical Group teaching artist Paul Brewster.

The Roy Waldron Elementary Drama students presented selections from Junie B. Jones The Musical Jr.

“Roy Waldron Elementary Drama offered us such a sweet telling of the story and expression of the world of the show. They had a strong vocal performance. Herbie and June B. Jones were charming,” Peter Avery said.

The Red Giraffe Theatre Troupe students presented selections from Once On This Island Jr.

“This beautiful ensemble told us a beautiful story with a cast that ranged in ages from 8–18, yet were one cohesive group. They had fantastic student choreography! I was thoroughly impressed!” said Ken Cerniglia with Disney Theatrical Group.

Center for the Arts’ Annabelle Crater, Sophie Cruz and Jahnaya Thomas made it to the call-back for future Broadway Junior shoots for “how-to” choreography videos for soon-to-be released Broadway Junior musicals. The shoots will be taped in New York City this summer. The Broadway Junior scouts were on the lookout for outstanding students; out of 6,600 people at the festival, 181 were invited to audition for iTheatrics resident choreographer Steven G. Kennedy.

Center for the Arts’ Zach Dame and Estella Williams, Oakland Middle School’s Sami Albakry and Noah Williams, Roy Waldron Elementary Drama’s CJ Gordon and Michelle Lopez, Siegel Middle School’s Elena Drenkhahn and Johnny Pletincks, Stewarts Creek Middle School’s Jordan Chambers and Katie Beth White and The Red Giraffe Theatre Troupe’s Kameron Bingham and Breanna Boyd were named to the Junior Theater Festival All-Stars, made up of outstanding performers attending the festival. The All-Stars performed a song during the closing ceremony for all 6,600 festival attendees.

Produced by the Junior Theater Group in partnership with iTheatrics, a leading educational theater company that creates innovative experiences and products for the public and private sector, the Junior Theater Festival Atlanta is the world’s largest festival celebrating young people and the transformative and rewarding power of musical theater.