This weekend 29 youth from the Boothbay Region YMCA headed down to Atlanta, Georgia for the 2016 Junior Theatre Festival hosted by iTheatrics and Music Theatre International at the Cobb Galleria. They joined 5,800 others in a celebration of their love of Musical Theatre.

Members of the group who have attended the festival before said this was by far the best yet!

This year Y-Arts took “Godspell Jr.” as their adjudication piece and came home with an award for Excellence in Acting, and their student choreographer/dance captain Genevieve Taylor was awarded a medal for Outstanding Student Choreographer.

Other highlights included Noelle Timberlake, Spencer Pottle, and Sarah Harris being chosen as Festival All-Stars and Aaron Densmore, Rick Hilscher, and Jackie McLoon being asked to participate in the Broadway Junior SLAM.

Our group also competed in the Tech Olympics and Kate Hilscher, Lilley Harris, Genevieve Taylor and Taylor Fish came in third out of 120 teams.

Our performers would probably say their most exciting moment of the festival was getting feedback from their judges in the adjudication room. This year they were judged by Benj Pasek (half of the Tony/Emmy nominated songwriting team behind the Broadway musical “A Christmas Story” and “James and the Giant Peach”), Andrew Keenan-Bolger (“Tuck Everlasting,” “Newsies”), Rosemary Newcott (Artistic Director at the Alliance Theatre), and a special guest appearance by Ben Platt (Pitch Perfect).

On top of all of that, the Y ARTS performers were asked to perform on the main stage with Cory Lingner (On the Town, Once Upon a Mattress) in Godspell’s “All For the Best” in front of 5,800 cheering fans.

The festival ended with a celebration with singer-musician-actor Darren Criss in concert. Criss is best known for his role on the TV series “Glee,” and Broadway productions including “How to Succeed In Business Without Really Trying” and a Harry Potter-based musical, “Hedwig and the Angry Inch.”

What a huge success! Congrats Y-Arts!