JumpStart Theatre

EdTA, in collaboration with New York City-based companies iTheatrics and Music Theatre International (MTI), has created JumpStart Theatre, a three-year scalable pilot program designed to build sustainable musical theatre programs where there previously were none. JumpStart is modeled after the successful Broadway Junior Musical Theatre Program founded by the Shubert Foundation, iTheatrics and MTI in 2005 in collaboration with the New York City Department of Education.

JumpStart Theatre aims to:

• be sustainable and implemented in underserved middle schools nationwide,
• engage as many students as possible in all aspects of theatre,
• prepare students for high school, college, and the workforce by instilling the 21st-century skills of collaboration, communication, problem solving, and creativity.

How it works:

JumpStart Theatre provides Cincinnati-area middle schools with the training and material necessary to present a musical theatre production in their schools. Schools are chosen based on a rigorous application process and site visit. Participant schools receive materials, budget, and training support (valued at $12,000 annually) to produce one full-scale musical production. We utilize existing teachers who receive ongoing coaching from our program mentor. Students are involved in every aspect of the production: performance, costumes, sets and design. The three-year grants support building the program to reach a sustainable level.

Training:

Teams of three teachers from each selected school participate in a series of three “bootcamps,” led by a master teacher. These workshops provide training in all areas of musical theatre production, with the goal of empowering the teacher teams to guide the programs independently. The master teacher, assisted by Cincinnati theatre professionals, offers guidance in all areas of musical theatre productions, while continuing to encourage teacher ownership of productions.