Orlando Family Stage

Theatrical productions:orlando Family Stage typically presents several professional productions of Theatre for young audiences (tya), as well as youth productions, for general public and school audiences. Most productions are derived from children's literature, and involve extensive educational wrap-around activities to increase impact on children and families. In an average year, approximately 40,000 children experience Orlando Family Stage's productions through school field trips, and an additional 35,000 (est.) Public Family attendees attend weekend performances in Orlando Family Stage's three-theatre complex. When possible, enrichment programming around these performances include crafts, lobby activities, discussion-prompt questions related to the themes of the show, and an extensive resource guide for teachers and parents, with additional information and activities meeting state and national educational standards.

Theatre spaces & rentals:orlando Family Stage offers the rental of its spaces and production materials throughout the year to other organizations. The Theatre's three-theatre complex provides space for all of Orlando Family Stage's own activities as well as providing additional performance spaces for the Theatre ucf programs, tya mfa programming, and our community in general. The complex serves as a secondary classroom or laboratory for graduate students in the tya mfa program. Additionally, other community nonprofit organizations and school groups (international fringe festival of central Florida, ucp of central Florida, Orlando community church, etc.) Utilize the Theatre's spaces to continue their work in the local community. Patrons, local group or business meetings, seminars and workshops also make use of the rental spaces. The operation and maintenance of the Theatre spaces and production resources are essential to the success of not only Orlando Family Stage's programming, but also to those of the multiple tenant and beneficiary groups in the community that use these resources each year at reduced or at-cost rates.

Theatre education & outreach:orlando Family Stage's education and community engagement programming teaches life skills through Theatre skills, strengthening self-confidence, creative thinking, problem-solving, and collaboration in children in central Florida. Camps and classes serve children from infancy through 12th grade, reaching an average of 2,000 participants each year. Recently, we have further developed our early curriculum story drama programs to further support our schools by bringing arts integrated lessons to the classroom, helping foster creativity and social emotional learning in young people. Our community engagement programming has continued to work closely with community partners to benefit children's literacy and education, emotional/mental health, and creativity through a number of programs. The no empty bus field trip subsidy program provides free or discounted experiences to title 1 schools, and Orlando Family Stage's scholarship program awards $50,000+ annually to students demonstrating financial need to attend camps and classes. Engaged learning through the arts provides arts-based professional development for teachers of all grades, focusing on Theatre integration into their classrooms (of all subjects.) Arts and character training (act) works directly with community nonprofit partners such as united cerebral palsy, apopka hope community center, and the edgewood children's ranch to use Theatre for social justice and character-building with their constituents. Additionally, through its partnership with the university of central Florida (ucf), Orlando Family Stage houses the Theatre for young audiences mfa graduate program, one of only a handful in the nation, and the only tya program where graduates work in hands-on assistantships in a professional Theatre setting. This experience has primed many of the students for exceptional positions in other dominant young audience theatres across the country and several large performing arts venues including the kennedy center for performing arts, first Stage, and nashville children's Theatre.