
Youth Ensemble Studio (YES)
Northern Stage’s Youth Ensemble Studio (YES) offers a wide variety of theater opportunities for young actors in grades 6-12. 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. This season our YES offerings include a Fall Showcase, a Winter White Box and a Spring Shakespeare, plus 4 Main Stage Days, where 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. The Youth Ensemble Studio is a valuable home for theater kids in the Upper Valley who are passionate about theater, want to bring their skills to the next level and share their talents with the community.
Main Stage Days
Our Main Stage Days begin with master classes led by professional theater artists from around the country, followed by a company pizza party before seeing a Northern Stage production. Finally, after the performance, our students participate in a talkback with the cast to ask questions about the theater industry.
This year we will see 4 Main Stage productions:
Selling Kabul – Sunday, 10/22/2023
A Christmas Carol – Sunday, 12/10/2023
Constellations – Sunday, 2/11/2024
The Play That Goes Wrong – Sunday, 3/24/2024
Registration Fee for Main Stage Days: $300
Financial Aid is available! Click HERE to learn more about our Sliding Scale Tuition Program and additional scholarships
YES Fall Showcase
Directors: TBD
Cast: YES Actors
View Calendar HERE
The Youth Ensemble Studio productions begin with our Fall Showcase, back for a second year after a hugely successful debut in 2022. 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 the project director and a vocal coach, and the company will work together on group numbers. The Fall Showcase is the best opportunity of the year to take a leap forward as a performer and introduces the YES company to our community.
Rehearsal and Performance Dates: September 12 – October 8, 2023
Registration Fee for Fall Showcase: $300
Financial Aid is available! Click HERE to learn more about our Sliding Scale Tuition Program and additional scholarships.
YES Winter White Box
Director: Robert David Grant
Cast: YES Actors (high school)
View Calendar HERE
In this new and exciting advanced program, YES students will get the opportunity to devise a completely original new piece in the tradition of Commedia and clown. Improvisation and play are central components to all acting; this project will leave young actors with the experience of openness and reckless abandon that clown instills, teaching them to bring that same confidence and creativity to their other work. Be prepared to move, make a big ol’ ruckus, show off and have fun, maybe too much fun and then some more fun, just for fun!
Rehearsal and Performance Dates: November 28 – December 15, 2023
Registration Fee for Fall Showcase: $400
Financial Aid is available! Click HERE to learn more about our Sliding Scale Tuition Program and additional scholarships.
YES Spring Shakespeare
Director: Robert David Grant
Cast: YES Actors
View Calendar HERE
YES actors will rehearse and perform a fully produced play from Shakespeare’s Canon. Betrayal, sword fights, togas, magic – Shakespeare has it all! Past Shakespeare productions have included Richard III and A Midsummer Night’s Dream.
Rehearsal and Performance Dates: March 12 – April 14, 2024
Registration Fee for Fall Showcase: $550
Financial Aid is available! Click HERE to learn more about our Sliding Scale Tuition Program and additional scholarships.