Village Theatre Holds 8th Annual Youth Education Luncheon 10/23

Village Theatre will hold its Eighth Annual Youth Education Luncheon, Thursday, October 23, 2008 at the Meydenbauer Center in Bellevue, WA. The luncheon will support Village Theatre's youth education scholarships and free arts education programs. The program features emcee, Dave Ross of "The Dave Ross Show" on NewsTalk 97.3 KIRO as Master of Ceremonies.

This event helps Village Theatre fund their youth education programs, KIDSTAGE and Pied Piper that serve over 54,000 young people, families, and schools annually in a variety of ways. Scholarships for Village Theatre Youth Education Programs are provided to everyone who qualifies. Over 15% of Village Theatre's Youth Education participants receive scholarship tuitions and free tickets. Additionally, tickets and tuitions are subsidized for all students and youth to help keep all the programs affordable. Village Theatre is also able to use these funds to offer free in-school workshops that complement Washington State's Essential Academic Learning Requirements (EALRs). These free art education programs are offered in over 30 districts throughout East King, North King, and Snohomish counties.

Village Theatre's Youth Education Programs help keep the arts a part of our local children's well-rounded education and life experience by providing classes, in-school outreach workshops, performance opportunities, and nationally and internationally acclaimed educational productions to over 54,000 local youth, families, and schools. The Annual Youth Education Luncheon is a critical fundraising event that allows Village Theatre to continue delivering quality, life-enriching educational programs for youth of all ages and their families. 

A special thank you goes to Village Theatre's Eighth Annual Youth Education Luncheon Sponsors:

Underwriter:  Detlef Schrempf Foundation
Producing Partners:  Verizon Foundation
Directing Partners:  Charles Schwab, Dr. Christian Manley, Eastside Pediatric Dental Group, Edward Jones Investments, Infospace, Prevail Credit Union, US Bank, and Craig and Joan Watjen.

There is no admission fee. Seating is reserved.  For more information or to reserve your seat, please contact Jessica Wright, Special Events Coordinator at (425) 392-1942 x 151 or jwright@villagetheatre.org.

About Village Theatre Youth Education

KIDSTAGE is a performing arts training program in Issaquah and Everett for young people ages 3-20. KIDSTAGE offers classes, productions, and mentorships for young people that encourage teamwork and personal integrity, and foster self-esteem and an appreciation for live theatre. Fourteen percent of Village Theatre's KIDSTAGE participants receive scholarships.

The KIDSTAGE Mission:

To provide a personal development program for young people which uses theatre arts, to teach creativity and responsibility, to encourage teamwork and personal integrity and to foster self-esteem and appreciation for live theatre.

Pied Piper offers national touring educational performances to schools and families in Bellevue, Everett, Issaquah, and Mount Vernon. Each performance and in-school workshop complements and supports Washington State's grade specific Essential Academic Learning Requirements (EALRs). The arts have the power to bring educational objectives alive in ways that make them at once exciting and unforgettable, enabling the subject matter to resonate in ways not possible on page or even in the classroom. Thanks to generous support, performances are affordable and accessible to all members of the community and allow thousands of children to experience an in-school workshop.

About Village Theatre

Based in Issaquah, WA, with operations in Everett, Village Theatre is a leading producer of musical theatre in the Pacific Northwest. Producing entertaining quality productions for the entire family since 1979, Village Theatre has grown into one of the region's best-attended Equity theatres, with over 18,000 subscribers and 170,000 projected total attendance each season. Through its Village Originals program, Village Theatre is nationally recognized for its contribution to the development of new musicals, having launched over 80 new works to date. Village Theatre also takes pride in nurturing tomorrow's audiences through its youth education programs, Pied Piper and KIDSTAGE, serving over 54,000 young people, families, and schools annually.

Village Theatre season sponsors are The Boeing Company, Continental Airlines, Microsoft, and Lombardi's.

Village Theatre is also funded in part by 4Culture, ABODA, ArtsFund, ArtsUnited, Cascade Bank, City of Everett, City of Issaquah /Issaquah Arts Commission, Encore Arts Program, Frontier Bank, Journal Newspapers, National Endowment for the Arts, Overlake Hospital and Medical Center, PONCHO, Port Blakely Communities/Issaquah Highlands, Standing Ovation, and Washington State Arts Commission. Village Theatre is a member of the National Alliance for Musical Theatre and Theatre Puget Sound.

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