RNE thespian makes the big time
Contributed by
Music Theatre
International and Educational Theatre
Association

Jennifer McCormick, a student at Richland Northeast High School, has been selected to play Mathilde in Thoroughly Modern Millie School Edition to be presented by Music Theatre International and Educational Theatre Association.

Columbia should be dancing the Charleston for Richland Northeast High School student Jennifer McCormick, who has been selected to be part of the national premiere cast of Thoroughly Modern Millie School Edition . McCormick is one of the 48 talented students from 21 states picked for the first-ever show, which will be presented by Music Theatre International (MTI) and the Educational Theatre Association (EdTA) at the 2007 International Thespian Festival in Lincoln, Nebraska.

McCormick will perform the role of Mathilde and also work in the ensemble. The cast and crew will present the show for over 2,500 students, teachers, and school administrators in June. They will meet in Kenosha, Wisconsin for three intensive rehearsal periods in March, May, and June, 2007. In addition, the cast's performance will be recorded and serve as the official guide vocal CD for Thoroughly Modern Millie School Edition , which will be made available to thousands of schools and educational theatre groups nationwide.

McCormick is a member of Troupe 2312 of The International Thespian Society, the world's largest honor society for high school theatre arts students, through Richland Northeast. EdTA (which heads the International Thespian Society) and MTI conducted a national casting search for outstanding members in early 2006.

The award-winning musical - filled with flappers, dashing leading men, and a dragon-lady of a villainess - follows a loveable and captivating heroine named Millie, as she makes her start in New York City. MTI chose the Tony-Award winning hit show Thoroughly Modern Millie as its third School Edition title due to the show's theatrical and social significance it is working to adapt it into a stage edition for high school performers.

" Thoroughly Modern Millie School Edition is a dynamic musical capturing how the rules of love and social behavior changed as women entered the workforce," said John Prignano, Senior Operations Officer at MTI. "These students are pioneers in their own way, and we congratulate them on being a part of the premiere cast," he added.

Following the EdTA premiere, the show will continue its development process at two or more schools and theatres before its release to high schools, youth theatres, and other organizations with programs for young performers nationwide in 2008. Procter & Gamble Productions is sponsoring the premiere performance at the International Thespian Festival. Additional support is being provided by Norcostco, Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS, Kryolan and Apollo Design Technology.

Eleven years ago, music entrepreneur Freddie Gershon - shared the concern of a number of authors of great musicals that the next generation of theatre-goers had been lost to cultural shifts like budget cuts and video games. They began developing the Broadway Junior theatre for schools program which adapts great musical theatre into full shows that run 70 minutes in length and are designed for middle school children to perform. They have accompanying resources for teachers so that anyone can put on a musical with children in their community. To date, over two million children have performed in more than 20,000 productions of Broadway Junior titles.

www.edta.org

www.mtishows.com.