The organization does, indeed, transform lives through theatre education. Great professional training for emerging artists, stellar youth programs, numerous opportunities for people who want the personal as well as artistic benefits of studying theatre (like improved self-confidence, comfort with public speaking, etc.). And a huge outreach mission to make theatre education accessible to all. The organization provides man astounding $80,000+ in scholarship awards each year to kids and teens who couldn't otherwise afford to participate int heir award-winning theatre camps and musical theatre institutes, and offers groundbreaking "Life Stories" programs which help incarcerated youth, seniors in assisted living facilities, homeless women in drug recovery and more create original dramatic works from their real-life experiences. Winner of the Mayor's Arts Award for Innovation in the Arts, named one of the 50 top arts and humanities-based programs serving youth out of school time by The President's Committee on the Arts and Humanities, and chosen multiple times by the Catalogue for Philanthropy as one of the Washington area's best community-based charities.
223 Pageviews Read Stories
- EIN 52-1812095
- (202) 824-0449
- 900 Massachusetts Ave Nw Washington DC 20001-4308 USA
- www.theatrelab.org
- Add to Favorites
Promote This Nonprofit
More Nonprofits
Nonprofit Overview
Causes: Arts & Culture, Arts Education
Mission: The theatre lab school of the dramatic arts is committed to transforming lives through theatre education. Founded to make the artistic, personal, and professional benefits of high-quality dramatic arts instruction accessible to adults and youth in the washington metropolitan area, ttl provides exceptional theatre education to students from beginners to professionals; generous need-based scholarships that encourage community participation that is not socio-economically restricted; and innovative drama outreach to traditionally underserved and at-risk youth, adult, and senior populations.
Programs: The theatre lab offers theatre training to men, women and children across the washington, dc area. Since inception, the theatre lab has taught thousands of students at all levels of experience. The theatre labs faculty has grown to include more than 40 of the areas most accomplished professional theatre artists. Major segments of the theatre labs programs are as follows: "life stories" outreach - free drama outreach programs for seniors, incarcerated and at-risk youth, veterans, people in addiction recovery, and homeless women and children. "life stories" participants receive the acting and storytelling training necessary to create original dramatic works for the stage and screen from their life experiences. In an atmosphere of collaboration and creativity, participants develop advanced communication, problem solving, and teamwork skills that translate into success at home, at work, and in the larger community. Most important, they build confidence in themselves as people who have a story worth telling and a voice that deserves to be heard. Youth programs the theatre lab offers popular summer acting camps and musical theatre institutes for kids and teens. The kids camp is a unique two-week actor training program for children 6-13 taught by some of washingtons top theatre professionals, and is designed to immerse young artists in the creative process- from learning the basic techniques of realistic acting to developing juggling and circus skills. The theatre lab also offers four-week programs in musical theatre and devised theatre, culminating in full productions, for ages 11-13. The teens acting institute is a four-week intensive training program for young adults aged 13-19. The program is designed to help teens explore the fundamental principles of the acting craft, toward the end of participating in a public performance at the end of the program. The curriculum includes audition seminars, improvisational workshops, voice and movement training, and scene study, as well as special programs designed to give interested students insight into the working of the professional theatre community. The musical theatre institute for teens is a program for 13-19 year-olds, which culminates in a full production of a full-length musical. The program is an intensive four-week training program in which participants rehearse and perform a full musical production. The musical theatre institute is offered twice each summer. The institute provides young artists with intensive voice, movement, and acting training as they explore challenging, socially relevant material from the contemporary musical theatre world. The theatre lab also offers a series of saturday scene study and tv/film classes for kids and teens as well as afterschool programs in partnership with two area elementary schools, providing creative drama programs for 4-7 year olds. Honors program in 2006, the theatre lab launched a year-long intensive training program for students interested in a professional acting career. During 2017, the theatre lab served an enrollment of 1,537 students in its adult curriculum, 542 students in its youth programs, and 10 students in its honors program. The theatre labs life stories outreach program reached 864 youth and adults. Most of the theatre labs classes are available at free or reduced price for financially disadvantaged participants. In 2014, the theatre lab inaugurated the life stories institute, a four day intensive workshop designed to give theatre artists, educators, and service providers from across the country training in the life stories curriculum. The institute served 11 students in 2017.