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.
YES Foundations is a program designed to provide students with an intensive artistic training in the various disciplines of theater. Students will be divided into two groups based on a placement audition at the start of the program in August. Each group will meet twice a month for six months to explore a variety of topics, including audition technique, scene study, song analysis, and more. At the end of this program, students will have the option to showcase what they have learned by performing in the Spring Showcase in April.
There will be 2 classes per month from September – March. Below are the dates for the season (please note: there will be 2 Cohorts for YES Foundations Classes. Cohort 1 will meet on Saturdays, and Cohort 2 will meet on Sundays):
YES Foundations are included in Membership Packages A & B. Please see the “Membership Details” dropdown for more information.
Registration for YES Foundations 2026/27 is now closed.
Registration for YES Foundations 2027/28 will open in Spring 2027.
For YES Main Stage Days, company members spend the day at Northern Stage for master classes with cast members from our main stage productions, a company pizza party, group tickets to the show, and a post-show talkback with the artists.
YES Main Stage Days Dates
Main Stage Days are included in all YES Membership Packages. Please see the “Membership Details” dropdown for more information.
Registration for YES Main Stage Days 2026/27 is now closed.
Registration for YES Main Stage Days 2027/28 will open in Spring 2027.
The Youth Ensemble Studio Showcase is back for a fifth year! Come join us for an evening of musical theater songs and scenes chosen to provide each and every actor with an opportunity to shine. All students will have small group sessions with a project director and a vocal coach, and the entire company will work together on group numbers. The Spring Showcase is the best opportunity of the year to take a leap forward as a performer and introduces the YES company to our community.
Click HERE to view the Spring Showcase Calendar.
The YES Spring Showcase is included in Membership Package A & C. Please see the “Membership Details” dropdown for more information.
If you’re interested in registering for the YES Spring Showcase, please email Sam Empey at sempey@northernstage.org and/or Kevin David Thomas at kthomas@northernstage.org.
For the 12th grade student who is seriously interested in pursuing a BFA or BA degree focused in the arts, they have the opportunity to add on the YES Next Stage package. This package includes college preparation & counseling, one on one coachings, help filming and editing pre-screens, and audition material selection. Contact Co-Director of Education Kevin David Thomas at kthomas@northernstage.org with any questions or for more information.
Tuition: $1,000
The YES Company will be putting on a production of Little Women: The Broadway Musical, directed by Co-Director of Education Sam Empey! The production will run from February 19-21 for 4 performances.
We are no longer accepting auditions for Little Women.
Tickets for the production will go on sale in late fall!
We believe it is important to create a sense of community for our students and seek to provide not only world class training and experiences but a sense of community and home. Because of this, we have three different options for the YES Membership!
YES MEMBERSHIP A
The complete package for the full experience.
Tuition: $1200
YES MEMBERSHIP B
Main Stage Days
Foundations
Tuition: $800
YES MEMBERSHIP C
Main Stage Days
Spring Showcase
Tuition: $600
Registration for 2026/27 YES Memberships is now closed.
If you purchased Membership Package B and would like to upgrade to Membership Package A, please contact the Box Office at boxoffice@northernstage.org.
Registration for 2027/28 YES Memberships will open in Spring 2027.
Each summer, we hold our celebrated professional-level theater training program for students ages 12-18!
Over the course of 5 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.
The title for our 2027 SMTI Production will be announced in early 2027!
The Summer Musical Theater Intensive is a rigourous training program designed for High School students, but all students aged 12-18 are encouraged to audition! Auditions for the program happen in March, with character callbacks for those accepted into the program happening in late May.
Tuition: $2,500
The title of our 2027 SMTI Production along with audition information will be announced in Early 2027!
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.
Disciplines Offered: Costumes and Wardrobe, supervised by Lexi Spanier; Scenic and Painting, supervised by Joshua Steckelberg; Lighting, supervised by Jason Monmaney; Props, supervised by Shannon Rossi; Stage Management, supervised by Elizabeth Sarsfield.
Interested students must apply through an online form, then complete an interview.
Tuition: $1,250
More details about applications & interviews for the 2027 Summer Technical Theater Workshop will be announced in Early 2027!
No! We welcome students of all experience levels.
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 Spring Showcase, YES’s production of Little Women, and the Summer Musical Theater Intensive will have 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.
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.