Students representing Studio Wayne in Waynesboro received an Excellence in Ensemble Award at the 2026 Junior Theater Festival Atlanta for its presentation of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.
DMR Adventures in Charlottesville was also among the honorees at the festival, which was held the weekend of Jan. 16-18.
Groups taking part performed 15 minutes of a Broadway Junior® musical for the judging panel.
In addition to the Excellence in Ensemble Award, Studio Wayne’s Dodger Holmes and Maddox Knorr were named Junior Theater Festival All-Stars, a select group of outstanding performers.
“These young performers delivered a commanding display of athleticism, pairing extraordinary stamina with dynamic, intention-driven dance and movement! This theatre program is clearly doing dynamic ensemble work and sparking passion within their young people to persevere!” said Lisanne Shaffer, a judge who is an executive vice president for learning and innovation at EdTA, and a former public school theatre teacher and director in New York City.
“Great dancing and acting throughout. The song called ‘Inner Thoughts’ was a highlight because it was so funny and full of comic moments from different members of the cast. Teamwork and pacing and timing, building tableaus from the very opening (another chapter) all the way through the show,” said Dean McFlicker, a former senior vice president at NBC Marketing, and an original Newsies cast member.
“Great ensemble work! The lead exuded the charm of Dick Van Dyke without impersonating,” said Paul McGinley, the director of education at Paper Mill Playhouse.
DMR Adventures, which presented Guys and Dolls, also earned an Excellence in Ensemble Award, and the troupe’s Priya Krisnaraj and June Jones were named Junior Theater Festival All-Stars.
Katya Copeland, Madeline Redick-Smith and Ginger Snyder made it to the call-back to a yet-to-be announced special project promoting musical theater in schools.
“This team has such a great sense of time and place. They really brought the world of Guys and Dolls to life, highlighting the strength of their DMR Adventures musical theatre program,” said judge Matthew Lee Robinson, a composer/lyricist (TV’s “Dance Academy” and TheaterWorksUSA’s The Magic School Bus) and the co-founder of EQ Vocal Studio, NYC.
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Chris Graham
