The Southern Hemisphere’s largest celebration of student musical theatre will descend on Newcastle later this month when the 2022 Junior Theatre Festival rolls into the Civic Theatre Newcastle.
Students, teachers and industry professionals will come together over two days to celebrate the transformative power of musical theatre for young people.
This year’s festival will see Composer Daniel J. Mertzlufft debut a portion of the Broadway Junior musical, Dot and the Kangaroo JR, alongside performances from Fijian-Australian singer and songwriter Paulini and a Q and A session with Broadway JR. alumni Sofia Nolan.
Produced by OzTheatrics, the Australian Junior Theatre Festival is part of a global movement of Junior Theatre production with the first festival held in the USA in back in 2003.
The New Works Showcase event features special student performances of new Broadway Junior musicals, Disney’s Finding Nemo JR., Godspell JR. and Dot and the Kangaroo JR.
Selected JTF Australia students will also take part in very special pilot performances of two new musicals, Beetlejuice JR. and 9 to 5 JR., that are in development for elementary and middle school performers.
“The 2022 Junior Theatre Festival Australia is our seventh festival and our fifth event in-person. From the beginning we have worked with New York based iTheatrics to make sure this event shines a spotlight on the importance of young people having access to quality musical theatre programs,” co-producer Daniel Stoddart said.
“The Junior Theatre Festival’s core objective has always been to celebrate and support young people and their teachers, who make the world a better place one musical at a time,” iTheatrics and Junior Theatre Group CEO Timothy Allen McDonald added.
This year’s Junior Theatre Festival will hit the Civic Theatre Newcastle on 28 and 29 October 2022. For more information, please visit oztheatrics.com/jtfaustralia.
