The Alliance Theatre has named three Atlanta area middle schools it will partner with for the regional launch of the JumpStart Theatre program, developed by the Educational Theatre Association.

JumpStart Theatre is a three-year program that will equip faculty and administrators with the skills and resources to produce their school’s first musical theatre production.

The Alliance Theatre will provide teaching artists dedicated to mentoring the schools throughout the entire three-year program, with the goal of building a sustainable, long-term musical theatre curriculum.

Following an extensive selection process, Garrett Middle School from Cobb County Schools, Jean Childs Young Middle School from Atlanta Public Schools and Pointe South Middle School from Clayton County Public Schools were selected from all middle school applicants to receive the three-year grant sponsored by the Educational Theatre Foundation (ETF) beginning in the 2019-20 school year.

The selection process included a formal written application, site visits to the schools and interviews with administrators and the faculty who would be spearheading the program for their school. Alliance Theatre will be providing the local mentorship, training and guidance to the selected schools. Applications for three additional schools will be accepted later this year.

“The opportunity to support our middle school teachers and help them build a sustainable theatre program is thrilling,” said Christopher Moses, the Alliance Theatre’s Dan Reardon Director of Education and associate artistic director. “JumpStart Theatre has a demonstrated track record of building capacity among those new to the art form, and I’m beyond delighted that some of metro Atlanta’s public schools can now share in this success.”

According to Moses, the JumpStart Theatre Program has a mission to equip non-theatre teachers with the skills and resources to produce their respective school’s first musical through a proven combination of hands-on mentoring and boot-camp style training.

Julie Cohen Theobald, president of the Educational Theatre Foundation, said, “The Alliance Theatre is an ideal partner for JumpStart Theatre. Their education offerings are vast and impressive, and their mission fits perfectly with our vision to bring theatre to every student.”

JumpStart Theatre is funded entirely by gifts and grants, Theobald explained. The expansion of this program to Atlanta and the Alliance Theatre is made possible by a gift from Robert Greenblatt, the chairman of Warner Media Entertainment and Direct to Consumer, as well as gifts from The Shubert Foundation, and others.

This article originally appeared in The Atlanta Voice.

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