Registration Is Now Open For First Stage 2023/24 School Year Theater Academy

First Stage Theater Academy, the nation's leading high-impact theater training program for young people, is offering its School Year Theater Academy programs beginning Tuesday, September 26 at the Milwaukee Youth Arts Center. School Year Academy classes will follow First Stage's curriculum of Acting, Musical Theater, Improvisation and more led by professional theater artists, fostering life skills through stage skills.  

Weekly classes are offered on Tuesdays or Saturdays for students entering grades K4 – 12 this fall, with six-week sessions geared towards different age groups.  

School Year Academy classes for young people on the autism spectrum – part of First Stage's Next Steps program – are held during its Fall, Winter and Spring Sessions on Saturdays from 9:30 – 10:30 a.m. at the Milwaukee Youth Arts Center. 

Cost: $175 – $700 depending upon the length of classes. Payment plans and financial assistance are available. An Early Bird Tuition Discount is available for those that register through August 11, 2023. For the full list of Summer Academy classes and to register, please visit: firststage.org/schoolyear. Phone: (414) 267-2970 

Founded in 1987, First Stage is one of the nation's leading theaters for young people and families, and a driving force behind the creation of the best and most innovative plays for family audiences, theater training programs for young people and education initiatives for its schools and community. First Stage ensures that all programming is not only accessible to its community but that it is reflective of the community it serves. 

First Stage produces plays that honor the young person's point of view, include diverse and traditionally underrepresented voices and inspire meaningful conversations. First Stage has presented more than 70 world premiere productions that address important subject matters relevant to today's youth. The Theater Academy is one of the nation's largest high-impact theater training programs for young people (3 – 18 years old). Through a challenging curriculum taught by professional teaching artists, the Academy nurtures life skills through stage skills and includes the Next Steps Program that tailors Theater Academy classes to the needs of young people on the autism spectrum and with other developmental disabilities. As Wisconsin's leader in arts-integrated education in schools, First Stage's dynamic Theater in Education Programs cleverly blend theater activities with standard curriculum – allowing more than 10,000 students annually to learn traditional academic subjects through creativity and self-expression.  

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