North Whitfield Middle School students after they presented Junie B. Jones The Musical JR. for adjudication at the Junior Theater Festival Atlanta
photo by Avery Brunkus/JTF
Students representing North Whitfield Middle School in Dalton won a Freddie G Excellence in Acting award and a Freddie G Excellence in Dance award and earned other recognition at the 2023 Junior Theater Festival Atlanta. The monumental weekend dedicated to rewarding and celebrating excellent student-driven musical theater programs happened at the Cobb Convention Center in Atlanta.
Student Avery Moore made it to the callback for a yet to be announced special video project which will promote musicals in schools.
Students Blakely Nix and Bo Owen were named Junior Theater Festival All-Stars, a select group of outstanding performers.
At the festival, each group performed 15 minutes of a Broadway Junior musical for adjudicators.
North Whitfield Middle School presented Junie B. Jones The Musical JR. to actor Taylor Iman Jones (SIX, Broadway); John Prignano, Music Theatre International chief operating officer and director of Education and Development, and Cindy Ripley, senior education consultant at iTheatrics. Ms. Ripley said about North Whitfield Middle School, "This was an absolutely delightful and skilled performance."
Called a “rousing celebration of theatre” by the New York Times, the Junior Theater Festival applauds and empowers young people and educators creating student-driven musical theater around the globe. The 2023 JTF Atlanta was a weekend of singing, dancing, acting, and learning. There were 125 groups from 28 states, as well as Washington DC, Canada, and Australia, participating in the festival.
The weekend included panels and performances from the original Mean Girls Broadway cast members Krystina Alabado, Erika Henningsen, Grey Henson, Kate Rockwell and Kyle Selig; Katy Geraghty (Into the Woods, Broadway); Taylor Iman Jones (SIX, Broadway); Daniel Yearwood (Hamilton, Broadway), and Pasek and Paul (Dear Evan Hansen, The Greatest Showman). Thomas Schumacher, president and producer, Disney Theatrical Productions delivered the festival keynote.
Additional talent appearing at the festival and cheering the young artists were director, choreographer and producer Jeff Calhoun (Newsies, Broadway); actor Cori Jaskier (Ratatouille: The TikTok Musical, TheaterWorksUSA's Charlotte's Web); lyricist and librettist Kate Leonard (Ratatouille: The TikTok Musical, Breathe, For You, Paige); composer and music supervisor Daniel J. Mertzlufft (Ratatouille: The TikTok Musical, Breathe); Michael Wordly (Kinky Boots, Chicago); actor Luca Padovan (Newsies, Broadway); New York Times best-selling author Jodi Picoult (Between the Lines, Off-Broadway), and Wren Rivera (Jagged Little Pill, Broadway).
Groups enjoyed a New Works Showcase of performance selections from upcoming Broadway Junior musicals presented by JTF groups, and other mainstage performances featuring Broadway guests and took part in workshops.
North Whitfield Middle School's drama program aims to engage each student each day in experiences that result in profound learning. In 2021, young performers from North Whitfield Middle School took part virtually in the JTF Online Edition and were awarded a Freddie G Excellence in Music award.
In 2022 at JTF Atlanta, Blakely Nix made it to the callback for future video shoots for “how-to” choreography videos.