Children's Theatre Company and School
Programs
Youth Theatre Productions and Accessibility
The 2022-23 season included one world premiere commissioned musical, an astonishing Ethiopian circus, two favorite titles from CTC's canon of original productions, and two plays that celebrate young people's agency and resilience. Circus Abyssinia: Tulu opened the season with a brand-new production that pays tribute to beloved Ethiopian athlete, Derartu Tulu. Carmela Full of Wishes by Alvaro Saar Rios, adapted from the book by Matt de la Pena and directed by Tatyana-Marie Carlo told the story of Carmela's birthday, her grown-up trip to the laundromat with her brother in their Latinx farming town in Central California, and her worries that her father, who is struggling with immigration issues in Mexico, will call while she's away. Dr. Seuss's How the Grinch Stole Christmas!, a CTC original production and holiday favorite, was directed by Artistic Director Peter C. Brosius. Next was the regional premiere of Locomotion by Jacqueline Woodson, adapted from her award-winning book: The play finds young Lonnie, an African American boy, living with his foster mother. Haunted by the separation from his family, Lonnie is encouraged by his teacher to express his thoughts and feelings through poetry. Locomotion was directed by Talvin Wilks. CTC's beloved production of Corduroy finds another young person using the power of imagination to celebrate the often-uncelebrated among us in this case, a mischievous bear who is missing a button. Corduroy, a CTC commission by Barry Kornhauser, based on Don Freeman's books was directed by Peter Brosius. Closing out the season was An American Tail the Musical, with music by Michael Mahler & Alan Schmuckler, lyrics by Itamar Moses and Michael Mahler & Alan Schmuckler: Based on the beloved film, this CTC world premiere commissioned musical looks at the world of immigration at the turn of the last century. Itamar Moses, who won a Tony Award for The Band's Visit, has adapted the screenplay to expand upon the diverse NYC landscape of that time, and highlight the merits of family and hope. Sensory Friendly performances, American Sign Language interpretation, Closed Captioning, and Audio Description were available for all our productions in 2022-23. CTC's ACT Pass program provided $5 tickets to public performances to assure accessibility for all families in our community. CTC offers deeply discounted tickets and transportation subsidies for school groups from across the Twin Cities and the Upper Midwest that attend special weekday performances. To help meet classroom teachers' curricular goals, we offer Educator Resource Guides and workshops tailored to each production.GeographiesNot indicatedDatesJul 1, 2022 – Jun 30, 2023Source990No causes providedNo populations provided–$8.2MTheatre Arts Training Program
CTC's Theatre Arts Training program (TAT) provides instruction in storytelling, acting, dance, voice, directing, and playwriting for young people ages 2-18. In addition to sequenced classes during the school year, Theatre Arts Training also offers summer and other school vacation camps for students at all skill levels and programming for homeschool groups designed to meet their educational goals. TAT also includes the Pre-Professional Institute, which provides high school students with an intensive, four-year, conservatory-style learning experience. The Senior Company program provides students with demanding material that seeks to challenge them as artists, educate them in a professional setting, and inspire them to be active voices in their community. FY23 marked year two of ACT Now, a year-round, all-grade residency at Bethune Arts Elementary School. Between family engagement around three CTC productions, Creative Play for Pre-K and K, critical literacy for 1st-4th-grade, and Art as Activism for 5th grade, every student had a theatre experience by the end of the year. Students across the Metro benefited from short-form residencies with CTC teaching artists. In Twin Cities public schools, CTC delivers grade 1-5 workshops serving students and teachers with high-quality, research-based theatre arts and storytelling activities. Tied to state and national standards, these activities boost students' achievement in language and theatre arts. Through the Neighborhood Bridges pedagogy, students build critical and cultural literacy as they question texts, uncover whose perspective has been marginalized, and re-tell stories from their own points of view.CTC's Early Childhood Initiative combines theatre arts-based learning experiences with best practices in early childhood education to support the healthy development of early learners ages 2-6. CTC takes a comprehensive approach to early childhood education that includes both age-appropriate learning opportunities, including Early Bridges, and productions designed specifically for early learners. Through the Creative Play program, CTC also focuses on serving early learners from communities coping with complex trauma and toxic stress. The program utilizes theatre-based activities aligned with trauma-informed care practices to support developmental repair in early learners.GeographiesNot indicatedDatesJul 1, 2022 – Jun 30, 2023Source990No causes providedNo populations provided–$798.6KNew Work Development for Youth Theatre
New Work: Through our ongoing cycle of commissioning, developing, and premiering new work, CTC is expanding the national canon of theatre for youth and their communities. CTC develops and produces more new plays designed for young audiences and their families than any other theatre in America. Since Mr. Brosius' arrival as Artistic Director in 1997, CTC has commissioned, developed, and produced nearly 60 world premieres, including works by Carlos Murillo, Larissa FastHorse, Naomi Iizuka, Cheryl L. West, Lloyd Suh, and Philip Dawkins. Generation Now, a partnership between Penumbra (St. Paul, Minn.), Ma-Yi Theater Company (New York City), Latino Theater Company and Native Voices at the Autry (Los Angeles), and CTC will commission and develop 16 new plays by Black, Indigenous, Latine, and Asian American Pacific Islander writers over a period of 5 years. The output of Generation Now promises to radically expand the inclusiveness of each theatre, expand the canon of work produced for multigenerational audiences, and create a model of transformative partnership. As a cohort, we strongly believe that if we are to have an extraordinary theatre culture in this country, we must start young, and it must be intergenerational, inclusive, inspiring, transformative, and lifelong. A grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation funds the project called Generation Now. This season's development activities at CTC also included the following: Workshops for An American Tail prior to its premiere, readings of two newly commissioned works: Morris Micklewhite and the Tangerine Dress, about a boy who takes such great pleasure in wearing a particular tangerine dress; and Milo Imagines the World, about a boy's inspirational journey to visit his incarcerated mother.GeographiesNot indicatedDatesJul 1, 2022 – Jun 30, 2023Source990No causes providedNo populations provided–$534.3K
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