TADA! Resident Youth Ensemble Presents BANNED BROADWAY PROJECT

Now celebrating its 30th Anniversary, TADA! will present the Banned Broadway Project, co-directed by Janine Nina Trevens & Joanna Greer, with musical director Stephanie Wells. Shows are on October 29th (6pm) & 30th (7pm) at TADA!, 15 West 28th Street, 2nd floor.

This is Banned Broadway Project's 2nd year in existence, beginning last year in partnership with National Coalition against Censorship. TADA! decided to continue to explore musicals & plays that have faced controversy for various reasons. TADA!'s Banned Broadway Project is performed by teens from TADA!'s Resident Youth Ensemble. The pieces explored include The Vagina Monologues, Falsettos, Torch Song Trilogy, Jesus Christ Superstar, Book of Mormon, Fun Home and Legally Blonde. This workshop is open to audiences free of charge. Recommended for ages 13+.

At the heart of TADA! is the Ensemble, a unique, award-winning, completely free
pre-professional theater training & youth development program for about 80 kids & teens aged 8-18. Our Ensemble Members come from all five NYC boroughs, as well as parts of New Jersey, Westchester & Long Island. Ensemble Members perform in high quality, fully designed & produced mainstage productions at TADA!, as well as at special events throughout NYC. However, the program doesn't end there. Youth development activities & benefits include: free training; professional performance opportunities, audition prep, Job Rap, transportation subsidies, college prep; college tours, free snacks & teen only hang out opportunities. In addition to theater skills, Ensemble Members improve their abilities in teamwork, time management, public speaking, positive communication & conflict resolution. Over 1,000 kids have been part of TADA! productions & the Ensemble program since 1984.

Our Ensemble Members come from all walks of life & from a wide variety of backgrounds, but they are all united in their desire to make great musical theater. Some of our Ensemble Alumni go on to pursue theater professionally as adults - our Alumni include Jordan Peele ("Key & Peele"), Josh Peck (Fox's new show "Grandfathered" & Nickelodeon's "Drake & Josh"), Kerry Washington ("Scandal"), Mizuo Peck (Sacajawea in all three Night at the Museum movies), Ricki Lake (The Business of Being Born, "The Ricki Lake Show"), Rap artist Azealia Banks & singer/songwriters Adam & Ryan Metzger (Band: AJR). Many others go on to other important careers, but all agree that being a part of TADA! made growing up easier & taught them countless skills applicable to any direction they go in life. The Resident Youth Ensemble is about building a community that becomes like a second home for its participants; a place to be part of professional quality productions while also just being teens & having fun.

DATES: Thursday & Friday, October 29 & 30, 2015 @ 7pm

THEATRE: TADA! ~ 15 West 28th Street ~

PRICE: FREE!

INFORMATION: www.tadatheater.com ~ Recommended for ages 13+

Now celebrating 30 years, TADA! has provided young people of all different backgrounds, the opportunity to explore and perform musical theater together, in an educational, supportive and professional environment. Every year, TADA! produces three original musical theater productions with a discounted ticket program; free pre-professional training and youth development opportunities through the Resident Youth Ensemble, composed of approximately 80 NYC kids ages 8-18 annually; renowned Arts Education residency programs both in-and after-school programs that are often subsidized by our funders; and theater classes and camps for kids 2-13, taught by professional teaching artists and for which need-based scholarships are readily available.

TADA!'s mission is two-fold: to provide high-quality musical theater productions performed by talented kids for family audiences and to provide a safe, creative and nurturing place where kids can harness their inherent energy, build their self-assurance and realize their true potential through the unique collaborative art form that is musical theater. Through TADA!'s high-quality work, young people gain confidence and learn commitment, responsibility, communication and teamwork...skills that are critical to their success both in school and in life.

TADA! Youth Theater is a 501(c)3 non-profit theater company.

Janine Nina Trevens, Executive and Artistic Director, co-founded TADA! in 1984 and continues to lead the organization towards a robust future. She oversees all of TADA!'s programs and leads the Resident Youth Ensemble. Nina's lengthy tenure with TADA! and the overwhelmingly positive anecdotes from current and past alumni, speak to her credit as an artistic leader in youth theater. Nina was selected as one of 10 Parenting Leaders by Parenting Magazine and was one of only five women nationally to receive Family Circle's First Annual Halo Award for women who make a difference. TADA! is the first youth theater to ever win a Special Drama Desk Award-winner for "Providing an invaluable contribution to the future of the theater." In 2013/2014, TADA! received five awards and twelve nominations from the National Youth Arts Awards and has won a total of 17 awards as well as 12 National Youth Theater Awards. In addition, TADA! has come home with the Coming Up Taller Award, the Nation's highest honor for youth development from the President's Committee on the Arts and Humanities and the American Alliance for Theater Education's Anne Flagg Multicultural Award. TADA! was also nominated for an Independent Theater Award , another first for a youth theater.

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