JumpStart Theatre

The Alliance Theatre is pleased to partner with the Educational Theatre Association’s (EdTA) JumpStart Theatre program. The program equips middle school teachers with the skills and resources to produce their school’s first musical through a proven combination of hands-on mentoring and boot-camp style training. EdTA, in collaboration with NYC-based companies iTheatrics and Musical Theatre International (MTI), created JumpStart Theatre, a three-year program which builds sustainable musical theater programs where none previously existed, and aims to:

  • Engage as many students as possible in all aspects of theater, preparing them for high school, college, and the workforce by instilling 21st-century skills of collaboration, communication, problem solving, and creativity
  • Provide a practical and effective path to implementation in underserved middle schools nationwide

How it works:
Schools are rigorously screened on multiple criteria, most notably, passion and commitment. Participant schools receive the materials, funding, expert training, and experienced teaching artist mentor support to produce one full-scale musical production each year on a three-year path to sustainable capability.

Timeline:
2019 - 2020 school year: Year 1 program occurs at selected sites (3 schools total)
October 2019 – January 17, 2020 (11:59 PM) – Applications for participation in Years 2 & 3 accepted (3 additional schools will be selected)
February – March 2020 – Interview period for schools who have applied for participation in Years 2 & 3
April 2020 – Selected schools notified
April - May 2020 – Orientation for selected schools and planning for Year 2 (submit show selections, bootcamp dates determined, contracts signed)
2020 - 2021 school year – Year 2 program occurs at selected sites (6 schools total)
2021 - 2022 school year - Year 3 program occurs at selected sites (6 schools total)

Training & Ongoing Mentoring:
Three teachers from each participating school are taught the techniques and skills to develop and manage a musical theater program (everything from casting, to rehearsal schedules, to staging/choreography and technical requirements, to cultivating parent/community engagement, to achieving economic sustainability) through a series of three, full-day professional development “boot-camps” each year of the three-year program, plus an ongoing mentoring/coaching relationship with an experienced theater teaching artist.

How to Apply:
Year 2 and 3 Application
The application for participation in Year 2 (2020-2021 school year) and Year 3 (2021-2022) is now closed.

Questions?
Click here to view a list of Questions and Answers regarding the JumpStart Theatre program.

Or, contact Liz Davis, Manager of Education Services at liz.davis@alliancetheatre.org.  

The Educational Theatre Association is an international association with approximately 125,000 active members whose mission is shaping lives through theatre education. EdTA is home of the International Thespian Society, which has inducted more than 2.3 million students since its founding in 1929. The Educational Theatre Foundation (ETF) is the fundraising arm of EdTA, providing financial support to enhance theatre education and expand access to school theatre programs for every child.

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