Local Students Win National Theater Awards

Students from Westlake School for the Performing Arts in Daly City and Spark of Creation Studio in South San Francisco won national awards and earned recognition at the 2020 Junior Theater Festival West, which happened February 7-9, 2020 at the Wells Fargo Pavilion. The Junior Theater Festival West united 2,200 students and educators from 48 educational musical theater groups representing 15 states, the District of Columbia, Australia, England, and South Korea.

Awards and Other Recognition

Westlake School for the Performing Arts student Amarech Mendez won a Freddie G Outstanding Performance by an Individual Performer award. Amarech Mendez was also selected to sing The National Anthem to all 2,200 festival attendees at the kick-off at the iTheatrics Junior Theater Festival West 2020 on Saturday, February 8 at the Well Fargo Pavilion in Sacramento.

Spark of Creation Studio won a Freddie G Excellence in Dance award and Celeste Javier and Diego Caoili won a Freddie G Outstanding Student Direction & Choreography award. The Spark of Creation students also were handpicked to present the new musical Disney’s Moana JR. for all 2,200 festival attendees during the New Works Showcase.

Adjudications

Westlake School for the Performing Arts students presented selections from Once On This Island JR. for director, actor, and choreographer Kikau Alvaro (Big River), playwright and composer Min Kahng (The Four Immigrants), and educator and director Holly Stanfield (national student premieres of Aida School Edition, Thoroughly Modern Millie School Edition and Rent School Edition).

Kikau Alvaro said, "Westlake School for the Performing Arts gave us excellent storytelling. We so enjoyed the students' vocals which were clear and also their amazing acting." Added Min Khang, "Westlake School for the Performing Arts has joyful performers who truly brought me into the storytelling with their dedicated acting and singing." Holly Stanfield said, "Once on this Island JR. was filled with honestly and was beautifully rendered. Amarech Mendez as Timoune and her connected cast really told the story."

Spark of Creation Studio students presented selections from Singin’ in the Rain JR. for Mary-Catherine Chambliss, program director of Manhattan Youth at The Anderson School in New York City and assistant choreographer for instructional choreography videos with MTI; Ryan Macaulay, musical director and producer of JTF Europe, and music director and educator Derek Bowley (Kennedy Center tour and premiere of The Phantom Tollbooth, world premiere of The Trumpet of the Swan at the Kennedy Center).

Derek Bowley said, "The Spark of Creation performers were floating on air. Their dancing was wonderful and brought a smile to the faces of everyone in the room. We were transported back in time by this engaging presentation." Mary-Catherine Chambliss added, "The students truly took the audience on an adventure back in time to the days of Fred Astaire. Their posture and choreography were beautiful." Ryan Macaulay said, "Spark of Creation Studio brought real joy and heart to their performance of Singin’ in the Rain JR. They executed some fantastically complex dance routines to perfection and delivered some really laugh out loud comedy moments."

Spark of Creation Studio’s Celeste Javier, Aryana Dizadji, Diego Caoili, Nathaniel Lafon, Samantha Spicker, and Tristan Lee made it to the call-back for future shoots for “how-to” choreography videos for soon-to-be released musicals. The shoots will be taped in New York City this summer. The scouts were on the lookout for outstanding students, 60 of whom made it to the final call-back for iTheatrics resident choreographer Steven G. Kennedy. The final cast will be determined later this year. These videos will be used in tens of thousands of schools across the country and internationally.

Westlake School for the Performing Arts’ Sammy Glean and Elizabeth Nelson and Spark of Creation Studio’s Jonas Ubaldo and Samantha Spicker 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 2,200 festival attendees.

Produced by the Junior Theater Group in partnership with iTheatrics, a leading educational theater company that creates innovative experiences and products for both the public and the private sector, the Junior Theater Festival West celebrates young people and the transformative power of musical theater. This year’s title sponsors were Music Theatre International, Disney Theatrical Group, and Playbill, Inc®.

About Westlake School for the Performing Arts

Westlake School for the Performing Arts offers children in its community the opportunity to receive elite training in ballet, tap, jazz, urban dance/hip hop, Polynesian and musical theatre. Our students have rigorous class instruction and participate in regional and national competition events, as well as annual performance opportunities including a full-length production of the Nutcracker and an annual musical theatre production. At its heart WSPA is more than a dance school, it is an institution where talents are discovered, skills are honed, and where people come together with a common goal - to be our best, to share our best, and to give our best.

