One facet of the Ben Vereen Awards that deals with the holistic health of high school students is the Wellness Through the Arts (WTA) program.  In conjunction with the esteemed musical theatre competition, the WTA (a pet project of Mr. Vereen himself) solicits essays from area high school students who have faced issues with bullying and obesity.  Five winning essays become the raw material for a new piece of musical theatre.  This year, Behrmann served as judge for the essay competition.

At the 2016 Ben Vereen Awards, members of the J*Company Youth Theatre performed the original piece “I Am,” composed by Behrmann with lyrics adapted by Jamie Gilchrist.  The following excerpt is from the performance on May 29, 2016 at the Balboa Theatre in San Diego.

See original article on the Wellness Through the Arts commission here.