The Story of iTheatrics

Plot Summary: The iTheatrics’ staff has played an important role in the creation of the educational musical theatre market. In just a few years, the company has been established as one of the leading creative consultants in the field. iTheatrics has designed imaginative and original educational experiences for a distinguished list of clients including the Jim Henson Company, leading theatrical licensor Music Theatre International (MTI), Disney Theatrical Productions (DTP), MacMillan/McGraw-Hill publishing, The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, and the New York City Department of Education. Ultimately, iTheatrics works to make the world a better place by giving young people everywhere the opportunity to create magic onstage.

ACT I: In 1997, iTheatrics Founder and Chairman Timothy A. McDonald was recruited by MTI CEO Freddie Gershon to create and develop the first educational division in a major musical theatre licensing firm. MTI shared the concern of its musical theatre authors that the next generation of theatre-goers was being lost to budget cuts and video games, and that students were losing the opportunity to learn important life skills – like communication and collaboration – through the process of putting on a show. 

MTI Education’s mission was to empower teachers and performing arts centers to create more arts opportunities for kids.  Tim got to work collaborating with authors to create MTI’s Broadway Junior titles for middle school performers. Broadway Junior musicals are 60-minute versions of classic shows, designed specifically for student performers.  Even more importantly, each Broadway Junior title comes with a “ShowKit” of corresponding materials making it possible for any educator – whether it is the drama teacher, the sports coach or the math teacher – to successfully launch an all-school musical.  Each ShowKit includes a show-specific Director’s Guide, which includes activities tying the show into the school curriculum, a rehearsal CD breaking down the various singing parts, a choreography DVD to inspire and help teach the show’s dance numbers, and an orchestrated CD for performance.

In 1995, MTI selected teacher Cynthia Ripley (now the lead educational consultant for iTheatrics) to pilot a production of Annie Junior, the first-ever title for MTI’s new theatre for schools division.  Cindy created the first ever Director’s Guide and musical theatre was on its way to the schools.

The Broadway Junior Collection was a smash-hit with schools and performing arts groups nationwide.  Many first time directors admitted that they had found the idea of staging a musical intimidating, until the ShowKit led them “step by step” through the process of creating a show.  Furthermore, each production allowed kids to be seen in a new light by their families, teachers and friends and further mobilized community leaders and educators to create more arts opportunities for kids.

Tim’s department expanded, and Steven Kennedy, now iTheatrics’ Resident Choreographer, joined the team.  For ten years, Tim and his team worked side-by-side with theatrical greats (including Stephen Sondheim, Arthur Laurents, Stephen Flaherty, Lynn Ahrens, Stephen Schwartz and Sheldon Harnick) to create age-appropriate versions of classic musicals – such as Annie, Meredith Willson’s The Music Man and Into the Woods – for students to perform, along with corresponding educational materials. 

MTI Education expanded its division to include “School Edition” musicals and materials for high school students. The company worked with Cameron Mackintosh on a School Edition of Les Misérables, which, according to Dramatics Magazine, was the number one produced musical in high schools in 2003.  Tim and his team went on to create other School Edition titles for musicals including AIDA, Ragtime and Thoroughly Modern Millie. 

Tim and his team, also partnered with Disney Theatrical Productions to adapt eight beloved Disney animation titles for the stage including Aladdin, 101 Dalmatians, The Jungle Book, Cinderella and Mulan, virtually creating the “direct to licensing” musical theatre market.  MTI along with DTP began developing the KIDS Collection of musicals, which are 30 minute shows designed for the elementary school market.  Marty Johnson, now iTheatrics’ Artistic Director, joined the MTI team.
MTI Education formed an innovative partnership with the MacMillan/McGraw-Hill company which allowed musical theatre, usually an after-school activity, to become part of the core curriculum.  The MacMillan/McGraw-Hill “Spotlight on Music” textbook included “bite size” Broadway musicals, performance rights and accompanying resources allowing students at more than 60,000 schools nation-wide to perform shows in their own schools.
Tim and his team also looked for innovative ways to encourage students and teachers in the arts.  In 2003, MTI partnered with Atlanta’s Theater of the Stars to present the first-ever Junior Theater Festival, which drew together students, teachers and theatre professionals to celebrate students’ on-stage and backstage work.  Today, the Junior Theater Festival is the world’s largest international festival dedicated to groups who present musicals with elementary and middle school aged performers.

Guided by the principle that education has very little to do with age, Tim’s department reached out to educators.  MTI Education created professional development seminars for teachers, walking them step-by-step through the process of putting on a show.  MTI Education also traveled across the U.S. to give musical theatre presentations to leading educational organizations including the Music Educators National Conference, the National Alliance of Elementary School Principals, the National PTA and the National Alliance of Music Theater.

By the time Tim left to form iTheatrics (with Gershon’s blessing), MTI Education’s musicals for all ages had set the standard for educational licensing in the industry and the company was celebrating the fact that over two million young people had been part of a MTI Education production. 

ACT II: iTheatrics continues to work with MTI and DTP in the adaptation of shows for educational markets, and the creation, design and layout of theatre resources for teachers. In its New York City laboratory, the iTheatrics team has developed for MTI many titles including: RENT School Edition, Thoroughly Modern Millie Junior, A Year With Frog and Toad KIDS and Roald Dahl’s Willy Wonka Junior. iTheatrics also develops well-known children’s literature properties into musicals. The first of these titles The Musical Adventures of Flat Stanley based on the book Flat Stanley by Jeff Brown, which enjoyed a two year national tour across the U.S.

Tim saw an opportunity to raise the bar of theatre presented to young audiences at performing arts centers across the country and, in partnership with Stephen Gabriel at Work Light Productions, iTheatrics directed and developed four new touring shows, Broadway Junior on Tour, Disney’s Discover Theater!, The Musical Adventures of Flat Stanley, Frankly Ben, and The Ant and The Elephant.  The tours allow local theaters to connect with young audiences as well as inspire teachers and students to present their own musical productions.

New projects include the creation of Roald Dahl’s James and the Giant Peach and Jim Henson’s Emmet Otter.

The iTheatrics Junior Teaching Intensives offer professional development opportunities for teachers. The Intensives create a fun environment in which a small group of educators hone their directing skills through interactive, hands-on activities addressing all elements of musical theatre production: from casting, staging, choreography, to implementing new rehearsal techniques, to offering advice and tips on technical theatre.

iTheatrics works with the New York City Department of Education (NYCDOE), MTI and the Shubert Foundation on a landmark mentorship program, which allows educators at New York City public schools to build a self-sustaining musical theatre program in their schools within two years. Teachers from selected schools attend four intensive iTheatrics Professional Development workshops, which are accredited by the NYCDOE and fulfill the annual professional development requirements for NYCDOE teachers.