Student Blog: Regional Theatre Spotlight on Education at Seattle's 5th Avenue Theatre

As a theatre kid in the suburbs of Atlanta, Georgia, I had favorite professional theatres to attend, and I had a favorite community theatre that was my home as an aspiring actress. When I moved to Seattle, Washington in middle school, I never would have guessed that one of my new city's leading professional theatres, one like those I'd attended in Atlanta, would also become an artistic home for me as a growing performer. In today's blog post, I'll be highlighting The 5th Avenue Theatre, a regional theatre that not only produces inspiring productions but, particularly through its educational programs, has shaped the artistic journeys of myself and many other young people.

As I've written about in a blog post last December, I was lucky enough to make my professional theatre debut performing in the kid's ensemble of Elf: The Musical at the 5th at age 12. I had only lived in Seattle for about a year, and had yet to even actually see anything at the 5th, when I attended an open call for fun with absolutely no expectation of a being called back, let alone cast. When, to my complete surprise, I was, the experience showed me firsthand how my favorite thing to do could be a real adult job, and introduced me to artists who would be mentors and inspirations for years to come. After Elf, I continued to attend and love 5th Ave productions, took occasional classes there when they were offered, and counted down the days until I turned fourteen and could audition for their Rising Star Project.

The Rising Star Project is the 5th's one-of-a-kind, tuition-free educational program in which, after one of their season's professional productions has closed, it is remounted in its entirety - from costumes to choreography - by high school students. Teenagers, guided and mentored by 5th Avenue professionals, make up the cast, orchestra, crew, administrative teams, and more. The offering of such a training opportunity free of charge is represents unique accessibility in a city where most youth theatre performance opportunities are tuition-based. And this accessibility is extended to audience members as well, as thousands of students from around the state attend the weekend of performances, largely attending at little to no cost.

When I was cast in my first Rising Star Project, a production of Carousel, I was over the moon. How many fourteen-year-olds get the chance to perform with a professional set and costumes in a massive 2,000-seat theatre? As a dancer in the ensemble, I had the particularly special opportunity to dance the choreography created for the professional production by Donald Byrd, a nationally-renowned modern dance choreographer. The chance to dance professional-level choreography, so much more challenging than standard youth-theatre movement fare, would continue to be a highlight of my RSP experiences as I performed in productions of How To Succeed in Business Without Really Trying and The Pajama Game.

While of course the professional theatre artists of the creative team understood that this was an educational project and shaped their approach accordingly, for the teenagers spending hour after hour in the 5th's basement rehearsal space, upstairs dressing rooms, and stage, it truly felt like we were experiencing what it is to be a professional actor, while still in high school. Held to high standards as singers, actors, and dancers, we learned our tracks from some of Seattle's most important directors, shadowed our professional counterparts, and got to know artists so excited to mentor the next generation of theatremakers. Students interested in non-performing work also got the chance to learn about their craft from the best of the best, with the resources of a professional theatre.

The program massively impacted my life. It helped me realize I wanted to pursue theatre professionally. It connected me with mentors who inspired me to explore choreography, and taught me the work of a dance captain when I took on the role in my third year of the project. The 5th, and these mentors and connections I'd found there, continued to build my bridge into the professional theatre world in college, when I returned to the Rising Star Project on the mentor side to intern on the choreography team and working administratively in education.

The 5th Avenue is also a major home for new work, from the professional to the educational level. It's the theater where shows like Hairspray, and Shrek: The Musical premiered before they went to Broadway, and it's been thrilling to see new musicals premiere there on their own journeys towards NYC. But the 5th does not only offer Seattle access to new works via their mainstage season. In 2016, they inaugurated their 10-Minute-Musical Project, a program in which high school students could write and workshop their own ten-minute-musicals, with teenage casts and teens working on creative and administrative teams. The chance to perform in and help develop these new musicals began my love affair with new work, which has become a major part of my theatre work since (as a performer, choreographer, and dramaturg). 10-Minute-Musicals has since become a part of the Rising Star Project, replacing its remount of a professional production every other year. And though I've graduated out of the program, it's become a family affair as my younger brother joined the music team of their most recent project.

In fact, the 2020 10-Minute-Musical Project would be the beginning of a truly incredible year for the 5th's education and outreach work. When the pandemic shut most of the theatre world down, the 5th's education department went into high gear, swiftly transitioning to create the entire 10-Minute-Musical Project via zoom, offering a continued array of free virtual workshops for teens, and more.

The 5th Avenue Theatre may be known for being one of Seattle's, and perhaps even the nation's, leading regional homes for musical theatre. And of course, it's been one of my favorite houses to sit in as an audience member. However, it's their educational programs that have truly impacted the lives of myself and so many other aspiring Seattle theatre artists. I might not be pursuing musical theatre professionally today were it not for the 5th. Tuition-free programs like their Rising Star Project have made theatre training, near-professional performance experiences, and incredible mentorship accessible to hundreds of Washington state teens, offering (even during a pandemic) the joy and growth that such experiences can bring that is so valuable towards whatever journey participants choose to pursue.

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