‘Be the leader in the room’

Moorestown High School (MHS) alumna Juliet Barton has the stage set for a bright future.

At just 18 years old, she’s already an accomplished actress, writer, choreographer and singer, and last month, she served as the creative artistic director for the township’s production of Disney’s “Dare to Dream JR.,” a musical revue that follows an eager group of trainees on their first day at a fictional Walt Disney Imagineering Studio.

“One thing for me is, I don’t want kids to be in one number and then off stage for the rest of the show,” Barton said. “We picked a show specifically where all of the kids are on stage the entire show. That’s really important to me that they’re all on stage and they’re all featured. No matter if you’re a lead or an ensemble, you’re absolutely equal to me.”

Barton’s first real experience in front of an audience was when she was five years old, having performed in “Mulan” with her big sister. Soon after, she would go on to perform in 10 shows a year with the Moorestown Theater Company. When she was 14, she joined Walnut Street Theatre in Philadelphia, where she learned the ropes on how professional theater works. There she participated in a variety of classes from dance to health and wellness, followed by four weeks of rehearsals for shows that ranged from “Matilda” to “Into the Woods,” “Beauty and the Beast” and “Anything Goes.” But it doesn’t stop there. With Walnut Street Theatre, she’s also performed in productions of Disney’s “Frozen,” “Madagascar,” “Aladdin,” Newsies JR.” and Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol.” Barton became Walnut Street Theatre’s youngest teaching artist at 17 years old. Last summer she taught actors ages 8 to 13, but this year, before she heading off to college, she taught ages 5 to 7.

“I love watching kids understand things for the first time,” Barton said. “It’s really nice to see. I grew up in a theater environment that was very competitive and these kids [see that] it is a family. Everyone is rooting for each other; we all are helping each other. I really appreciate everyone’s willingness to step up.”

During her time at MHS, Barton performed in several musicals. She credits the school’s musical director and choreographer, Erica Harr, for teaching her how to be professional, how to handle herself in theater and how to appreciate the crew members behind every production. As creative artistic director for Moorestown’s production of “Dare to Dream JR.”, Barton’s responsibilities included managing the show’s counselors and overseeing 60 young performers. She also oversaw 30 students for a two- and four-week musical camp through the township’s parks and recreation department earlier this summer. It all happened because Barton reached out to parks and rec to show that she could put on something great for her community.

“I really pushed hard for them to know that I can do these things,” Barton said. “I think a lot of people see 18 year olds as, ‘Oh, you’re a kid still,’ but I wouldn’t say that I’m a normal 18 year old. I think that there’s a very clear difference between doing theater in high school and doing theater as your life, and I think that they just needed to see that. I think that age, if you’re experienced the way that I’ve experienced my whole life, shouldn’t matter.”

This fall Barton will be attending the University of Alabama to receive her Bachelor of Fine Arts in musical theater, followed by plans to get her master’s in theater education. Between her studies for her bachelor’s and master’s degrees she’s looking to obtain an apprenticeship at Walnut Street Theatre for acting. Because she’s looking forward to teaching theater one day, everything that she thinks about is for her students.

“When you’re up on stage, you watch people who are having a bad day change and smile and be involved,” Barton said. “I like taking people out of today’s world and putting them in the world of a show. Watching everyone go into the world of being a Disney Imagineer is great. I always say, ‘Be the leader in the room.’”