Now in its 30th year, the Firehouse Theatre Project (FTP) is a nucleus for the creative aspirations of the Richmond, VA, community and a beacon for continuous artistic expression.

A little competition may be a good thing. But forward-thinking arts organizations like Arizona Thespians recognize personal and professional development are ill-served by “win or go home” sports-inspired rankings.

Mater Dei High School, based in Santa Ana, CA, has a strong performing arts program that offers its students opportunities to explore and develop their musical, dance, and theatrical talents. But it also has a higher calling: to impact the lives of the local community with the life-enriching experience of the arts.

"WISDAA- I see our activities as pathways for students to build confidence and self-sufficiency in their lives, post-high school."

Few audience members are aware, as they watch a performance come alive before their eyes, how much they have been saved the trouble of bringing it to life. As Chris Piner, teacher at Uintah High School and director of Uintah Theatre, puts it, “We think a lot more about the stories we tell than you will ever know. We study character and story and have thought provoking conversations about every script. We scrutinize every line and word and we make decisions on how best to proceed. That is rehearsal and you never get to see it.”

A Wideopen Door to Opportunity Some parents quail when their children announce they want a career in the theatre arts;[...]

In challenging times, art can be both a solution and a healer. At least, that’s what can be learned from arts programs like the Booker Visual & Performing Arts Center.

Producing Artistic Director Chad Cornwell’s advice for getting on top of the situation is to “realize that you are not in this boat alone."

Professional performers are used to “winging it.” So much can happen on stage – forgotten lines, misplaced props, lights going out – that improvising becomes a necessary skill.

Greenville High School had just started rehearsals for The Crucible when Michigan’s sheltering-in-place order took effect on March 23. The students and staff decided to continue with virtual rehearsals.

A story that is all too common this spring, Aspen High School theater was hours from opening, when their show was canceled and schools closed. Losing the experience for students and directors is bad enough, but the financial loss could have been devastating. Using Ludus, AHS was able to salvage at least some of that money through the generosity of an incredible community.

Every performer dreams of a state-of-the-art space that helps them achieve their best. But how many have stepped onto a stage that has served generations of artists, who felt their hopes and dreams rising with the curtain? Or had teachers who encouraged not only talent but the potential for talent? Or had peers who were there to lift them up?

To put the importance of its school band program into perspective for Westby, a rural Wisconsin community of 2,000, nearly 8% of the population – or one in every 13 residents – is enrolled in Westby’s band program.

Portage Central High School Theatre program is considered one of the finest in the country, with a history of quality[...]

Every band program should have a booster club like the Union Bands Parents Club. At a time when cash-strapped and[...]

“I was a HUGE fan of ‘The Sing Off,’” admitted Shannon Wallace, “but I never really thought I could have a group like that at the middle-school level. Then,” she added with a smile, “we started adding a capella songs into our show choir sets, and I realized that with the proper arranging our students could actually do it.”

In 1986, two high school students yearned for Holland High School to have a fully fledged theater program. “Sophomore Kurt[...]

Aviva Segall has always been passionate about music. Hearing the cello for the first time as a little girl, she remembered that “I got up and started screaming, ‘I want to play that one, mommy!’ It was love at first hear.”

Theater has always been an important part of the Hermantown High School student experience. “There has been a Drama Club at Hermantown since the school was formed in 1942,”