Christian Family Theater recently announced its 2026–2027 season during the organization’s annual Christi Awards celebration, unveiling the biggest single-season expansion in CFT’s 11-year history.
The expanded season is designed to create more opportunities for young actors while building a stronger training pathway for students at every stage of their theater journey. Announced productions include Madagascar KIDS, How to Train Your Dragon JR., Annie KIDS, Alice in Wonderland JR., and The Lightning Thief summer 2027 camp production. CFT’s Masterclass Troupe will also produce a studio one act drama each semester.
“This is an incredibly exciting moment for CFT,” said Dale Dye, Founder and Executive Director of Christian Family Theater. “Since moving into our studio last August, we have seen unprecedented growth and have had the opportunity to work with so many new students. This expansion allows us to serve more families, provide more training, and create more opportunities for young actors to grow both onstage and off.”
The new KIDS productions will give younger and newer students a strong training ground while allowing CFT to work with more children throughout the season. KIDS shows will be for actors ages 8–12 and rehearse Mondays and Wednesdays from 5:00–8:00 p.m. JR. productions will be for actors ages 10–18 and continue on Sundays from 2:00–5:00 p.m., Tuesdays from 6:30–9:00 p.m., and Thursdays from 6:30–9:00 p.m.
CFT’s Masterclass series will also continue to grow. Masterclass Essentials will include Dramatic Acting, Auditioning Intensive, Comedy Improv, and Choreo Styles Bootcamp. Masterclass Troupe will give students additional acting training and hands-on production experience as they help produce short one-act plays in the studio. Advanced students may also begin stepping into leadership roles for KIDS shows, including choreography, staging, tech, assistant directing, and costuming.
“As we planned this season, we approached it with a growth mindset,” said Karen Stoll, Artistic Director of Christian Family Theater. “Our goal is to build stronger programming that better serves our young actors at each stage of their development.”
The expansion also includes continued investment in CFT’s studio space. Planned improvements include increasing classroom size, installing a new tap floor, adding additional lighting, and purchasing additional staging to support Masterclass Troupe and KIDS productions at the studio.
“This expansion is not just about adding more programs,” said Alex Young, Director of Operations for Christian Family Theater. “It is about investing in the space and resources needed to support those programs well. By expanding classroom space, adding a tap floor and lighting, and purchasing additional staging, we are creating a studio environment that can better serve our students, teachers, and production teams.”
This season, CFT will return to the 2027 Junior Theater Festival with a performing team. The organization is also finalizing plans for a July “Summer Academy,” which will include a “Fight Like a Viking” stage combat workshop on July 11, beginner tap, Jazz Fusion dance, and a vocal workshop focused on healthy projection and belting. CFT is also exploring the possibility of bringing back either a multi-generational musical or a mystery dinner theater production at the end of summer 2027.
“In our 11 years, we have worked with hundreds of students, and one of the most meaningful things we see is former students beginning to return as leaders,” Dye said. “We are seeing alumni return to step into roles like musical direction, teaching, stage management, choreography, and show directing. That warms my heart because these are students who grew up with us, understand the heart of CFT, and have a desire to lead this organization into the next generation.”
More details about the expanded season, registration, auditions, workshops, and performance dates will be released in the coming weeks on the CFT website at www.cftchattanooga.com.