Youth Theatre Holds National Competition to Raise Awareness and Funding During Coronavirus Shutdown

Strauss Youth Academy for the Arts is a 501(c)(3) non-profit youth theatre in Monroe, Louisiana. Their mission is to provide excellence in theatre arts education for students ages 5-18 in Northeast and North Central Louisiana while also providing high-quality live theatre entertainment suitable for all ages in our community.

As of March 13, 2020, due to the Coronavirus pandemic, SYAA has had to shut its doors and cancel all classes, rehearsals, and performances. As a small theatre in a small community, they operate on a very tight budget, and this shut down will make it difficult for them to not only meet their regular financial obligations (rent, utilities, etc.) but also to support their small staff (one full-time employee and five part-time employees). Therefore, they have developed a social media competition called MasterClass Madness to raise awareness of how the Coronavirus shutdown is affecting small town, community theatres and as a fundraiser to help make sure they can reopen their doors once we are able to move about the community freely again.

They also hope that the competition will provide an educational opportunity for students stuck at home due to school closures. In fact, Walter May-Allen, the executive director of SYAA, will be publishing videos each week with helpful tips that will serve as an educational resource for teachers and parents as they work to continue providing quality education for their children.

Each week during their closure, they will be sponsoring a performance competition aimed at keeping the arts in front of the public eye while providing fun and educational opportunities for students at home while schools are closed.

Each week will have a different performance assignment that young actors (high school seniors and below) can rehearse, film, and post to social media with the week's hashtag. Then, participants can help support their theatre program by paying an entry fee of $10. The entries will be adjudicated and first place in each age category will win an Amazon gift card for $50 or more. (The more entries in each category, the higher the prize.) Second and third places will win SYAA swag.

Plus, for week one, SYAA has partnered with three theatre and television professionals: television actress and stuntwoman Devyn MacNair, regional musical theatre and cruise ship performer Stephanie Hodgdon, and acclaimed youth acting coach from San Diego Becky Cherlin Baird. For an additional $20, participants will receive a professional-level critique from each of them, giving them some pointers on how to take their acting/singing/performance to the next level! Additionally, Broadway and regional actress Maddie Shae Baldwin and New York based actor and composer Morgan Hollingsworth will be providing critiques for future rounds.

Each week, there are three categories: high school (9-12), middle school (6-8), and elementary school (K-5). The contest is open to students nationwide, not just in the northeast Louisiana area. The week one (Mar. 18-24) is a comedic monologue. All of the details on what to submit and how to enter can be found at syaaonline.com/masterclass.

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