CTG Honors 2015-16 Student Ambassador Program Participants Tonight

Center Theatre Group honors 24 high school students for participating in the 2015- 2016 Student Ambassador Program, a six-month program that allows students to build leadership and teamwork skills in a creative environment that promotes the arts.

A celebratory reception will be held tonight, May 21 from 4 to 6 p.m. at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels. At this event, student ambassadors will reflect on their involvement in the program with peers, teachers and administrators.

The student ambassadors worked on four separate teams, each with a different area of focus. This year, the areas covered were Arts Education, Arts Advocacy, Community Engagement and Young Artists Recognition. During the event, each team will give an informal, student-led presentation focused on their team's project, learning outcomes and what they've taken from the experience.

The teams worked on the following projects:

- The Arts Education team planned all aspects of CTG's spring Theatre 101 Workshop Series, from choosing session topics to co-hosting each workshop with a professional Teaching Artist.

- The Arts Advocacy team planned and executed a daylong teen summit, bringing together high school students to celebrate the power of arts education.

- The Community Engagement team planned and hosted a number of events designed to bring their peers to the theatre and help them connect to the shows. These included The Student Scene for "A Gentleman's Guide to Love & Murder," which featured games and free "swag" inspired by the themes of the production.

- The Young Artists Recognition team developed a proposal for a new Center Theatre Group teen program focused on nurturing young theatre artists and presented their ideas to CTG senior staff members.

Students who would like to participate in the 2016-2017 Student Ambassador Program can submit an application starting in August. For more information, contact Felipe Sanchez at StudentBody@CenterTheatreGroup.org.

CTG's Education and Community Partnerships department, led by Leslie K. Johnson, is one of the most active theatre education programs in the country, reaching close to 20,000 students, teachers and community members throughout Southern California. The department is dedicated to the development of artists, educators, community members and young people's skills and creativity through the exploration of theatre, its literature, art and imagination.

Pictured: The 2015-2016 Center Theatre Group student ambassadors with CTG Education and Community Partnerships Program Associate Felipe M. Sanchez (bottom left, green shirt). Photo by Hal Banfield.