Independent Arts News Reporting Bucks County Playhouse Celebrates 56 Years of the Student Theater Festival
Monday, April 29, 2024.
Pictured Above: Students gather on the steps of the Bucks County Playhouse in anticipation to getting on the legendary stage. Photo Credit: Contributed.
Nearly 800 students from schools across the region converged at Bucks County Playhouse to sharpen their performance skills and perform for one another at the Playhouse’s 56th Annual Student Theater Festival
NEWSROOM POST: NEW HOPE, PENNSYLVANIA
New Hope, PA – Nearly 800 students from schools across the region converged at Bucks County Playhouse to sharpen their performance skills and perform for one another at the Playhouse’s 56th Annual Student Theater Festival, during April 15-18 and April 22-25. The festival performances were open to the public.
Originally known as Dramafest for one-act plays, the Student Theater Festival has evolved into a multi–week celebration showcasing talented student performers from all over the region. Students perform on the historic stage, take workshops to develop their knowledge and skills in the arts and receive feedback from theater professionals.
Twenty-six schools from sixteen counties in Pennsylvania and New Jersey are set to participate. From Bucks County: Central Bucks East High School (Buckingham), Central Bucks West High School (Doylestown), Harry S. Truman High School (Levittown), Main St. Theater Co. (Yardley), Pennsbury High School (Fairless Hills), and The Solebury School (New Hope). From Delaware County: Garnet Valley High School (Glen Mills). From Northampton County: Northampton Area High School (Northampton). From Schuylkill County: Pottsville Area High School (Pottsville). And from Montgomery County: Springfield Township High School (Springfield Township).
Schools representing New Jersey include the following: from Ocean County – Carl W. Goetz Middle School (Jackson), Manchester Township High School (Manchester Township), and Ocean County Performing Arts Academy (Lakehurst); from Essex County – Cedar Grove High School (Cedar Grove) and Our Lady of Peace School (New Providence); from Hunterdon County – Delaware Valley Regional High School (Frenchtown), Hunterdon Central Regional High School (Flemington), and Voorhees High School (Glen Gardner); from Bergen County – Fort Lee High School (Fort Lee); from Monmouth County – Freehold High School (Freehold) and Rumson-Fair Haven Regional High School (Rumson); from Mercer County – Lawrence High School (Lawrenceville); from Morris County – Mount Olive High School (Flanders); from Passaic County – Passaic Valley Regional High School (Little Falls); from Somerset County – The Pingry School (Basking Ridge); and from Sussex County – Pope John XXIII Regional High School (Sparta).
“Being involved in the theater and coming to the playhouse is an incredible morale booster for our young actors. They work very hard and are very proud of what they can accomplish on the stage. When their work is recognized by theater professionals during adjudications, and they receive both constructive and positive feedback from their peers it completes their validation. It also gets them excited about starting the next production,” said Gina Chiloan, teacher Neshaminy High School.
For more than half a century, young artists have come to New Hope to present their school productions on the historic stage, adding their names to a long list of extraordinary theater artists who have performed at the Playhouse including Robert Redford, Grace Kelly, Justin Guarini, Jessica Walters, John Tartaglia, Ben Fankhauser, Angela Lansbury and hundreds of other artists.
“Everywhere I go, I seem to meet someone who has performed at Bucks County Playhouse during our annual Student Theater Festival. I’ve met people in NYC, Philadelphia, and once waiting to board a plane in Chicago,” says Michaela Murphy, Director of Education. “We love welcoming new students to the festival, by performing with their schools on our stage, they become a part of Playhouse history.”
For more information on the 2024 Student Theater Festival, visit BucksCountyPlayhouse.org
ABOUT BUCKS COUNTY PLAYHOUSE
Steeped in a theatrical history that stems back to its founding in 1939 by a roster of theatrical royalty, Bucks County Playhouse is celebrating the twelfth anniversary of its 2012 re-opening and restoration. With more than 75,000 patrons walking through its doors every year, the Playhouse is leading the economic resurgence of New Hope and the surrounding community. In 2014, Tony Award-winning producers Alexander Fraser and Robyn Goodman took the helm of the Playhouse, and it has reclaimed its reputation of attracting Broadway and Hollywood artists. Playhouse productions of “Company” starring Justin Guarini, and William Finn’s “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee” were named by Wall Street Journal to its “Best of Theatre” list for 2015. In 2018, the Wall Street Journal again hailed the Playhouse and Artistic Associate Hunter Foster in its Best of the Year listings for its production of “42nd Street” and in 2019 labeled the Playhouse “one of the best regional theaters on the East coast.” Box office records have been repeatedly broken by signature productions of “Buddy: The Buddy Holly Story,” “Steel Magnolias” directed by Marsha Mason, “Million Dollar Quartet,” “42nd Street,” and “Guys & Dolls” (all directed by Hunter Foster) and “Mamma Mia!” directed by John Tartaglia and choreographed by Shannon Lewis. The 2023 season was the brightest yet, featuring hit productions of Jonathan Larsen’s “Tick, Tick Boom” directed by Eric Rosen, “Bridges of Madison County” directed by Hunter Foster, who also led “The Rocky Horror Show” starring Frankie Grande. “Irving Berlin’s White Christmas” became the top-selling show in Playhouse history. The creative teams who come to create new productions at the Playhouse are among the most talented artists working in the professional theatre today and relish the opportunity to work on the historic stage where Grace Kelly, Robert Redford, and Jessica Walter began their careers.
