Creating a New Theater Space for Millennials
The Akron Civic Theatre is partnering with Millennial Theatre Company to bridge the gap between youth and adult community theater opportunities for young adults ages 18-35 (Millennials). Together, the organizations will create a theatrical space for Millennial voices – for both theater-makers and theatergoers -- and expand Summit County’s arts menu to serve and to speak to an under-represented demographic in community theater.
The Civic will act as an incubator and fiscal agent for Millennial Theatre Company. As a regional cultural center that works with myriad nonprofit performing arts organizations each year, the Akron Civic Theatre has both the experience and the infrastructure to mentor this startup venture and help get it off the ground.
The partnership begins with the staging of Heathers: The Musical, based on the deliciously dark-humored teen cult film classic, presented Friday, July 22 through Sunday, July 24 in the Civic's intimate cabaret format, where the audience members join the actors on stage. (Ticket information is available www.AkronCivic.com.)
The goal of this Indiegogo campaign is to secure $2,000 to offset expenses for the production of Heathers: The Musical, specifically the costs of royalties, professional stagehands and costuming.
Filling the Theater Gap
For the last five years, the Civic’s All-City Musical has been very successful in bringing together Summit County’s most talented high school-aged performers with theater professionals to present an annual, fully staged, professional-quality musical theater production.
We have discovered along the way that many teenagers who “age out” of local youth theater and the traditional arts education system are still interested in participating in theater and would like to take on more mature content. However, they are not necessarily finding opportunities -- either on stage or backstage -- in adult community theater, and there are very few circumstances in which they can serve in roles of artistic leadership. They are also seeking theater experiences that reflect and speak to their own experiences, interests and values.
Extending the All-City Musical model by working together, the Civic and Millennial Theatre Company will engage this audience of actors and theatergoers. The repertoire focuses on content that is generation-relevant, and the production process reflects a decidedly non-traditional approach. For instance, the Company embraces non-traditional casting choices and a democratic process (vs. a hierarchical one) in which all players participate in shaping the production.