Various (theater)

COMMUNITY PARTNER

Black Theatre Troupe

ABOUT THE INTERNSHIP

Duties

With our increasing growth, popularity and support for our main stage programs, comes added expectations and the responsibility to expand and enhance our youth, educational and outreach programming. Our efforts to meet theses challenges have resulted in the creation of three important programs:

1. The Saturdays Children’s Workshop
2. From the Page to the Stage*
3. Target Family Matinee Series.

*Our intern would be solely responsible for the critical objectives of From the Page to the Stage.
Originally created in 1995, as one of the city’s first arts education programs designed to serve youths at risk, From the Page to the Stage placed a minimum of 40 underserved students in a weekly arts appreciation program during the school year. Beginning with our 2009-2010 season which opens October 1, 2009, we would like to expand this program to serve senior citizens that currently attend several of the city operated activity centers. Under the supervision of our artistic staff, the intern would develop and present these two groups with information to enhance the participants’ appreciation of a specific and significant BTT production. In addition the intern and BTT will develop a very well researched and written study/companion guide to support the designated production. The most important activity in this program is attending an actual performance of the work at our theater and participating in a final discussion before and after the show facilitated by the intern.

Population served

Our project will serve at risk youth and senior citizens.
Both these groups are more likely than many to be unable to attend live theatre for several reasons.
Most commonly there are economic limitations. However an important secondary reason is lack of exposure and available information. This factor is also magnified by our limited marketing resources.

Community need/impact

The work of The Black Theatre Troupe is a strong collaborative effort of artists, staff, board members and the community. Through our work, we
Support the development of multi-ethnic artists, designers and technicians,
Serve as an educational resource as the only professional African-American theatre company in the four-corner states region,
reflect the cultural diversity of the community, artistically and operationally.

As the only professional African-American theatre company within the four-corner states, BTT conducts educational workshops, outreach programs and produces quality plays that reached over 25,000 participants this past fiscal year. Our participants are from many diverse socio-economic groups including inner city neighborhods, the Valley at large as well as communinties throughout the State of Arizona.      

In addition to enhancing the cultural and artistic awareness in the Valley by producing plays and musicals that illuminate the African-American experience and culture, The Black Theatre Troupe also provides training, employment and a performance outlet for artists who have even fewer artistic opportunities for employment in other companies. 

Our mission of educating and entertaining a diverse community, while providing particular exposure to black culture and ideology is vital to the Phoenix area.   We believe it is imperative that such work continues to be presented to the increasingly diverse citizenry of the Valley.

The Black Theatre Troupe, Inc. has provided training, employment and performance opportunities for multi-ethnic and underserved artists since 1970.  BTT promotes excellence in the performing arts with an emphasis on people of color, produces quality plays reflecting the African-American experience and helps to illuminate the culture to the Phoenix Metropolitan area.  The intern could enhance our purpose and mission to educate, enlighten and entertain a diverse, multicultural audience and assist us in providing exposure to the Black culture and ideology. This intern regardless of their ethnicity would help us to promote cultural understanding throughout the community and serve as an important cultural bridge between races and ethnicities. The intern will also help us to continue to learn new ways to show the universal nature of various cultures and their stories. In addition this internship would help BTT .to successfully continue to achieve our goal of building and diversifying our audience base from both within and outside the African-American community by identifying and learning new methods of highlighting the universal themes of our ethnically based productions.