Crystal Beach youth theatre troupe wins big at international festival

Fort Erie kids brought the house down, helped in part by a literal earthquake, at an international youth theatre festival in Sacramento, California, earning multiple awards and recognitions.

Down the Rabbit Hole Theatre Co., a children’s theatre company based in Crystal Beach, won the Excellence in Dance Award at the 2026 Junior Theater Festival West, while student performer Paige Faner received Outstanding Individual Performance and Gabrielle Cudmore and Ilee Thomson were named Junior Theater Festival All-Stars.

Down the Rabbit Hole travelled with 40 people, including 19 student performers, to a three-day festival at the SAFE Credit Union Convention Center last week that parent Jennifer Pennell-Ajie described as both a high-stakes performance test and a rare chance for Crystal Beach kids to measure themselves against large U.S. programs.

Pennell-Ajie, whose 11-year-old daughter Naomi performs with Down the Rabbit Hole, told Fort Erie Radio the company planned for about a year after deciding in March 2025 to apply to the Junior Theater Festival West.

“We know our kids. We see our kids, we love our kids, we think they’re amazing all the time. But to go there and be basically on a world stage, and wonder how do you stack up, and I’m telling you we went there and we were that much and more,” said Pennell-Ajie.

The festival ran February 6 to 8 and drew about 3,500 attendees with 64 groups representing 21 U.S. states plus Canada, South Korea and New Zealand.

Down the Rabbit Hole was the only Canadian group at the festival and presented a 15-minute rendition of Roald Dahl’s ‘Matilda the Musical JR.’ for adjudication.

“There was a literal earthquake during their performance and they still did what they had to do,” said Pennell-Ajie, noting the earthquake was mild and the students did not notice it while they performed.

Festival adjudicators for the ‘Matilda the Musical JR.’ presentation included Desi Dennis-Dylan, an actor, Jacob Harvey, managing artistic director at the Fine Arts Building and Studebaker Theater, and choreographer Shay Rodgers.

“Down the Rabbit Hole blew the roof off. This group had amazing energy and storytelling, and the ensemble was incredible,” said Harvey.

Pennell-Ajie described the trip as a confidence test for parents as much as for the students, given the size of some U.S. theatre academies at the festival.

Two students, Cudmore and Thomson, performed on stage with Michael James Scott, a Broadway actor who plays the Genie in the hit comedy-musical ‘Aladdin’ during the festival.

“It unlocked some core memories for them for the rest of their lives. This is something that they will never forget,” said Pennell-Ajie.

Cudmore also directed a one-act show at Greater Fort Erie Secondary School called ‘High School is Killing Me’ which will be entered into competition later this month.

Proceeds from fundraisers and sponsorships, including the Big Giggle Gala on January 11 at the Sanctuary Centre for the Arts, covered the full festival entrance fee for every Down the Rabbit Hole traveller, according to Pennell-Ajie.

Down the Rabbit Hole’s next major production is a full staging of ‘Matilda the Musical JR.,’ with performances scheduled for June 4, 5 and 6 and June 11, 12 and 13, 2026 in Fort Erie.

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