Building foundations for our youngest performers.
Leveling up theater skills in a supportive environment.
Youth Ensemble Studio (YES), Summer Musical Theater Intensive (Ages 12-18), Summer Technical Theater Workshop (Ages 16-18)
Learn MoreEnriching school vacations with theater fun.
Connecting our community through the arts.
Bringing theater education to the classroom and beyond.
Student Matinee Series, BridgeUP: Theater in the Schools, Dartmouth College Experiential Learning Term (E-Term)
Learn MoreClick through the tabs to find out what each of our Education Programs has to offer!
Northern Stage’s Youth Ensemble Studio (YES) is a valuable home for Middle and High Schoolers in the Upper Valley who are passionate about theater, want to bring their skills to the next level, and are excited about sharing their talents with the community. Throughout the course of the academic year, YES company members develop their skills in acting, singing, dancing, voice & speech, character development, script analysis, problem solving, and working as a team.
The core YES Membership consists of Theater Foundation Days, Main Stage Days, and our annual Spring Showcase. Students have the opportunity to add on additional training and performance opportunities to their membership, including participation in our winter production of Little Women, a trip to NYC, and our YES Next Stage program – a program for high school juniors and seniors who are serious about pursuing a career in the arts.
YES (Youth Ensemble Studio) Jr. is designed for students with a passion for theater in grades 4 & 5. This program will meet twice a week for three weeks in September for Academy Days to learn about acting, theater vocabulary and ensemble building. Students who participate in the Academy Days are eligible to audition for YES Jr.’s Fall Production!
Students in this program also join us at Northern Stage for three Main Stage Days, where they will get the opportunity to attend a masterclass, bond over a pizza party with the rest of the company, and join the artists after the production for an interactive talkback. This is the perfect program for young thespians who love to perform.
YES Kids is a fun, experiential learning program for students in 1st – 3rd grade, designed to introduce young people to the theater. Students will explore various aspects of the performing arts, including musical theater, Shakespeare, improvisation, short monologues and scenes, and more. The program will culminate in an invited family celebration, including theater games and a sing-along.
Each summer, we hold our celebrated professional-level theater training program for students aged 12-18!
Over the course of five weeks, students rehearse and perform a musical at the Barrette Center for the Arts, fully supported by a professional creative and design team from around the country. This program extends the professionalism of our main stage to our young actors, giving them the opportunity to collaborate with industry veterans on an adventurous, joyful and exceptional theatrical experience.
Past SMTI productions include classics such as Cabaret and Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Oklahoma!, as well as contemporary favorites like Amélie and Legally Blonde. Auditions for the program happen in late March each year, with character casting callbacks taking place in May.
For students interested in the technical elements of theater, the Summer Technical Theater Workshop is the program to be in! With direct supervision from our attentive staff, students aged 16-18 will gain hands-on experience and learn what it means to work behind the scenes for a live musical.
Each student will work in one production department for six weeks, receiving training and working on the build, load in, and production of our SMTI musical. This program comes with direct mentorship and an opportunity to learn about the behind the scenes process from show prep all the way through running an offstage track during the production.
Northern Stage offers half-day theater camps during all school vacations! Designed for all experience levels, campers learn theater games and skills centered around a theme, and the week culminates in a performance for friends and family!
2027 CAMP DATES
One of Northern Stage’s most beloved programs is BridgeUP: Theater in the Schools. The goal of BridgeUP is to increase theater access and learning resources for 4th-6th grade students throughout Vermont and New Hampshire. We partner with local elementary and middle schools. Over the course of eight weeks, the classrooms learn and perform an abridged version of a Shakespeare play. Each school has two performances, one for their school community and a second performance on the Byrne stage.
BridgeUP: Theater in the Schools introduces young people to theater in a warm and welcoming way. We strive to work with classroom teachers not simply to support the curricular needs, but also to provide experiential learning practices beyond the residency and help shape how our partner teachers and students engage with learning. Through our work in the schools we build close knit, meaningful and long term relationships in the community.
