Diablo Theatre Company to Launch Diablo Youth Theatre This Fall

Diablo Theatre Company, one of the premiere producers of musical theatre in the East Bay, announced that they will be launching Diablo Youth Theatre in the fall. This newly expanded education program will be led by Brittany Danielle, Diablo Theatre Company's Education Director. Diablo Youth Theatre will produce a six-show season in its first year, including three productions for youth ages 6-13 and three professional productions for teens ages 14 and above. In addition to performance training, Diablo Youth Theatre will also offer spotlight intensive classes focusing on singing, dance and acting throughout the year to create a comprehensive and cohesive program.

Earlier this year, Diablo Theatre Company announced that they were taking the year off from producing large scaled musical productions to concentrate on developing their education programs. "The goal is to create a self-sustaining youth and teen company that will eventually feed directly into our mainstage division when we begin producing large scale productions again", states Krissy Gray, Managing Director of Diablo Theatre Company. "This will make the company stronger and elevate our education program to a whole new level."

The program will launch in the fall with auditions for the youth production of Rodgers and Hammerstein's Cinderella on October 4th and the teen production of West Side Story on September 26th and 27th. Performances will be in November and December at Del Valle Theatre in Walnut Creek and The Village Theatre in Danville. Diablo Youth Theatre is also slated to produce youth productions of Seussical in the spring, and Aladdin Jr. in the summer. The teen division will round out with Spring Awakening in the spring and In the Heights in the summer.

Diablo Youth Theatre will cast ALL who audition. Spring Awakening, the pre-professional elite production will be an audition-only program serving as the Mainstage caliber vehicle for the company.

"We are hopeful that Diablo Youth Theatre will fill the void of professional youth performance opportunities in this community year-round" states Education Director, and visionary behind the newly imagined Diablo Youth Theatre, Brittany Danielle. "Not only will youth and teens have an outlet to perform and be involved in professional quality productions with live orchestras, but they will also have an opportunity to train and learn from the Bay Area's best artists, directors, and performers."

Danielle adds, "Our goal with Diablo Youth Theatre is to create, train and foster not only Broadway performers, but also community leaders, responsible individuals, and the next generation of theatre-goers and supporters."

Diablo Theatre Company, had been one of the anchor tenants at the Lesher Center for the Arts since its opening in 1990, producing critically acclaimed and audience favorite musicals such as: Shrek, Guys and Dolls, Singin' in the Rain, Irving Berlin's White Christmas, Legally Blonde the Musical, Peter Pan, Miss Saigon, West Side Story and Ragtime. The company also rents rehearsal space, costumes, props and sets.

About Diablo Theatre Company - One of the Bay Area's premiere producers of musical theatre, Diablo Theatre Company began modestly in the late 1950s with a small group of musical theatre fans who wanted to produce their favorite Gilbert and Sullivan operettas. Calling themselves Diablo Light Opera Company (DLOC), the founders presented shows at Walnut Creek's old Civic Arts Center, a converted walnut-shelling house. When Walnut Creek opened its state-of-the-art performance venue, the Lesher Center for the Arts, in 1990, DLOC became one of its anchor tenants and began mounting large-scale musical productions in the 785-seat Hofmann Theatre. To celebrate its 50th anniversary, the company changed its name to Diablo Theatre Company to better reflect its move away from light operas to Broadway musicals. Today, Diablo Theatre Company continues to enrich and entertain East Bay residents by celebrating contemporary musical works and re-imagining the classics. It also inspires the next generation of theater artists through its acclaimed theatre education programs for youth, teens and adults.

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