Overview

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Led by Paul Heinemann, YAAjunior is a yearlong performance program that gives middle school singers, actors, and dancers in grades 6-8 from all around the Maryland, Virginia and DC areas, the rare opportunity to study and perform large-scale productions of music-theatre with full orchestra, as well as to be featured in their own Junior production. 

YAAjunior strives to strengthen students' skills in singing, acting and dancing through a fun yet rigorous rehearsal process as we prepare to participate in large scale mainstage productions in the fall and winter, and then present a Junior production in the spring. While fostering a strong sense of community, our primary focus is always on promoting healthy, honest and communicative singing, acting and movement, through the process of working towards a final production.

YAA also provides additional Classes and Workshops in Dance/Movement, Acting and Voice, as well as Masterclasses for students to further advance their skills.

Learn more about what our students say about our program here.

Schedule & Location

YAAjunior will meet IN-PERSON during the 2022-2023 season, following current health & safety guidelines.

YAAjunior is a yearlong program that runs from September through May that meets at our YAA@HolyCross campus

Learn more about our Campus.

Scroll to the bottom of this page to view the Rehearsal Calendar.

Health & Safety

Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, YAA has prioritized the health and safety of our students and staff. As we return to live programming, we are actively monitoring conditions and recommendations from local and CDC officials and will continue to update our policies as circumstances require.

Click here to learn about YAA’s most current Health & Safety protocols.

Repertoire

Recent innovative programming has seen YAAjunior join YAACompany and YAAOrchestra in staged theatrical concerts of large scale musical theatre as well as unique productions that have been devised for and have received their world premiere with Young Artists of America.

Recently, our world premiere of Young Artists of America: The Songs of Tim Rice filmed for PBS (Maryland Public Television) was nominated for three EMMY® regional awards and won an Emmy® award for Best Lighting.

In addition to the collaborative mainstage productions, YAAjunior students traditionally also prepare and present a JR version of a musical in the spring.

Please review our current and previous seasons for a full listing.

Mentoring Program

Besides being mentored by older students in our YAACompany, YAAjunior students have the unique opportunity to work closely alongside leading professional mentors both in rehearsal and performance. Recent mentors have included Stephen Schwartz (Wicked, Godspell, Pippin), Kristin Chenoweth (Wicked, On the Twentieth Century), Jason Robert Brown (Parade, Bridges of Madison County, Songs for a New World), Steven Lutvak (A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder), Jeanine Tesori (Fun Home, Violet, Shrek the Musical), Andrew Lippa (Big Fish, The Addams Family, The Wild Party), and many more. 

Learn more about recent Mentors and upcoming opportunities to work with Guest Mentors.

Auditions

Auditions for the 2022-2023 YAAjunior ensemble will take place via video audition in September for the season. If space allows, we will occasionally hold auditions in December for the spring semester.

All of our YAAjunior students must audition to be accepted into the program, but we encourage students to audition regardless of stage or choral experience, as the program is meant to be a training program that welcomes performers of all levels.

Auditions for roles in the productions occur upon acceptance into the program at the beginning of each semester.

Please visit our Auditions page for more information about upcoming auditions.

Tuition

Please visit our Tuition page to find out cost and to register for this program.

Rehearsal Calendar

IMPORTANT NOTICES