About Spark Of Creation Studio

Spark of Creation Studio is committed to providing a real musical theater experience to the young performers of the San Francisco Bay Area. From auditions to the rehearsals and then onto the stage, SOC Studio’s directors and choreographers work closely with youth casts to teach, nurture and inspire them to perform to their highest capabilities.

The group has enjoyed success at the iTheatrics Junior Theater Festival. At the 2019 Junior Theater Festival West, Spark of Creation Studio won a Freddie G Award for Excellence in Dance. Aryana Dizadji, Nathaniel Lafon, Jiselle Pantig-Velasco, Tristan Lamina Lee, Diego Caoili, Celeste Javier, Jared Almira made it to the call-back for future shoots for “how-to” choreography videos for soon-to-be released musicals.

At the 2018 Junior Theater Festival West, Spark of Creation Studio won a Freddie G award for Excellence in Dance. Additionally, Spark of Creation Studio’s Celeste Javier won a Freddie G award for Excellent Individual Performance by a Female. Christian Jattan, Jiselle Pantig-Velasco, Diego Caoili, Aryanna Dizajdi and Megan Chiu were some of a select group of students who made it to the call-back for future choreography video shoots.

At the 2017 iTheatrics Junior Theater Festival West, students from SOC Studio won a Freddie G Outstanding Production award. As one of just six schools from across the country to win Freddie G Outstanding Production Awards, SOC Studio students performed a song from their production for all 1,500 attendees at the Junior Theater Festival closing ceremonies. Furthermore, student Nathaniel Lafon won a Freddie G Excellent Individual Performance by a Male award.

About the 2020 Junior Theater Festival West

The 2020 Junior Theater Festival West was a monumental weekend of theatrical fellowship rewarding and empowering student-driven musical theater programs.

President and Producer of Disney Theatrical Productions Thomas Schumacher; Sierra Boggess (The Little Mermaid on Broadway, The Phantom of the Opera on Broadway); Jeff Calhoun (Newsies on Broadway, Between the Lines); Jason Gotay (Bring It On on Broadway, Between the Lines); Luca Padovan (School of Rock on Broadway); Rob Rokicki (The Lighting Thief: The Percy Jackson Musical on Broadway); Marcy Heisler & Zina Goldrich (Dear Edwina, Junie B. Jones), New York Times best-selling author Jodi Picoult (Between the Lines); Elyssa Samsel & Kate Anderson (“Olaf’s Frozen Adventure,” Between the Lines), Doug Besterman (The Big One-Oh!, How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying), and Dean Pitchford (Fame – The Musical, The Big One-Oh!) were some of the celebrities at the festival cheering on the students.

In addition to presenting selections from shows for adjudication, participants took part in interactive workshops led by Broadway and West End professionals, gained from professional development, watched outstanding performances by fellow students and Broadway stars and enjoyed theatrical fellowship.

Marcy Heisler & Zina Goldrich (Dear Edwina, Junie B. Jones) performed the Junior Theater Festival West’s headlining concert, with special guest Sierra Boggess (The Little Mermaid on Broadway, The Phantom of the Opera on Broadway).

Disney Theatrical Productions President and Producer Thomas Schumacher offered the festival keynote in collaboration with Jonah Ho’okano and Kaena Kekoa, who both perform in the Aladdin North America tour.

During the festival’s New Works Showcase, select groups performed songs from new or updated musicals: Roald Dahl’s Matilda JR. (the British Theater Academy, U.K.); Elephant & Piggie’s We Are in a Play! JR. (KidsAlive!, Oklahoma City, OK); The Drowsy Chaperone JR. (Poison Apple Productions, Martinez, CA); Disney’s Newsies JR. (Eastern Shore Rep, Fairhope, AL); and Disney’s Moana JR. (Spark of Creation, South San Francisco, CA). These titles will soon be made available as Broadway Junior musicals for licensing by Music Theatre International.

Based in New York City, for the last decade iTheatrics has established itself as the world’s leading authority on musical theater for young people. The company works with leading public and private companies around the world — including the White House, the Kennedy Center, NBC and all the leading theatrical licensors — to make sure that young people everywhere have access to quality musical theater programs.

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Contact: Allison Van Etten

Ravenscroft Public Relations for the Junior Theater Festival West

323-449-5030

allison@ravenscroftpr.com, publicity@ravenscroftpr.com