JHStheaterarts Mission Statement

The Jenkintown High School Theater Arts Program is dedicated to nurturing and developing the talents of the Jenkintown High School student body and providing a safe and creative environment where the artists can cultivate their craft within a supportive and caring community.

Tuesday, June 9, 2020

2020 JTA Celebration


Friends,

Today we celebrated the JTA community and celebrated our Seniors.

Each season, we all continue to raise the bar of excellence.

We work countless of hours, rehearsing, singing, acting, setting props, setting light cues, working on transitions (just to name a few tasks that is part of our theater routine).

With each step we take, we move closer to that moment when we gather together to share the experience of "live" theater.

Seeing you all today, brought me strength and love.   I am always filled with joy and gain energy from our times shared.

I adore you all.  I miss you all.  

Laura, Delene, Bella, Henry, Michael, Siobhan, Maya, Yusra!

Please know we are always here for you....to laugh, to cry, to share in your accomplishments  on your next journey.

WE LOVE YOU!!!

Lys and the entire JTA family!



https://drive.google.com/file/d/1EKPTw4n27jdQYn5n2LuDCioL5ip11nig/view?usp=sharing

JTA TALENT SHOWCASE -HOT OFF THE PRESS!

2020 JMHS TALENT SHOW- LULU PETTIT
JHS’s 2020 Talent Show was full of amazing performers from the 
MS/HS student body and teachers alike.

The first section was middle school, opened up by the singing 
seventh grader Maya Williams, who perfectly stunned the audience 
with her voice in “Love Like You” from Steven Universe. Next was 
Natalie Munson playing “Pachelbel Canon” on the piano
 (spoiler alert: everyone loved it).

Munson was followed by the talented Celia DeFazio singing/playing 
ukulele “I Go Crazy,” then Gigi Payne playing her violin. 
All four girls were incredible and clearly musically gifted. 
Third place went to Maya Williams, second was Natalie Munson, 
and for first -- we had a tie! Gigi Payne and Celia DeFazio tied for first, 
an award that they definitely both deserved.
Then the high school portion began, which was equally impressive. 

The opener for high school was freshman Jackie Drozd 
(who you might recognize as one of the Gangsters in last fall’s production of 
The Drowsy Chaperone) singing an operatic song I can’t even begin to spell. 
She was insane and won herself third place. 
Next was Breah Sandre and Hannah Boyle, both sophomores, 
performing a hilarious scene from Shakespeare’s Taming of the Shrew 
(which high schoolers know more commonly as the
inspiration for the 90s rom-com classic 10 Things I Hate About You).
After, sophomore Aden Dubin sang “Corduroy Dreams” 
while accompanying himself on guitar. 

Succeeding Aden Dubin was our first teacher performance! 
Mrs. Hackett read an original poem, 
which was absolutely amazing! After Mrs. Hackett, a trio of sisters, 
the Smith Sisters, sang “Helplessly Hoping” entirely a capella. 
They blew everyone away and tied with Drozd for third. 
Next Hannah Boyle performed a solo soliloquy from Hamlet, 
capturing all of us with her strong serious acting. 
Following Boyle, Jenkintown junior Marielle Zakrzwski sang 
the best “Suddenly Seymore” I’d ever heard, earning herself second place. 
After Zakrzwski our second participating teacher, 
SeƱor Detweiler played a recorder that he learned after getting a 
too-loud bagpipe (a story you should ask him for the rest of). 

Bella Smith then sang “People Help the People” on her own, 
which everyone adored. After, senior Cynthia Klingensmith blew 
everyone’s minds with her piano skills by playing a song by 
Rachmaninoff, winning first place. Just the Guys then sang an a 
capella version of “Uptown Girl” with Lucas Pacuraru singing lead. 
The final performance was Sophie Pettit who blew the house down with 
her rendition of Wonderland’s “The Mad Hatter.”

After all of our incredibly talented performers, 
Sophie Pettit and James Gans, the comical emcees of the event, 
played a game with audience participants while the judges decided the winners. 

Pettit called up three volunteers -- Phineas Hackett, Ava Bartlett, and Chris Higham --
To compete against Gans in a relay. In the end, 
Gans lost and the three each won a ticket to JTA’s Almost, Maine. 

The judges weren’t prepared yet, so an impromptu stand-up 

 comedy by none other than audience member Andrew Schiller began. 
 
He had told three jokes when the judges came back to announce the winners.
 
The event wouldn’t have been possible without Lys Davidson, our commander-in-chief. 
 
The event was organized by Sophie Pettit, James Gans, Charlotte Steinhauer, and myself. 
 
Thank you to our judges: Dr. Maluk, Mrs. Hackett, Mrs. Tresnan, and Ms. Toye. 
 
Thank you to everyone who came out and supported the Jenkintown Theater Department 
 
and all of our performers. 
 
That’s a wrap on the JHS Talent Show 2020!​