Congratulations are in order for local students from New Spark Performing Arts and Firefly Creative on their recent awards achievement and recognition at the 2026 Junior Theater Festival Atlanta (JTF Atlanta).
JTF Atlanta empowers young people and educators by creating student-driven musical theater around the globe, and hosted the festival this past January at the Cobb Convention Center in Atlanta. A weekend of singing, dancing, acting, and learning, 141 groups from 31 states participated.
Groups performed Broadway Junior musicals for adjudicators, and New Spark Performing Arts and Firefly Creative both achieved winning results.
Photo Courtesy Junior Theater Festival
New Spark Performing Arts | 2026 Junior Theater Festival Atlanta
New Spark Performing Arts, a nonprofit organization striving to create a sustainable safe place for youth to connect, collaborate, learn, and grow together through the art of theater, received the Excellence in Music Award. Additionally, New Spark Performing Arts’ Camden Barber and Lucy Cochran were named Junior Theater Festival All-Stars, a select group of outstanding performers. Alyssa Sevier and Elizabeth Moreno received a call-back for a yet-to-be announced special project promoting musical theater in schools.
New Spark Performing Arts students presented Roald Dahl's Matilda The Musical JR. — a whimsical and empowering production celebrating the brilliance of a young girl with an extraordinary mind.
"The best word to describe this production is fierce!,” said Rosemary Newcott, Artistic Director of Theatre for Youth and Families at Atlanta’s Alliance Theatre (emeritus). “New Spark Performing Arts gave strong, energetic, bold performances, and the attention to 'girl power' was evident throughout the work.
New Spark Performing Arts first traveled to a Junior Theater Festival in Texas, during 2021, and have participated and accomplished many awards since that time. At the 2025 JTF Atlanta, Artistic Director Raejah Bratcher was selected for the 16th annual “Freddie G Fellowship,” and will join other teachers with an all-inclusive trip to New York City to collaborate with each other and work one-on-one with Broadway greats. Each winning teacher receives a $5,000 grant to put toward their theater program.
Photo Courtesy Junior Theater Festival Atlanta
Firefly Creative | 2026 Junior Theater Festival Atlanta
Moreover, Firefly Creative, a Cordova-based children’s theatre organization specializing in educational classes, camps, outdoor performances, and school and community touring productions, also received the Excellence in Music Award. Firefly Creative’s Walter Stockdale and Daniel Horlings were named Junior Theater Festival All-Stars, a select group of outstanding performers. Students presented Schoolhouse Rock Live! JR. — a musical based on the ever-popular, award-winning 1970s cartoons, teaching lessons with clever and catchy tunes.
"This lovely cast works as a fabulous team!,” said Cindy Ripley, senior education consultant at iTheatrics. “Their versatility on stage with interpreting many characters so seamlessly was a triumph! Their presentation showcased a musical theatre program that nurtures versatility, discipline, and ensemble awareness in its students.”
To learn more, visit New Spark Performing Arts, Firefly Creative, and Junior Theater Festival.