Young Actors Theatre creates theatrical opportunities that instill confidence, creativity, and discipline in youth.
Our mission is to empower youth for life.
Young Actors Theatre was founded in 1976 by Charlotte Kaufman, an NYC actress who made her home in the midwest. From 1976 to 2005, YAT brought classic theatre training to 60 school-age students each year. Two of those students were Justin Wade and his sister Catherine, who saw something special in YAT and began assisting Charlotte with the organization. Justin assumed the role of Executive Artistic Director in 2005.
With a new team of theatre educators and creative minds, YAT began to soar. Justin honed his craft as an educator, and began to develop a new approach to theatre training. Theatre education could be more. It could be used to teach larger lessons, and build lifelong learners.
We decided: out with the pre-bought scripts, out with the monologues, out with waiting backstage 95% of the time. By incorporating world-class theatre trends like physical theatre, devised theatre, and site-specific theatre, an original brand of arts education was born in Indianapolis. Rather than starting with a script, we start with a question, a social issue, or a historical figure who embodies a particular theme. Then, our theatre educators work with students to devise a production in which the whole ensemble (not just one or two leads) tell a compelling narrative with an empowering message for student performers and student audiences.
Since 2005, Young Actors Theatre has transformed into the largest youth theatre in Indianapolis. In 2018, YAT brought Self-Empowerment Theatre to nearly 2,000 students and reached over 10,000 audience members across the state of Indiana. We work directly with youth approximately 350 days a year, and on average 75-80 hours a week. With a home base in downtown Indianapolis and performance sites across the greater Indianapolis area, we work to provide more than a stage to the youth we serve.
Young Actors Theatre is more than a theatre: we are a training ground for empathetic individuals and model citizens in Indianapolis.
lillian.c@yatkids.org
http://www.yatkids.org
401 E Michigan Street, Young Actors Theatre, Indianapolis, IN 46204
3176145057
Young Actors Theatre will be using historical figures as the starting points for all of our Spring sessions. 4th- through 8th-grade students are invited to join the cast of our play inspired by the life of Ada Lovelace, and they will be encouraged to voice their own opinions and suggest ideas for their own characters.
Ada Lovelace, a writer and mathematician who was active in the mid- 19th century, is most widely known for her work with Charles Babbage on what was to become the first version of the computer. A study of her biography could lead in many directions, but the idea we’ll be focusing on is that education is the key to achieving your dreams. This class will be an interactive experience in storytelling, playwriting, and expressing characters and ideas as a group.
Gara Gaines
615-663-6542
gara@yatkids.org
Young Actors Theatre’s play on Ada Lovelace will be rehearsing twice weekly from February 9, 2019, through the final performance on May 18, 2019.
Rehearsals will be held 9am-12pm Saturdays and 6-8pm Tuesdays.
Rehearsals and performance will take place at the historic Athenaeum in downtown Indianapolis.
Upon registration, we request either tuition in full or through an interest-free payment plan OR a scholarship application. Please know that Young Actors Theatre never turns a family away due to financial difficulty, and we’re eager to work with all interested families to make sure all students have the opportunity to participate in Young Actors Theatre programs. If you are interested, please submit a scholarship kl here. Contact gara@yatkids.org with questions about your account.
Partial refunds will be available until one week prior to the session’s start date.