MCC Theater Unveils Educational Programming And Audition Dates For 2024-25 Youth Company Season

MCC Theater has revealed programming for their 2024-2025 educational season.

MCC Theater has announced that auditions for the 2024-2025 MCC Youth Company programs will be held on Tuesday October 8 from 4:30pm – 6:30pm. Auditions for both labs will take place on site at MCC Theater (511 W 52nd St). An additional audition for available Performance Lab spots will be held on Tuesday January 14 from 4:30pm to 6:30pm.

MCC also announced that new for this year, in celebration of the 25th Anniversary of the Youth Company, members will be paid a $250 stipend for completing their lab. MCC has made it possible for youth company members to participate in both Playwriting and Performance Labs this year which means a student can earn $500 for completing the full year.

“We are thrilled to announce this major update to our program. It is an opportunity to build buy-in and accountability for our youth company members, to demonstrate how deeply we value the young artists' labor and artistic creations and dispel the notion of the starving artist – allowing our teens and their parents to recognize their potential to enter into a multi-billion dollar arts field,” says Blake West, Executive Director at MCC Theater.

Registration for the MCC Youth Company is now open and any current New York City high school student is encouraged to apply; no preparation is required for the audition process. To register and learn more, please visit: https://mcctheater.org/public-engagement-education/.

The MCC Youth Company is a free program for New York City high school students interested in developing their theatrical toolbox. Within a creative, challenging, and supportive environment, teenagers from all five boroughs participate in workshops (Labs) twice a week led by professional theater artists. No prior experience is necessary. Youth Company members are selected through a non-competitive group audition process, based on their willingness to collaborate and interest in further honing their artistic voice.

In Playwriting Lab, members will be mentored by playwright Juan Ramirez Jr. to develop original scripts. These young writers will learn about monologue, dialogue, setting, conflict, character stage directions and more.  Playwriting Lab will run this fall on Tuesdays and Thursdays from October 15 to December 12, concluding with FRESPHPLAY DISCOVERY readings on Friday December 13 and Saturday December 14, 2024. Lab members who would like to embark on the re-writing and editing process will have the opportunity to meet with Juan throughout the spring and mount their edited work on June 7, 2025 with the support of professional actors and directors in this season's culminating FRESHPLAY FESTIVAL.

In Performance Lab, Kareem M. Lucas will facilitate workshops on Tuesdays and Thursdays from January 28, 2025 to April 27 that develop students' artistic voices to write and perform monologues, scenes, songs, and choreographed movement pieces, culminating in the annual production of UNCENSORED at The Robert W. Wilson MCC Theater Space running Friday April 18 through Sunday April 27, 2025.

MCC Theater will continue their long-standing partnerships in three schools across Manhattan and Brooklyn – Manhattan International High School, the George Washington High School Educational Campus's High School for Media and Communications, and the High School for Public Service – where they will also be returning for the 11th season of the Brooklyn Youth Company.

MCC Theater has also announced that they will expand the Ambassadors program to include artists and art lovers 30 and under. The Ambassadors program was created to give youth company alumni a bridge into the professional theater landscape through site visits, theater tickets, dialogues with working theater administrators, and workshops aimed at demystifying the NYC theater landscape. By extending this free program beyond MCC Theater Youth Company alumni, MCC can support more of the emerging artists here in NYC while connecting alumni with more of their peers in the field. Visit this link to apply to join this exciting program.

MCC Theater's department of Public Engagement & Education is building a database of emerging and established artists who would like to engage with their programs. If artists would like to be considered for contract work throughout this year, follow this link for more information including how to submit a resume to the team.

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