MCC Theater Launches Educational Programming and Audition Dates for 2023-2024 Youth Company Season

 MCC Theater has announced programming for their 2023-2024 educational season. MCC will also continue to host a number of free events for the public, including talkbacks, audience conversations, open forums, and community events tied to the 2023-2024 season, beginning with the Arts Advocacy Kick-Off Event on Tuesday November 14. To learn more, please click here.

“This year we will dig deep into questions related to the role of the artist. Who gets to be one, how one tells their story, and what you might have to sacrifice to pursue your dreams - our season provokes the questions: What does art do for us? And how do we do it? Where can we do it?,” said Director of Public Engagement & Education Meggan Gomez. “Our goal is to challenge the myth of the starving artist, bringing together communities to celebrate the artist in us all, and connect us to a few of the amazing organizations providing services to artists trying to make this crazy business work for them.”

“The magic of theater only exists in community,” says Co-Artistic Director Will Cantler, “and building an inclusive and collaborative community through MCC's education and public engagement programs is one of the most exciting ways we can enhance the work on our stages. I hope that this year's programming will allow all of us to engage the artist in each of us."

MCC will be hosting a two day in-person audition for the 2023-2024 MCC Youth Company programs on Wednesday October 18 and Thursday October 19, 2023, from 4:30 – 6:30pm. Auditions will take place on site at MCC Theater (511 W 52nd St).

Registration is now open and any current New York City high school student is encouraged to apply; no preparation is required for the audition process. Attendance to both days is necessary for consideration as the auditions cover both the Performance Lab and the Playwriting Lab programs. To register and learn more, please visit: mcctheater.org/public-engagement-education/youth-company.

The MCC Youth Company is a free program for New York City high school students interested in developing their acting and dramatic writing skills. Within a creative, challenging, and supportive environment, teenagers from five boroughs participate in weekly workshops (Labs) 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 speaking their truth.

In Performance Lab, co-directors Kevin Carillo and Javon Q. Minter will facilitate weekly workshops over seven months that develop students’ artistic voices to develop 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 26 through Sunday May 5, 2024.

In Playwriting Lab, members will be mentored by professional playwrights Juan Ramirez Jr. and Alexander Lambie (MCC Youth Company Alum) to develop original scripts in weekly workshops. These young writers will learn about monologue, dialogue, setting, conflict, and character.  Members present public readings of their work with professional actors to see them come to vibrant life in FRESHPLAY running Friday May 10 through Saturday May 11, 2024.

MCC Theater will continue their long-standing partnerships in four schools across Manhattan and Brooklyn – Manhattan International High School, the George Washington High School Educational Campus, Baruch College Campus High School and the High School for Public Service – where they will also be returning for the 9th season of the Brooklyn Youth Company.

MCC Theater will also continue their Student Matinee Program. High School teachers can book student groups for designated performances throughout the 2023-24 season. Tickets for these matinees are $10. If further subsidy is needed, teachers can download the subsidy request directly at MCCTheater.org/Education. Students Matinees this season will take place on December 7 and 14 for Walk on Through, February 8 for The Connector, and May 8 for The Lonely Few. MCC’s student matinee program is supported directly by the Ruth and Harold Newman Education Fund.

Educators are encouraged to reach out to the Education Department at education@mcctheater.org to reserve tickets and for tools to prepare classes for the show before bringing them to the theater. Downloadable Show Guides with activities for the classroom are available and help set the stage for a well-rounded theater going experience.

MCC Theater’s Education Programs are supported by Axe-Houghton Foundation, Cornelia T. Bailey Foundation, Emily Davie and Joseph S. Kornfeld Foundation, Harold J. Newman† & Ruth Newman, the Eric Rosedale Playwriting Fund, Tiger Baron Foundation, New York State Council on the Arts, and public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the city council.

MCC Theater receives General Operating Support from the Howard Gilman Foundation, the Shubert Foundation, the Laurents/Hatcher Foundation, the Harold and Mimi Steinberg Charitable Fund, New York State Council on the Arts, the Charles & Lucille King Family Foundation, the Fan Fox & Leslie R. Samuels Foundation, the Lucille Lortel Foundation, and the Actors’ Equity Foundation.

MCC will kick off their production season on November 13 with the World Premiere of Walk on Through: Confessions of a Museum Novice, written and performed by Tony Award® winner Gavin Creel (Into the Woods) and directed by Linda Goodrich (Loud Nite). The company will also present the World Premiere of The Connector, a new musical with music and lyrics by Tony Award winner Jason Robert Brown (Parade), a book by Jonathan Marc Sherman (Clive), and conceived and directed by Daisy Prince (The Last Five Years). The season will conclude in April 2024 with the NY Premiere of The Lonely Few, a new rock musical with music and lyrics by Zoe Sarnak (Secret Soldiers), a book by Rachel Bonds (Sundown, Yellow Moon), and direction by Trip Cullman (MCC’s Moscow Moscow Moscow Moscow Moscow Moscow) and Ellenore Scott (Titanique).

 

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