In New Albany High School’s theatre program, this year’s biggest breakthrough wasn’t a new set piece of a standout number. Instead, it was a shift in who led the work. With support from the Educational Theatre Foundation’s (ETF) Disney on Broadway School of Excellence Grant, Director of Theatre Arts Amanda Simmons set out to build a production shaped by students from the start.
In collaboration with Music Theatre International (MTI) and Disney Theatrical Group (DTG), the annual initiative awards complimentary performance rights and production resources to middle and high school theatre programs with active Thespian troupes across the country. At New Albany, that support helped unlock a bold idea for Newsies JR. Students Ruby Laffin and Dashawndre Wright stepped in as co-directors, guiding a student-driven creative team and learning what it takes to build a show from the inside out.
Grant Applications Now Open!
Inside the Program
The Disney on Broadway School of Excellence Grant is built to celebrate school theatre programs with outstanding artistic achievements, while also creating opportunities for student-led engagement across the theatrical process, onstage and behind the scenes.
For Amanda Simmons, Director of Theatre Arts at New Albany High School, the idea clicked the first time she heard about it at the International Thespian Festival (ITF). “As soon as they started talking about it… I knew what I wanted to do.”
She remembers the emphasis on student engagement, and quickly her own vision took shape, with a production that not only engaged her current students in leadership roles but also offered an opportunity for future Thespians from local middle schools to take the stage.
“Along with our partners at MTI and ETF, we believe in the importance of empowering students through school theatre programs,” says David Scott, Director of Licensed Partnerships & Brand Management at Disney Theatrical Group. “We’re proud to shine a spotlight on these talented young theater artists and the educators that are creating opportunities for them to thrive.”
“We are so thrilled to see the next generation of artists embrace the transformative power of musical theatre,” shares John Prignano, Chief Operating Officer & Director of Education and Development at MTI. “This production would not have been possible without our partners at Disney and the ETF, and we look forward to many more inspiring success stories featuring outstanding student performers.”
What Made It Work
A student-led production doesn’t happen by accident. It takes structure, support, and a rehearsal room where students feel safe to take risks.
For Simmons, that started with mentorship. Each student leadership role had an adult support system behind it. “I hired mentors that would meet with everybody,” she said, helping students build confidence and clarity without taking ownership away from them.
She also created a rehearsal rhythm that protected student leadership in real time. “I would watch them meet right before rehearsal and hear what they were going to say, and then I would let them go,” Simmons said. When students needed help, she offered it without becoming the decision-maker: “If I saw something or they were struggling, I might say, ‘Hey, do you want me to look at this? I have an idea if you’d like to hear it.’”
Simmons has always pushed students to take creative risks, even when it gets messy. “I have been very big on the students trying new things, taking big old risks, and failing. And if they did, there was a safety net for them.”
A New Perspective for Thespians
When Ruby and Dashawndre stepped into co-directing Newsies JR., they weren’t just taking on a title—they were taking on an entirely new way of seeing theatre. Dashawndre described it as wanting “to explore the world of theater and gain a new perspective as to how things work behind the scenes, what a director’s mind looks like,” and to “work with my peers in a different way than just on the stage.”
That perspective shift happened fast. As he put it, “you see what your director is doing, but you don’t really see it all as an actor.” Suddenly, it wasn’t only about performance, it was “all the tech stuff,” “costumes,” and “set designing,” plus the responsibility of making sure “the actors have all the tools they need to succeed as well.” The scope surprised them: “we realized very quickly that directing is a lot larger of a project than we thought it was, but it was a great challenge to tackle.”
Ruby felt that same moment when the technical pieces became real. “I remember when we started thinking about the lighting aspect and all the technical parts,” she said. “I started being like, wait a minute, this is our job too, and we have to think about this too.”
With a full creative team and a room full of peers and younger students, the learning curve came with some inevitable friction—less about conflict, more about navigating different instincts and ideas. Dashawndre named it plainly: “There’s always going to be a little bit of clashing, especially when you have so many different creative minds on a creative team.” The challenge, he explained, was figuring out, “how can we combine both ways to achieve that same thing we want.”
Over time, what could have been a “failure” turned into a skill set: communication, collaboration, and knowing when to share the load. “I think for me the biggest [lesson] is definitely effective communication,” Dashawndre said. Especially when they were “in charge of a room or staging a scene,” and had to “respectfully communicate while also getting your point across so that it’s effective.”
Ruby pointed to the practical side of leadership, too: “I’ve learned about delegation… not taking too much on yourself and making sure you know you have these people for a reason. You have the creative team for a reason. It’s not all on you.”
Setting the Stage for Student Leadership Success
By the time the show opened, the goal of the grant wasn’t just visible—it was audible in the way the program moved, the way students carried responsibility, and the way they owned what they built together.
“I wish people could sit and watch their students watch something that they’ve done and be proud.” For Simmons, the pride wasn’t just about the final product. It was about seeing students navigate challenges, learn from mistakes, and “create the community and culture that students feel comfortable to fail in, because that’s the whole point,” she said.
For Ruby and Dashawndre, the experience expanded what theatre leadership can look like, and why it matters. Dashawndre connected it directly to the heart of Newsies JR. itself: “it’s all these young people… coming together to do something, inspire change, and that’s what we did.”
And long after the final bow, that’s what lingers. Students who don’t just understand their lines, but the full shape of the work. They’ve seen how decisions get made, how teams move through disagreement, and how leadership requires both clarity and care. The show may close, but the perspective stays.
Applications for the 2026-27 cohort of Disney on Broadway’s School of Excellence grant are open until April 1st, 2026. You can view the full list of titles available this year and apply here: https://foundation.schooltheatre.org/grants/production-grants/school-of-excellence/