ABQ Theatre Guild Reaches out to Youth with Preview Night Program

With an eye to the future of live theatre in our community, Albuquerque Theatre Guild's Youth Theatre Outreach Team is focusing on a project that directly involves ATG member organizations and their productions with public school drama students. "High-School Preview Nights" identifies upcoming productions that are appropriate for high school students to attend.

"Before the beginning of each Albuquerque Public Schools semester, the ATG Youth Theatre Outreach Team will send information about those productions to school drama program heads. They, in turn, publicize the calendar to their students and encourage/require them to attend listed preview performances," says Preston Mendenhall, President of the Albuquerque Theatre Guild.

Why preview performances? Neither the schools nor most of the students can afford the price of admission to regularly scheduled theatrical performances. However, admission to most preview performances is free or minimal in cost. By virtue of their affordability and accessibility, designated "high-school preview nights" give students a sense of belonging and being welcome to these performances. Previews also provide a relatively uncomplicated opportunity for informal post-performance talk-backs between the audience and the director/cast/crew of the productions. Drama teachers polled by the ATG strongly believe that talk-back opportunities enhance the educational value of the theatre-going experience for their students.

About Albuquerque Theatre Guild

More theatrical performances take place every weekend here in Albuquerque than in any other U.S. city of its size. Our mission is to promote public awareness of theatre in the greater Albuquerque area, to encourage the growth of theatre audiences, to foster cooperation and collaboration among the member organizations, and to facilitate and assist the work of individual members involved in all aspects of theatrical production.

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