Melody Lane Performing Arts Center took home top honors at the 2021 Junior Theater Festival in Texas, earning the "Outstanding Production Award." Contributed Photo

To say that Melody Lane Performing Arts Center continued its success at the largest junior theater festival in the world is an understatement.

This past weekend, the Cape Coral-based troupe took home top honors at the 2021 Junior Theater Festival, earning the “Outstanding Production Award.”

Melody Lane shined in Sugar Land, Texas, and was recognized as the best in their class among more than 50 groups while being critiqued by top talent in the business.

Melody Lane Director Dana Alvarez, who took home a Freddie G Fellowship Award last year, said it’s amazing to see all of her students’ hard work pay off, and is proud of the way they took on the challenge of moving up to a higher academy rank (for 12th graders and below).

“We knew that entering a higher age category was going to be highly competitive, but to us, we have watched so many of our students grow into dedicated and talented teenagers, and it was more important for us to be able to take our older students to enjoy JTF altogether, than it is to walk away with any awards,” Alvarez said. “So to win any awards in such a hard age group would have been such a privilege. To win the top honor is beyond belief.”

Melody Lane chose selections from Roald Dahl’s Matilda The Musical JR., a brand-new Broadway Junior show released in February of 2020.

Their performance, which had to be condensed, certainly impressed the esteemed panel made up of composer, playwright, and actor Douglas Lyons; Broadway actor Krystina Alabado (Mean Girls, American Idiot, Spring Awakening); and Steven G. Kennedy (iTheatrics VP, Choreography Supervisor).

Said Lyons about Melody Lane Performing Arts Center’s performance, “It felt like I was watching a Broadway show. The actors were so committed to the story I felt transported.” Alabado added, “Powerfully emotional and mature group of young performers!” Kennedy stated, “This production was certainly a crowd-pleaser. We witnessed great storytelling and wonderful performances.”

Usually held in Atlanta and for the first time this year in Texas, Melody Lane has been used to a return trip with bragging rights despite being a program just four years young.

In 2019, Melody lane took home an Outstanding Production Award (in the younger academy) and last year earned a Freddie G Excellence in Ensemble Work Award. In their four years, Melody Lane has produced 14 major musicals and has made three JTF appearances.

“For us to be so new and to be recognized for the quality and excellence of our educational program — it’s truly a privilege,” Alvarez said. “Sami Doherty (studio co-director and choreographer) and I have worked so hard to teach our students diligence, respect, and integrity as well as having high expectations in building their skills as singers, actors, and dancers. When we earn recognition, it is the icing on the cake.”

While the group shines as one, individual members of Melody Lane were also bestowed significant honors at JTF Texas.

River Reed, who in Matilda JR. plays Bruce, the boy who steals Miss Trunchbull’s chocolate cake, earned an All-Festival Award, given to just four students out of the thousands that participated as a standout performer.

Reed is 13-years-old and is set to enter eighth grade at North Fort Myers Academy of the Arts this fall. He has been with Melody Lane at each of the last three JTFs and in several other productions.

“Honestly, it’s astonishing being noticed with all of the other talented people in my group,” Reed said. “Out of the entire festival, I feel so proud to be recognized as one of the few that got this achievement.”

Alvarez added, “We knew that he was an amazing performer, and clearly he caught the eyes of many, including the judges.”

Melody Lane’s Yovanna Ignjatic, 14, also earned an All-Star Award for excelling in their group.

For the students and instructors alike, being a part of JTF is an experience like no other. This year’s event brought together 2,228 musical theater enthusiasts to participate in the event; 50 of these groups were in person, and an additional seven groups participated online. JTF is produced by iTheatrics and the Junior Theater Group and is sponsored by Music Theatre International (MTI) and iHeartRadio Broadway.

“When on the main JTF stage, the adrenaline rush inside of us is thrilling and exhilarating,” Reed said. “It’s so fun to finally get a glimpse of theater once again with all my friends in front of an audience full of amazing theatre kids and adjudicators.”

Melody Lane’s Athena Rose Belis, 16, said, “It’s so incredible to perform on a big stage like JTF. The adrenaline rush that I get right before we walk on stage is what motivates me to give 110%. I love the fact that not only our pod, but other pods were sitting in the audience watching our showcase. It’s a tiny glimpse of how professionals feel.”

Belis said her favorite part of the trip, other than taking home some hardware, was the atmosphere the festival creates.

“I would have to say my favorite part is being around so many other kids who love doing the same thing as me,” she said. “Everyone is so nice and open to meeting new people. You can walk into JTF not knowing anyone and come out having 20 new friends and great memories.”

Due to the pandemic, this year’s JTF event was nearly scrapped, as Alvarez and the Melody Lane team were informed the event that usually takes place in January was cancelled. To their delight, JTF Texas came together for the summer and gave them a platform to produce all of the hard work they had put in.

“To us and to many, to partake in JTF this year meant lots of postponed expectations and broken hearts, and then all our hard work and patience finally coming to fruition,” Alvarez said. “It was surreal to be in such a large venue surrounded by the contagious joy and positively electric energy of thousands of theater people.

“Obviously the pandemic has been a hard year on everyone. Performing artists have had an especially tough time because doing what we do is risky: singing, acting, and dancing — huffing and puffing in close quarters. It’s been studied that the projected voice while singing has a range of 15-20 feet, so to create theater in Covid-times has been especially challenging.”

Despite the roller coaster that has been the past year, what Alvarez, her team, and her students have persevered through only makes them a tighter-knit bunch, and it shows in their successes.

“When we hear our students refer to Melody Lane as their ‘theater family and home,’ we feel deeply touched and reassured that the life lessons we are trying to teach are really being felt by our students” Alvarez said. “We want them to know that we care for each of them and that we celebrate the successes of each other and others — that theater is not about serving the needs of one’s self, but your cast and crew as a whole working together to create an inspiring work of performance art.”

Reed said, “Melody Lane is such a welcoming community that allows kids such as myself to fully express themselves and have a blast. They also create a learning system for new kids to learn the craft in a fun environment.”

Belis, who has been with Melody Lane since they began, said the group feels like one big family.

“No matter what circumstances, everyone there wants you to succeed,” she said. “I was very fortunate to be assistant choreographer during Matilda JR., and I was even able to choreograph summer camps and a few songs from other shows. All of these amazing opportunities turned me into a well-rounded performer. Melody Lane is my second home.”

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