School Program – Australian Musical Theatre Festival

Having to cancel the 2020 Festival, The Australian Musical Theatre Festival has launched their 2021 program which for the first time includes a dedicated schools program. The Australian Musical Theatre Festival is an unparalleled opportunity for musical theatre lovers, makers and industry professionals to get together, share, nurture and celebrate this wonderful genre. Held in Launceston, Tasmania, it includes a diverse program with opportunities to teach, collaborate, engage, perform, learn and – of course – enjoy. A non-profit event, the Festival is held annually to benefit Australia’s musical theatre industry. Scheduled in Launceston, May 19 -23 the festival has also announced the appointment of their 2021 Festival Headline Artists: Simon Gleeson, Natalie O’Donnell and Callum Francis.

Callum Francis hails from England but is now happily based in Australia, having first toured to Melbourne as Lola, in the Premiere of Kinky Boots! For this role he was personally chosen by composer Cyndi Lauper and has since donned the boots for stardom across England and on Broadway! He has also appeared in Miss Saigon, The Lion King and most recently Rent.

Simon Gleeson has appeared in musicals from Oklahoma to  Chess to Love Never Dies, but is best known for his starring role as Jean Valjean in Les Misérables, which he has played all over the world, from Melbourne to London’s West End.

Natalie O’Donnell has played starring roles in Spelling Bee, Crazy for You, Jerry’s Girls and had the distinction of playing the juvenile lead role of Sophie in the original Australian Cast of Mamma Mia, a show she returned to in the last Australian tour this time portraying the leading role of Sophie’s mum, Donna.

The AMTF in 2021 will also be offering a dedicated schools program for students and teachers. The program is designed to inspire and enthuse students, while building their creative and social skills. Students can participate in workshops with professional musical theatre teachers and performers, watch shows, perform in public and meet new musical theatre-loving friends. The teacher development workshops will be free to teachers travelling with school groups, with details of to be announced at the end of February, when the full festival program is launched. The schools program can be found here www.amtf.org.au/schools.