Junior Players 2020 Season

If you aren’t already familiar with Junior Players, it is the oldest children’s theatre program in Dallas and has been around since 1955! They provide unique arts education programming to the youth of North Texas. Junior Players offers free, accessible arts educational programs and productions. They work with students of all ages- from elementary school to high school, ensuring they have opportunities to explore the arts. In 2019, they served approximately 15,000 students across North Texas and provided 5,000 hours of high-quality arts education programming.

The Junior Players 2020 season might have had to pivot from their original plans for the 65th season, but they are making the most of out of the cards we’ve been dealt this year.

PUP Fest | June 6, 2020

Due to COVID-19, the Junior Players 2020 schedule has had to pivot. PUP Fest will now take place virtually at 1pm on Saturday June 6. PUP Fest (Playwrights Under Progress) is a collaborative program with Junior Players, Kitchen Dog Theater, and Dallas ISD – Playwriting Arts Collective (D-PAC) for high school playwrights, where we bring 6 incredible scripts written by teens to life. The event is free to the public.

The scripts this year include: 207th STREET by Max B. (Conrad HS), CHIRP by Spencer B. (Booker T. Washington HSPVA), BEAST OF BURDEN by Alaska D. (W.T. White HS), POPULATION: 15 by Avery E. (Irma Rangel YWLS), GOLD’S GYM – NORTHLAKE & BUCKNER by Manon M. (Booker T. Washington HSPVA), and A FALL TO REMEMBER by Yalani W. (Skyline HS). The six scripts were selected from a field of 64 submissions from a variety of high schools from all over the Metroplex.

PUP Fest was started in 2002 as a new piece of Kitchen Dog Theater’s New Works Festival. An annual anticipated event, PUP Fest is also a component of the Dallas Playwriting Arts Collective (D-PAC), a partnership between Junior Players, Kitchen Dog Theater and the Dallas Independent School District to provide innovative programs and opportunities for high school playwrights.

The Aftermath | June 25 – 28, 2020

The Aftermath will also be taking place via a virtual platform. The show will run Thursday-Saturday at 7pm, and Sunday at 2:30pm.

The Aftermath interweaves stories about gender, family, power and determination to create an unforgettable piece, based off challenges our teens are currently facing in their day-to-day lives. The day is Tuesday, November 5th. The time, 7:27 AM. It’s election day in Dallas, Texas and every second counts. Within 24 hours, either Abbey or Marcus will start leading their school into the future as Senior Class President, Tyne will create unintended waves through participating in a Day of Silence, and the fate of Mayoral Candidate, Gloria, will be determined. Watch as these tense political races shape the future of their ecosystems and how even the smallest action can create a ripple effect.

This Junior Players production is inspired by real life events in the City of Dallas.

12th Night: A Rock Musical Performance | August 18-23, 2020

12th Night: A Rock Musical Performance is set to take place at Samuell-Grand Park Amphitheater in Dallas, Texas from August 28-23. The tickets are free on Tuesday and Wednesday, and range from $10-$15 from Thursday-Sunday for this Junior Players musical production. Gates will open at 7:30pm and curtains at 8:15pm.

Illyria is the new Coachella when The Bard becomes the new sensation as his text is mixed into original infectious rock/pop style melodies in a new production out of California of this classic gender bending comedy. Join us as the madness for love unfolds after a shipwrecked Viola falls onto the Illyrian Shores.

North Texas Giving Day | September 17, 2020

North Texas Giving Day is on September 17, 2020. It is the largest community-wide giving event in the Nation.

Communities Foundation of Texas’ North Texas Giving Day is an 18-hour online giving event designed to empower every person to give back to their community by supporting local nonprofits and causes they care about in one easy-to-use platform. The event helps build awareness and support for nonprofits like nothing else.

Over the last 11 years, over $290 million has been raised in total for our community. In 2019, $50 million was raised through more than 169,000 gifts benefiting nearly 3,000 local nonprofits.

Junior Players always posts fun challenge videos on every social media platform (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter) so follow and stay tuned to play along!

Future Stars Celebration | November 7, 2020

The. annual Future Stars Gala is set to take place on November 7, 2020 at Vouv Dallas. The Junior Player’s annual gala features a silent auction, live auction, performances from Junior Players participants, a wine pull, a beautifully catered meal and more!

Junior Players is celebrating their 65th anniversary, so this year’s Future Stars Gala is sure to be bigger and better than ever! Make plans to join Junior Players in celebrating 65 years of transforming kids’ lives through the arts.

Support Junior Players

If you are interested in supporting Junior Players beyond attending shows, here are a few great ideas.

Donate a cash gift! Once you decide to donate, you’ll be able to choose where your money goes: General Op/Unrestricted, General Programs, After School Programs, Scholarship Fund, Musical Production, Shakespeare Production, Dance Production or PUP Fest.

Volunteer your time! Volunteer opportunities are updated as needed, and you can also reach out directly to Junior Players Artistic Manager, Andrea Farnham, at andrea@juniorplayers.org.

Join the Starlight Circle! The purpose of the Junior Players Starlight Circle is to create a core group of supporters that work together to promote Junior Players to the broader North Texas community. The minimum giving level to join the Junior Players Starlight Circle is $500. It can be paid monthly ($42) or as one sum. It comes with a variety of benefits, shared HERE.

Learn about the Community Rewards programs! Each program donates a percentage of your purchase to Junior Players.

And of course, SHARE about Junior Players with your friends and family in person and online. Be sure to follow Junior Players on social media to stay up to date with everything they are working on: Facebook, Instagram, Twitter.

About Junior Players

Junior Players was founded in 1955 and is the oldest non-profit children’s
theater organization in Dallas. Over its sixty-five-year existence, Junior Players has striven to meet the changing needs of the community. From 1955 to 1989, Junior Players presented traditional children’s theater productions performed entirely by children and teenagers. In 1989, the Board of Directors changed the focus of Junior Players activities, deciding that, Junior Players can best serve the youth of Dallas by providing free programming accessible to all the children of North Texas. Junior Players, therefore, exclusively provides free arts education programs in local recreation and cultural centers, housing projects, elementary and middle schools, and through social service agencies serving youth at risk.

About Kitchen Dog Theater

For 29 seasons, Kitchen Dog Theater (KDT) has provided a place where questions of justice, morality, and human freedom can be explored, whether they are found in the classics, contemporary works, or new plays. KDT provides a vibrant home base for Dallas theater artists by maintaining a 33-member Artistic Company of the area’s best theater artists. Over the years, Kitchen dog has received over 400 awards, including D Magazine’s “Best Theater Company” for 2019.

KDT is proud to be one of only two theaters in Texas to receive National Endowment for the Arts
“Art Works” Awards in the previous six consecutive years. A mission-driven company, Kitchen Dog is also staunch champion of new work and is a founding member of the acclaimed National New Play Network, producing timely, provocative plays that may have otherwise never been seen in Dallas.