Where High School Talent Meets Mental Strength
on San Antonio’s Biggest Stage
By Shauna Forkenbrock | Photography by Siggi Ragnar
On a Sunday evening in May, the Majestic Theatre will once again fill with nerves, excitement, and the unmistakable electricity of possibility. But the 2026 Joci Awards are about far more than standing ovations and scholarship checks. This year, the nation’s largest performing arts scholarship program steps into a new era, one that recognizes mental health as essential to performance as talent itself.
Now awarding $200,000 in scholarships and drawing students from across South Texas and beyond, the Joci Awards have long been a launchpad for young performers pursuing futures in voice, dance, acting, and technical theatre. What sets 2026 apart is the Majestic Empire Foundation’s (MEF) intentional integration of Mental Health Performance Psychology, a “whole person” approach that prepares students not just to perform, but to endure, adapt, and thrive in high-pressure environments.
Performance Is More Than the Moment
Auditions. Callbacks. Cuts. Public rankings. Applause. Or silence. For young performers, competition is often their first sustained exposure to public evaluation. The Joci Awards do not shy away from this reality. Instead, MEF meets it head-on.
Through free education tied directly to the Joci Awards, students learn mental skills traditionally reserved for elite athletes, adapted for the unique pressures of the performing arts. These include concentration under pressure, emotional regulation, confidence building, visualization, resilience after loss or injury, and, perhaps most importantly, identity beyond performance results.
In other words, students are taught that their worth does not rise and fall with a judge’s score.
Scholarships With Support Systems
Since its founding in 2009, the Joci Awards have awarded more than $2.3 million to high school students, guaranteeing every finalist at least $3,000 toward post-secondary education. In 2025 alone, the program reached more than 5,000 students, delivered over 500 hours of free education, and placed 435 young artists on the Majestic stage, a staggering increase of 912% that reflects both demand and trust in the program.
But behind those numbers are quieter transformations. Students report improved confidence, healthier coping strategies, and a greater sense of psychological safety with skills that extend far beyond theatre. Workshops emphasize self-evaluation without self-judgment, reframing rejection as information rather than failure. Wins and losses are treated as part of a longer journey, not a final verdict.
“Before Joci, I thought every audition decided my future,” said one 2025 finalist. “Learning how to breathe, reset, and separate who I am from one performance changed everything. I didn’t just become a better singer — I became stronger as a person.”
Preparing for Life, Not Just the Stage
The Joci Awards are the flagship of a much larger, year-round arts education ecosystem. Through programs such as Showstoppers Musical Theatre, the Academy for the Arts, Produced by Youth, the Majestic Empire Apprentice Program, Broadway Camp, and a growing slate of workshops, masterclasses, and performances, MEF serves young people from middle school through young adulthood across San Antonio and South Texas. Across every touchpoint, the throughline is clear: train the artist, protect the human.
For teens balancing school, family obligations, and long rehearsal hours, mental skill training offers tools for emotional regulation and resilience. For students navigating injury, illness, or personal loss, it provides language and strategies to stay connected to purpose. For those who don’t “win,” it reinforces that a single outcome does not define a future.
Many participants go on to college and professional pathways. Others take leadership, teaching, or technical roles. All leave with skills that apply to interviews, teamwork, and self-advocacy, all proof that performance psychology is life training in disguise.
Why It Matters Now
As arts programs face cuts across Texas, MEF is expanding, investing in people when systems fall short. At a time when youth mental health needs are rising, and competitive pressures are intensifying, the 2026 Joci Awards send a clear message: caring for mental wellbeing is not a luxury. It is infrastructure.
By centering psychological safety, mind-body awareness, and identity beyond applause, the Joci Awards redefine what success looks like for young performers. The spotlight still shines. The stakes are still real. But students step onto the Majestic stage better prepared for both the performance and for whatever comes next.
The curtain rises on May 17, 2026, at the Majestic Theatre. What unfolds is not just a competition, but a model for how the arts can nurture resilience, confidence, and the whole person—long after the final bow. Your ticket fuels scholarships, mentorship, and free arts education for local students. Don’t miss it. Get your tickets now at majesticempire.com
Jaselyn Blanchard, Executive Director, 210-223-4343, jaselyn@majesticempirefdn.org
Lainey Berkus, Press & Media, 210-710-0931, lmberkus@me.com
By the Numbers
- 5,000+ high school students engaged annually across 71+ schools from San Antonio to the Lower Rio Grande Valley
- 60% of participants from Title I or underserved communities
- $2.3M+ in scholarships awarded since 2009
- 500+ hours of free arts education delivered in 2025
- 435 students performed on the Majestic stage in 2025 — a 912% increase from the year before
- 85% of students report increased confidence, discipline, and stronger collaboration
- 78% say MEF influenced their college and career pathways
- 99% of alumni pursue higher education; 98% graduate with a degree
