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A Quince of Big Dreams: Celebrating 15 Years of Young Talent Big Dreams

01/14/2025

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A Quince of Big Dreams: Celebrating 15 Years of Young Talent Big Dreams

CORAL GABLES, FL – January 14, 2025 – Actors’ Playhouse at the Miracle Theatre, in partnership with presenting sponsor The Children’s Trust, is thrilled to announce the 15th-anniversary season of Young Talent Big Dreams. As Miami-Dade County’s most celebrated free youth talent competition, this year marks a milestone—a quince for a program that has launched thousands of young performers on their journeys to stardom.

This landmark year invites kids ages 8-18 to step into the spotlight and showcase their skills across a wide array of categories, including music, dance, voice, spoken word, and original composition. Over the past 15 years, Young Talent Big Dreams has become a staple in the Miami arts community, serving as a springboard for local talent to achieve national and even international acclaim.

This season promises more excitement than ever, with prizes ranging from cash awards and performance opportunities to prestigious performing arts scholarships, thanks to generous supporting sponsors like the Coral Gables Rotary Club, SouthState Bank and United Property Management A Milton Family Company.

Preliminary auditions will kick off on March 16 and run through April 19. Semifinals will take place on May 3 and 4, and the competition will conclude with the highly anticipated finals on May 10 at the Miracle Theatre. Throughout the competition, participants will have the chance to perform on professional stages throughout the county including the Miracle Theatre, the Dennis C. Moss Cultural Arts Center, Miami Arts Studio 6-12 @ Zelda Glazer and The City of Miami Little Haiti Cultural Complex. Participation in the competition is free of charge and limited to residents of Miami-Dade County who are between the ages of 8-18 at the time of the finals. 

Young Talent Big Dreams will feature a total of six individual categories including pop/rock/rap vocals, musical theatre/jazz standards/classical vocals, dance, musical instrument, original spoken word, and original vocal and/or instrumental composition. Categories for groups of six or fewer members include dance, musical instrument/bands and vocal groups. Participants may compete in one individual and one group category only, and those who pre-register will be given priority audition times.

Each act will be allotted up to one minute during their preliminary audition performance and two minutes for the semifinal and final-round performances. There will be a maximum of nine winners and one grand prize winner crowned during the finals.

“Young Talent Big Dreams is at the heart of our mission to uplift Miami’s youth through the arts,” said Barbara S. Stein, Executive Producing Director of Actors' Playhouse at the Miracle Theatre. “Celebrating this milestone ‘quince’ anniversary’ is a testament to the program’s legacy of providing life-changing opportunities for our community’s youth.”

“The Children’s Trust is proud to play a role in the transformative journeys for the young talents of Miami-Dade County," said James R. Haj, President & CEO of The Children’s Trust. "No matter the outcome of this season, the true triumph is our community’s dedication to nurturing local talent and creating meaningful opportunities for them to shine.”

Young Talent Big Dreams follows the popular TV talent show model; judges have included a host of industry professionals from the performing arts community. Past winners of the competition include Zachary Roy who reached the semifinals on Season 15 of NBC’s America’s Got Talent and Joana Martinez who achieved a Top 10 placement as part of “Team Gwen (Stefani)” on Season 17 of NBC’s The Voice. Other notable alumni include Angelina Green who went on to earn the coveted golden buzzer from judge Heidi Klum on Season 12 of NBC’s America’s Got Talent and is now a member of Simon Fuller’s pop group The Future X and Gino Cosculluela who brought home the third-place title on Season 16 of Fox’s So You Think You Can Dance and starred on Broadway as Tommy Djilas in The Music Man alongside Hugh Jackman.

Contest registration will open on February 1, 2025. Participation in Young Talent Big Dreams requires parental consent. Performers may preregister online and will be able to audition before nonregistered performers. For detailed information, including audition schedule, competition rules, and registration forms, please visit www.actorsplayhouse.org. To learn more about The Children’s Trust, visit www.TheChildrensTrust.org.

YOUNG TALENT BIG DREAMS PRELIMINARY AUDITIONS

Sunday, March 16, 2025, 2-6 p.m.

MIRACLE THEATRE, 280 Miracle Mile, Coral Gables, FL 33134

Sunday, March 23, 2025, 1-6 p.m.

THE DENNIS C. MOSS CULTURAL ARTS CENTER, 10950 SW 211th Street,

Cutler Bay, FL 33189

Saturday, April 5, 2025, 2-6 p.m.

MIAMI ARTS STUDIO 6-12 @ ZELDA GLAZER, 15015 SW 24th Street, Miami, FL 33185

Sunday, April 6, 2025, 2-6 p.m.

CITY OF MIAMI’S LITTLE HAITI CULTURAL COMPLEX, 212 NE 59th Terrace, Miami, FL 33137

Sunday, April 13, 2025, 2-8 p.m.

MIRACLE THEATRE, 280 Miracle Mile, Coral Gables, FL 33134

Saturday, April 19, 2025, 10 a.m.-5 p.m.

MIRACLE THEATRE, 280 Miracle Mile, Coral Gables, FL 33134

YOUNG TALENT BIG DREAMS SEMIFINALS

Semi-Final 1: Saturday, May 3, 2025 at 7 p.m.

Semi-Final 2: Sunday, May 4, 2025 at 3 p.m.

MIRACLE THEATRE, 280 Miracle Mile, Coral Gables, FL 33134

YOUNG TALENT BIG DREAMS FINALS

Saturday, May 10, 2025, at 7 p.m.

MIRACLE THEATRE, 280 Miracle Mile, Coral Gables, FL 33134

Keep up with all updates on the 2025 competition and join the conversation by following Young Talent Big Dreams on Facebook @YoungTalentBigDreams and Instagram @YTBig Dreams. #YTBD 2025

About Actors’ Playhouse at the Miracle Theatre
Actors’ Playhouse is an award-winning nonprofit regional professional theatre company celebrating more than 35 years of artistic excellence. Located in the historic Miracle Theatre on Miracle Mile in downtown Coral Gables, Actors’ Playhouse is a Florida Presenting Cultural Organization and one of 12 major cultural institutions in Miami-Dade County. The company produces five Mainstage and four professional Children’s Theatre productions annually, a year-round Theatre Conservatory and Summer Camp Program, educational arts outreach programs, and the Young Talent Big Dreams countywide youth talent contest in partnership with The Children’s Trust. To learn more about Actors’ Playhouse, visit www.ActorsPlayhouse.org.

About The Children’s Trust
The Children’s Trust is a dedicated source of revenue established by voter referendum to improve the lives of children and families in Miami-Dade County by making strategic investments in their future. For more information visit www.TheChildrensTrust.org.