Junior Theater Festival 2019

The Junior Theater Festival (JTF) is the world’s biggest and best celebration of young people performing musical theater.

JTF brings together student musical theater troupes from all over the world for a weekend of musical theater mayhem and madness. Each troupe performs fifteen minutes from a Broadway Junior show for adjudication by a panel of musical theater experts. The weekend also features professional development for teachers, workshops for students and parents, a New Works Showcase featuring new musical adaptations soon to be released and concludes with a grand finale concert headlined by Broadway’s best!

The Junior Theater Festival is sponsored by Playbill, Disney Musicals, and Music Theatre International.

Key Events Include:

  • Adjudication – Student groups perform 15 minutes from MTI’s Broadway Junior Collection for adjudication by leading theater professionals. Groups are rated in the areas of music, acting, dance and overall performance. The adjudicators offer constructive criticism to each group to encourage further learning in key areas.
  • Workshops for Students and Teachers – Broadway professionals and master teachers from across the country offer interactive workshops! Workshops are for both teachers and students in all aspects of musical theater performance and technical theater.
  • JTF All-Stars – Selected student performers and student technicians are chosen as festival All-Stars. All-Stars participate in exclusive workshops and are given the opportunity to be a major part of the Freddie G Awards Ceremony Choreography DVD Auditions.
  • DVD Auditions Choreography – Selected students are invited to audition for Broadway Junior Resident Choreographer Steven G. Kennedy for future Broadway Junior Choreography Auditions!
  • New Works Showcase – Get a sneak peek at the newest shows soon to be released in the Broadway Junior Collection.
  • Pathways – A one-of-a-kind mainstage event hosted by Junior Theater Festival creator, Tim McDonald, featuring a discussion with interesting folks from across the theatrical industry about their unique journeys and remarkable accomplishments.
  • Tech Olympics – Four students from each group compete in this fun, high energy tech obstacle course designed to get everyone pumped up about technical theater!
  • The Broadway JR. Slam – One of the most anticipated events of the festival! Creative teams and casts are selected at random and have just one hour to rehearse a song and dance for presentation on the main stage!

Check out the 2019 JTF Performance – James and the Giant Peach Jr.