Fort Myers Theatre performers win Outstanding Ensemble Award at Junior Theatre Festival in England
The Fort Myers Theatre cast of “Lion King Jr.” recently traveled to Birmingham, England, and brought back the Outstanding Ensemble Award from the Junior Theatre Festival.
Fort Myers Theatre Director Michelle Kuntze said they took 20 kids, ages 8 to 18, across the Atlantic to compete in the festival.
“We were the first to debut ‘Lion King Jr.’ in Europe,” she said.
The group spent 10 days in England, with a schedule packed with exclusive workshops on the West End with the “Lion King” and “Matilda” cast. Most of the families raised funds for the whole trip.
“We worked and learned original choreography. We saw the show and met them at the stage door afterwards. It was an incredible experience training first hand and asking questions and experiencing how it would be to be an actor in the West End was incredible,” Kuntze said.
There were more than 2,000 youth from all over the world participating in the Junior Theatre Festival, which took place Saturday, May 21.
“We won the (Outstanding) Ensemble Award,” she explained, which brought together singing, dancing and acting to create a beautiful story.
The kids met twice a month since last August to rehearse their performance until a month before they left when they met every Saturday.
“I went to Cypress Lake High School when I was a kid. They took us to England when I was in the theatre department there. Experiencing the West End inspired me to keep going and pursue theater,” Kuntze said. “I wanted to do the same thing for the kids that I am working with. It’s a great experience to learn a culture and get another deep understanding for the arts and hopefully be inspired. You learn more by experiencing the world, rather than reading about it.”
Cape Coral resident Emily Feichthaler traveled to Birmingham with her mom to participate in the Junior Theatre Festival. She said after flying for 12 hours they had three days of competition where they performed “Lion King Jr.”
“Afterwards we toured the city, looked at sites and then watched other shows,” she said. “After Birmingham, we took a flight and a train in England and that was just to do whatever. We went to six shows and walked around London.”
While at the Junior Theatre Festival she said she learned that when things happen on stage, you just have to keep going.
“It’s a 10-minute performance. One of the people talking fell over. We had to act it out. It wasn’t a big fall,” she said of the fall happening in the middle of a dance.
Feichthaler, who is entering Oasis High School in the fall, said it was her first time performing in a different country, which is very exciting.
“It’s really good for your career,” she said. “I have been doing it (theater) for about six years now and I hope some day to make it to Broadway.”
This summer she is performing in “Matilda,” as it is one of her favorite shows.
Feichthaler got the itch to go into theater after watching her brother’s shows. She became interested because she likes singing, dancing and acting.
“My first show ever was ‘Aladdin,’ the summer of second grade,” she said. “I like being able to hang out with friends and bring relationships on stage to make a show that everybody enjoys.”
The Fort Myers Theatre is planning to take a group of kids to the Junior Theatre Festival in Australia and California. The trip to California will happen over President’s Day weekend 2023 and then Australia either in September or October 2023.
The Fort Myers Theatre opened in March 2020. Kuntze ran Creative Theatre Workshop for 17 years at various venues across town. Unfortunately when COVID struck, the venues they used no longer wanted to rent them out.
“We had a lot of time to paint and build and formulate a theatre we love,” she said of the 80-seat, intimate theatre. “We have five rows and it’s the perfect set. We always sell out because it’s such a small theater. People really do enjoy the quality of work. We have people driving over an hour just to come to rehearsals. It’s such a blessing.”
Fort Myers Theatre, located in Kelly Crossing, 16120 San Carlos Blvd., is a community theatre that does more than 25 shows a year, has youth programs and ballroom dance classes for adults.
For more information, visit www.ftmyerstheatre.com. The theatre is offering summer camps, as well as performances with tickets going on sale 10 days before the show.
“We love community involvement. Come out and be in a show, even if you haven’t been in a show since high school,” Kuntze said.
To reach MEGHAN BRADBURY, please email news@breezenewspapers.com