All our services come with a theatrical twist making it an
interactive and transformative learning experience!
Youth Theatre Programs
Our curriculum has been approved by the Los
Angeles County Arts Commission as covering the California State
Standards for
the Visual & Performing Arts.
Click here for the website.
California Arts
Council
Among youth who participate in programs
like US*:
- rate of re-incarceration is 58% lower
- rate of re-arrest is 45% lower
- rate of probation violations is 37% lower
- rate of successful completion of community service is 158%
higher
- rate of successful completion of probation is 22% higher
* compared to juveniles who do not participate in arts
enrichment programs
**All data provided for New Roads New Visions Community Partners
by the RAND Corporation
Current Program Areas:
- Youth Authority (State System)
- Juvenile Halls and Camps (County System)
- Probation (County System)
- Foster Care & Group Homes
- Local gang intervention programs in our
site’s neighborhood
- Alumni programs in the community
- Parent initiatives to empower their role in
the community
Core Program
Our core program is a 12-week intensive
workshop meeting twice each week for 2-3 hours each session. We
have 10 professional artists and mentor volunteers for each
program who work with the participants. We try to have a ratio
of one adult for 2-3 participants. We make sure to give
individual attention to each participant which helps pull all of
them into the process. In the course of the program, the youth
learn theatre and writing techniques; then they write, produce
and perform a play of their own work for parents, friends,
peers, staff and US supporters!
In addition to nurturing their communication
skills and creativity, the program builds individual
self-respect. For some, this confidence motivates them to
overcome difficult, and even tragic backgrounds and set
previously unimaginable goals, such as going to college. For
others this confidence may give them something to sustain their
spirit when facing a life in prison. The kids that come through
the program experience the success of creating a thing to call
their own. This program offers these kids that experience as a
step toward creating a positive future for themselves. The
process provides them an opportunity to work with peers of
different races and gang affiliations bridging their
differences. The product raises social consciousness, teaching
them they are woven in a social fabric and each one is part of a
larger whole.
US Advisory Council member Edward Asner
commented in a recent article published in the Daily News,
"These kids develop hilarious, stirring, heartbreaking plays
about growing up in the ghetto, the tug-of-war between good and
evil, the pain of poverty and the alluring glitter of the street
economy. As adversaries work together toward a common goal,
animosity dissolves into trust, collaboration and lasting
friendship.” [include pic)
Professional
Development
US provides professional development for
teachers, theatre organizations & corporate business. Based on
Client needs, specialized day long or weekend workshops can be
tailored specifically to meet your needs. The following are
examples of such workshops (but not limited to):
- Incorporating the arts into non-arts lesson
plans or curriculums.
- Strengthen your team through communication
& ensemble building.
- Parent-child workshops with an emphasis on
“role-playing” in implementing our curriculum.
At US we pride ourselves in
bringing theatre arts to “at-risk” youth and having their voice be
heard. An integral part to our programming is the organic process
and involvement of youth creating an original piece of work. Our
programs cultivate pride, racial tolerance and social
consciousness. All of our programming curriculum incorporates
California State Standards for Theatre and English Language
Writing, as well as violence prevention techniques, and includes
playwriting assignments, improvisation, acting exercises, etc.
Currently there is no other program of this kind working regularly
with these “at-risk” populations, either on a county or state
level.