Lights Up! provides professional training and performance experience in a nurturing environment. We offer a secure and accepting theatrical home for developing performers, while challenging them with professional acting, singing and dance training.
Our team of theater professionals works with company members to teach skills they’ll need for the performance and beyond. If a show calls for specialty skills, we’ll teach them. Our approach incorporates teaching into rehearsal time, so actors get the skills they need to feel confident on stage, and in the wider world. It takes more time, dedication, and coordination, but it’s so worth it!
Founded in 2018, Lights Up! is widely recognized in the community as a place where teenagers of all backgrounds and life experiences feel safe and seen. Our community of actors is accepting, compassionate, and connected to one another; many company members begin as pre-teens and grow with the company through their high school graduation.
Our staff sets high expectations for character, kindness, and inclusion – while teaching and modeling professional theatre etiquette – resulting in a company culture that honors both the singular experience of adolescence and the fundamental human need for belonging.
An alternative to our more intensive performance experience is our conservatory program, which incorporates once or twice a week classes with a small showcase at their culmination. Classes include vocal training, improv, dance, acting, stage combat, and more.
“I love the sacred space that is created between actor and audience. Listening and responding is the bedrock of an acting practice and is at the core of our training program. Being in the moment, being responsive to the people around you, and finding joy in shared emotion are experiences that we all need. They also create unforgettable moments onstage.
“In asking young actors to leap and stretch into areas that are challenging, I start with trust earned by preserving and defending the sacred space for each actor, singer, and dancer, allowing an unfolding into the safety of a supportive company of friends as they explore new skills and push boundaries together.”