Georgia Teacher Freddie Hendricks Named 2026 Tony Awards Excellence in Theatre Education Winner

The Tony Awards and Carnegie Mellon University have named Freddie Hendricks, a middle school theater teacher at Utopian Academy for the Arts in Ellenwood, Georgia, the 2026 winner of the Excellence in Theatre Education Award.

Presented by the Tony Awards in partnership with Carnegie Mellon University since 2014, the award recognizes a K-12 theater educator in the U.S. who has demonstrated exemplary impact on the lives of students and who embodies the highest standards of the profession. The award will be presented at the 79th Annual Tony Awards in New York City on June 7. Hendricks is the tenth theater arts teacher to receive the award. He has been an arts educator for more than 30 years and was an honorable mention for the EITEA in 2023 and 2024. Hendricks will receive $10,000 for Utopian Academy along with tickets to the Tony Awards and gala, while his students will receive a visiting master class taught by CMU Drama professors.

Several of Hendricks’ former students have gone on to successful careers on Broadway and in film and television, including two of this year’s Tony Award nominees, Justin Ellington and Kandi Burruss.

“For more than ten years, the presentation of the Excellence in Theatre Education Award has been one of the most memorable moments of our Tony Award ceremony, and this year will be no exception. Freddie embodies everything that this award represents, serving as an inspiration not only to his current class, but to generations of students who have come before,” said Heather Hitchens, President and CEO of the American Theatre Wing and Jason Laks, President of The Broadway League in a joint statement. “It is because of trailblazing teachers like Freddie that this program has continued to grow, and we feel confident in the future of our theatre community knowing that he is on the front lines, shaping the hearts and minds of our young people.”

At Utopian, Hendricks trains students in a “rigorous, ensemble-based program of acting, movement and storytelling.” Their outreach in the community includes partnerships with the NAACP and the Martin Luther King, Jr. Center; Hendricks also teaches virtual classes to students based in London, England. He founded the Youth Ensemble of Atlanta, a pioneering African American theater company that helps to empower young artists through socially conscious storytelling. His goal for all students is to help them use theater as a tool for artistic excellence, leadership and social impact.

“I am so grateful for this honor. I tell my students, ‘You’re born great. When you find your passion, you’re living in your greatness, and the next step is to be greater,’” Hendricks said. “I found my passion. I believed. I had faith. My mantra is this: ‘Greatness is inevitable when focus marries passion, and the desire is as strong as the need.’”