Registration is now open for the MTI Junior Theatre Festival – Europe’s biggest celebration of musical theatre designed specifically for schools and youth groups.
Presented by leading theatrical licensing agency Music Theatre International (Europe) Ltd in partnership with iTheatrics, the day-long festival will take place on 24 October 2021 will be the first in-person MTI event since May 2019.
Announcing the event which will be held at the ICC in Birmingham, MTI’s Junior Theatre producer Ryan Macaulay said: “We are thrilled to be able to announce the return of the Junior Theatre Festival this October. After being online for so long, it will be magical to see teachers and young performers interacting and working together in person once again.
“Taking part in the arts is more than just performing; these young people are learning skills they’ll use for the rest of their lives, they’re meeting people who love the same things as they do, and they’re able to do so in a safe and secure environment. We encourage every attendee to be the best version of themselves, to learn, to create and, most importantly, to have fun. We cannot wait to release further details as the event draws closer.”
Following on from the successful Junior Theatre Festival Online in May which featured over 870 young performers from across the continent and talent from hit shows including Hamilton, Matilda the Musical, Disney’s The Lion King and & Juliet, the programme for the live version will include West End workshops, a new works showcase and exclusive performances from West End stars.
Commenting on the event, previous attendee Tina McVeigh, director of Belfast School of Performing Arts, said: “The students at BSPA are so excited to be attending the MTI Junior Theatre Festival in October… We attended with 31 students in 2019 and the experience was amazing! Not only did they, and our teachers, get to meet other like-minded students and teachers of performing arts from across the UK and beyond, they also got to work with so many talented Broadway and West End professionals. It is an experience that they will never forget!
“We’ve had massive interest from students hoping to attend Birmingham this October. I really think that, after the pandemic, this Festival will be even more special and memorable for those who attend.”
Music Theatre International (MTI) was founded in 1952 by legendary Broadway songwriter Frank Loesser and orchestrator Don Walker and is today owned by Cameron Mackintosh. MTI’s London office, oversees a European market from Iceland to Israel, typically licenses over 5,000 productions a year, from schools and amateur societies to professionals, reaching audiences of more than 6 million annually.
Across its catalogue of more than 400 titles, MTI represents wide range of musicals including Broadway classics (Guys and Dolls, West Side Story); contemporary hits (Mean Girls, Waitress); the ground-breaking works of Stephen Sondheim (Into the Woods, Sweeney Todd); global titles (Mamma Mia!, Matilda the Musical); Cameron Mackintosh-produced hits (Les Misérables, Miss Saigon); Disney (Beauty and the Beast, The Little Mermaid); and the Mackintosh and Disney-produced Mary Poppins.
MTI is especially dedicated to the education sector and has created special collections to meet the needs of various types of young performers. MTI’s popular Broadway Junior series (conceived by co-chairman Freddie Gershon and developed by MTI and experts in the field from the New York based iTheatrics) is a collection of 30 and 60-minute musicals for performance by primary and middle school-aged performers.
Angela Thomas
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