This program is funded by the Helen Gurley Brown Foundation and Clint and Bonnie Swift.
Our Student Matinee Series offers schools across the Upper Valley and beyond a unique and inspiring space for students to experience professional theater with their peers. Student matinee performances are offered for all main stage productions, and are followed by talkback discussions led by our Artistic and Education staff.
This program is made possible through the generous support of Claremont Savings Bank.
No! We welcome students of all experience levels.
Most education programs are open to everyone, with the exception of the following audition- or interview-based programs:
Our programs that take place during the school year are designed with specific grades in mind. We understand that some students are at different levels of maturity than their peers, but we urge you to sign up for the program/production that fits the student’s school year.
Summer programming is based on age rather than grade level. If your student has a birthday during the course of a summer program that will either age them into or out of a specific program, please reach out to our education staff to find out what program will be right for them.
The YES Jr. Production, YES Spring Showcase, YES Musical, and SMTI production all are public, ticketed performances. Families of participants have a pre-sale window for additional tickets before they go on-sale to the general public, and may receive a limited number of complimentary or discounted tickets for each production at the discretion of the Education & Box Office teams.
YES Kids and Camps do not have a public performance, but will culminate with a private showcase for friends and family.
A 25% deposit is required to reserve a space in all Northern Stage programs. Payments must be made in full by the program start date.
In an effort to ensure theater education is accessible to all, Northern Stage offers sliding scale tuition, need-based scholarships, and payment plans for our education programs. Please click HERE to learn more.
Northern Stage’s refund policies for Education programs:
– Cancellations 60+ days before the classes begin: 75% refund
– Cancellations 30-59 days before the classes begin: 50% refund
– Cancellations within 30 days: No refund
For additional information contact Co-Directors of Education Sam Empey at sempey@northernstage.org and Kevin David Thomas at kthomas@northernstage.org or the Box Office at boxoffice@northernstage.org.
Students experiencing coughing, sore throat, fever or gastrointestinal distress must contact program administrators to determine whether they can come to rehearsal/performance days. If your child has a fever of 100 degrees or greater or if they have vomited two or more times in the past 24 hours, they may not return to Northern Stage. They are welcome back once they have been fever free for 24 hours without the aid of fever reducing medication.
For further questions you can contact Sam Empey at sempey@northernstage.org.
The Northern Stage Education department will typically cancel rehearsals and classes when a majority of surrounding school districts cancel school or have an early release due to inclement weather. We will reach out through email and/or phone to alert families to any cancellations. A make-up rehearsal or class will typically be scheduled to make up for any lost time, schedule permitting.
Weather-related performance cancellations are very unusual but do sometimes occur. If we are experiencing inclement weather on the day of a student performance, Northern Stage will determine if a cancellation is necessary and alert students’ families to the situation as quickly as possible.
For further questions you can contact Sam Empey at sempey@northernstage.org.
You will get a confirmation email from Northern Stage’s Box Office after payment is received in full. This email includes your receipt and a link to the Student Intake Form. This form must be completed by the start of the program or your student will not be able to participate.
Northern Stage’s Education Department will reach out closer to the scheduled start date with more detailed information about the program.
Northern Stage’s Box Office will be closed from Friday, August 21 through Tuesday, August 25 for administrative training. We will not be able to respond to phone calls or emails during this time, nor take any in-person sales.
Our Box Office is always open online by clicking the “Ticket” link in in the header above. If you have any troubles, send us an email at boxoffice@northernstage.org or leave a voicemail at (802) 296-7000 and we will get back to you once we reopen on Wednesday, August 26.
Thank you for your understanding!
Our website is experiencing technical difficulties that is causing information display incorrectly. To know what’s currently on stage, click “Tickets” in the menu or contact our Box Office at boxoffice@northernstage.org or (802) 296-7000.
