Georgia Teacher Wins Tony Theatre Education Award

Freddie Hendricks, a middle school theater teacher at Utopian Academy for the Arts in Ellenwood, Georgia, has been named the recipient of the special Tony Award for Excellence in Theatre Education, recognizing his decades-long impact on young performers.

The announcement came Monday ahead of this year's Tony Awards ceremony on June 7 in New York City. Hendricks, who founded the Youth Ensemble of Atlanta, counts Tony-nominated sound designer Justin Ellington and performer-producer Kandi Burruss among his former students. Ellington earned his third nomination this year for the sound design of "Joe Turner's Come and Gone." Hendricks estimates that 20 to 30 of his students have reached Broadway, including Tony-nominated actor Saycon Sengbloh and "Saturday Night Live" star Kenan Thompson.

A performer himself with more than 30 years as an arts educator, Hendricks was an honorable mention for the award in 2023 and 2024. He graduated from Lincoln Memorial University in 1976 with a Bachelor of Arts in communication arts and has created works such as "Soweto, Soweto, Soweto: A Township is Calling!" He has also taught in Europe and South Africa.

As artistic director, writer and teacher for...