Local musical theater team wins 'Broadway Cup' at Access Broadway competition

Special to the Tallahassee Democrat
·4 min read
Making Light Productions (MLP), a Tallahassee-based, 501c3 performing arts school, took the overall award for the Best Musical Theater Team at the Access Broadway Regional Competition in Biloxi, Mississippi on Sunday, Feb 13, 2022.
Making Light Productions (MLP), a Tallahassee-based, 501c3 performing arts school, took the overall award for the Best Musical Theater Team at the Access Broadway Regional Competition in Biloxi, Mississippi on Sunday, Feb 13, 2022.

Making Light Productions, a Tallahassee-based, 501c3 performing arts school, took the overall award for the Best Musical Theater Team at the Access Broadway Regional Competition in Biloxi, Mississippi on Sunday, Feb 13, 2022.

The “Broadway Cup” is awarded to the group with the top 15 best scores of the entire competition of more than 550 acts. The children of Making Light placed at the top of multiple categories and their combined scores beat out other much larger studios at the conclusion of the weekend of competition. But the road to the Broadway Cup has been six years in the making.

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In 2016, Making Light was born in Creative Director Amanda Broadfoot’s garage with a handful of students and a mission to make the arts inclusive for kids of all abilities to learn together. She and founding partner, Executive Director, Juliet Yaques, both have children on the autism spectrum who found bliss in musical theater.

“My son, Billy, could sing ‘pitch perfect’ before he could even hold conversations. He found his voice through music,” Broadfoot explained. “With MLP, we wanted to show that the arts truly are for all.”

Shining together on stage

And it’s working! Making Light has proven that excellence in theater can be achieved when all kids shine on stage together. Year after year, MLP’s musical theater program produces high quality children’s productions such as “James and the Giant Peach,” “Wind in the Willows,” original works, and they are currently rehearsing “42nd Street,” all featuring demanding choreography, songs, and dialogue.

Meanwhile, Making Light has annually participated in the Access Broadway regionals competition to provide another opportunity for students to showcase individual and group talents measured against bigger musical theater programs from all over the Southeast.

MLP students have performed well every year and many acts have earned top awards, but this is the first year Making Light received the highest overall scores earning the team the 2022 Broadway Cup for Best Musical Theater Company.

Making Light Productions (MLP), a Tallahassee-based, 501c3 performing arts school, took the overall award for the Best Musical Theater Team at the Access Broadway Regional Competition in Biloxi, Mississippi on Sunday, Feb 13, 2022.
Making Light Productions (MLP), a Tallahassee-based, 501c3 performing arts school, took the overall award for the Best Musical Theater Team at the Access Broadway Regional Competition in Biloxi, Mississippi on Sunday, Feb 13, 2022.

Top competition category winners from the MLP team include:

  • Zola Geyer (age 14) - Best Teen Vocalist

  • Sloan Strickland (age 12) - Best Junior Vocalist

  • Riley Kesten (age 12) - Best Junior Actor

  • Sloan Strickland and Zola Geyer - Best Duet

  • Sloan Strickland - Overall Broadway Allstar Vocalist (ages 9-12)

  • Willow Broadfoot - Overall Broadway Allstar Actor (ages 9-12)

  • MLP Mainstage Theater Team- “Elf the Musical” - Best Musical Theater Production

  • MLP Mainstage Singers Team - “Welcome to the Renaissance” - Best Vocal Group Production


Final Results

BROADWAY STAR PERFORMANCES

Best Jr. Vocalist 11-12

  • Broadway Star (1st) - Sloan Strickland "Dead Mom"

  • 2nd - Willow Broadfoot "In My Dreams"

  • 3rd - Sloan Strickland "Some Things are Meant to Be"

  • 4th - Sloan Strickland “Gimme Gimme”

  • 5th - Hanah Meth "It's an Art"

Best Teen Vocalist 13-14

  • Broadway Star (1st) - Zola Geyer "Second Hand White Baby Grand"

  • 4th Sophia Ferguson "Once Upon a Dream"

  • 5th Zola Geyer "Here Comes the Sun"

Best Sr. Vocalist 15-19

  • 2nd Kiersten McCans "So Big So Small"

  • 3rd Kiersten McCans "Morning Person"

Best Jr. Musical Theater Duet/Trio 9-12

  • Broadway Star (1st) - Sloan Strickland & Zola Geyer "Three Bedroom House"

  • 4th - Niva Geyer, Sarah Churchill, Hanah Meth "Eleemosynary"

Best Sr. Musical Theater Duet/Trio 13-19

  • TIE 2nd Aidan and Tessa Garrett "Shribble" and 2nd Kiersten McCans and Naomi Asher "It's De-Lovely"

Best Jr. Actor 9-12

  • Broadway Star (1st) - Riley Kesten "Little Red"

  • 3rd - Willow Broadfoot "Circus Runaway"

  • 4th - Niva Geyer "Hello, Goodbye, Peace"

  • 6th - Willow Broadfoot "St. Joan"

Best Teen Actor 13-14

  • 2nd Zola Geyer - " Funny Girl"

  • 3rd Aidan Garrett - "Book Report"

  • 4th Libby Perry "Twelfth Night"

  • 6th Amara Duquette "Deadly Competition"

Best Sr. Actor 15-19

  • 3rd - Walter Pasco "Love vs. Hate"

  • 6th - Asa Baghurst "Huckleberry Finn"

BEST OVERALL TITLES

  • Jr. All Star VOCALIST/Title Winner 9-12* Sloan Strickland

  • Jr. All Star ACTOR/Title Winner 9-12* Willow Broadfoot

  • Jr. All Star PERFORMER 9-12 (Vocal, Dance, Acting)*

  • 1st Runner Up - Willow Broadfoot

Teen All Star PERFORMER 13-16 (Vocal, Dance, Acting)

  • 1st Runner Up - Walter Pasco

To learn more or to support the program, visit MakingLightProductions.com. For more information, visit AccessBroadway.com.

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This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Making Light Productions bring home a big prize at Access Broadway