The Children's Theatre Company, Inc.

MISSION: Utilizing the power of theater as a tool for moral reasoning, the Children’s Theater Company is rooted in the belief that through the magic of theater youth can become the voices of positive change and agents of healing in their communities. We believe that the highest form of artistic expression is to be a force for social good. VISION: We envision children becoming the protagonists of their communities, the future artists, writing and singing their community's stories of hope and justice. Informed by a social-justice imperative at its core, CTC’s award-winning musical and choral catalog seeks to explore the power of children and youth to transform community, develop empathy and through that communion, to learn from lives we’ve never lived. ABOUT US: Founded in 1999 in New York City, the Children’s Theater Company (CTC) is an award-winning non-profit 501c3 national theater-education organization which has been awarded by the National Endowment for the Arts for “Artistic Excellence”, “Arts Engagement”, “Learning in the Arts” and “Community-based Learning”, and as the “Top 12 Children’s Theater Companies Across the U.S.” by Backstage Magazine. CTC is a two-time “Best Musical Nominee” at the UK Fringe International Festival for its original (professional musical production), Henry Box Brown: A Musical Journey (now optioned to open on Broadway in 2025). In addition to New York City, as a national organization CTC has launched chapters in multiple cities across the U.S. including Jackson, TN, Pensacola, FL, Flint, MI, and soon to be more.

HOW: Through our multi-disciplinary program of acting, dancing, choral, character education and community-service, our programs combine theater with moral capacity-building, cultivating in children and youth an understanding of the personal, cultural, and spiritual forces that shape society - as they begin to view themselves as voices and agents of positive change in their communities. As such, young people learn to channel their talents towards noble aims of service to their community. They learn that the highest expression of the arts is to be a force for social good. In this light, theater itself, indeed the arts, takes on new meaning, as a means to uplift communities and explore our human oneness. Within our Asset Based Community Development model, CTC partners fully with parents, schools, artists, and community-builders, in raising the next generation of protagonists to write new stories of hope and resilience. PROGRAM & ACTIVITIES: ‘Kids With a Cause’, CTC’s signature moral capacity building program is centered on a values-based / anti-bias and anti-bullying curriculum, rooted in ethical and spiritual empowerment. Lead by professional Teaching Artists and Production Staff, CTC provides a multi-disciplinary musical theater in-school or afterschool residency. Serving four age-groups: Group 1 (ages 5 to 7); Group 2 (ages 8 to 10); Group 3 (ages 11 to 14), Group 4 (ages 15 to 18), each discipline is designed to complement and align with the State Standards in language-arts, social-studies, and theater arts. CTC’s key programmatic elements blend together in multiple disciplines that include acting, dancing, choral singing, creative writing, spoken word, and digital / visual arts. Each group participates in an age-appropriate musical, centered on social-justice theme such as: Racial Healing; Religious Tolerance; Gender Equality; Environment and Habitat - that culminates into a full musical showcase and choral program for a full performance run at a professional theater venue. Group 4 students (15-18) also participate in CTC’s Mentorship & Internship Program – accompanying their younger friends in developing life-skills while they themselves advance their own professional and academic skills.