Academy of Children's Theatre

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ACT provides quality arts experiences to the youth of the mid-Columbia through live theatre performances and educational camps, classes, and workshops. Both the live theatre shows and the camps/classes are designed specifically for pre-school through high schooler to learn performance techniques, technical theater skills, team building, problem solving, creativity, personal responsibilty, and more! All of our productions are open to the general public ( with some age suggestions ) and our classes are availabe for pre-school through high school all year long. It is the mission of Academy of Children's Theatre to provide educational opportunities in the theater arts for young people Recent changes in federal and state law have set the stage for an exciting new era in arts education. The federal "No Child Left Behind Act" identifies the arts dance, music, theatre and the visual arts as core subject areas. Washington State now requires art education for K-12, with mandatory arts assessments to be implemented in grades 5, 8 and 10 by the 2009-2010 school year. Currently, ACT is running two after-school arts educational classes in Pasco at Magee Elementary and Robert Frost Elementary with over 60 students participating. ACT is well-positioned to serve as a valuable community resource for schools as they rise to meet this challenge with limited resources. Since opening 14 years ago, ACT has generally demonstrated upward growth in all aspects of its mission quality public and school day performances, classes offered at the studio, and community outreach. Public performances and outreach have occurred consistently, regardless of the constraints of the facility. Since moving into the permanent facility, there has been a significant growth in classes because the facility allows ACT to offer more classes and the public can easily find ACT at its new location. With our current facility, ACT is able to host multiple classes, workshops and rehearsals simultaneously. With the addition of the performance theatre in the remaining half of our warehouse facility, ACT will be able to continue growth of our educational offerings with hands-on learning and technical support, skills only accessible when the youth have their own theatre in which to explore and learn. The arts play a crucial role in improving young people's ability to learn by challenging a wider range of intelligences and learning styles. The College Entrance Examination Board reported in 2005 that SAT scores of students who study the arts were 59 points higher on verbal and 44 points higher on math than students with no course work or experience. With limited funding for arts education in schools, ACT fills the need for students to receive arts training. Beyond academic enrichment, ACT provides a home for children looking to find a "place." These children are often not comfortable in other situations including school and sports. Through theatre experiences, varying from onstage acting to behind the scenes lighting and stage managing, children at ACT are nurtured and encouraged to find their personal strengths.