Every kid has a story worth telling.
81% of young people say the people in power don't really care what they have to say. That's not a coincidence, it's a result.
UNICEF USA / Harris Poll, 2024
Most teens have never been handed a real platform, just a hallway, a group chat, or a comment section. AMPLIFY is a youth empowerment program that starts from a different premise entirely: the most powerful thing a teenager can do on a stage is tell the truth, in their own words, about their own life.
It's not a workshop about theatre skills wrapped around a recital. It's a real creative process with real stakes: a script gets written, a show gets staged, and an audience shows up. Every participant leaves having done something concrete, co-created an original work that didn't exist before they made it.
For every participant
Original Scripts
Currently in session
Participants to date
FROM BLANK PAGE TO CURTAIN CALL
Every AMPLIFY production follows the same essential journey, starting with a given yearly theme and driven entirely by the voices in the room.
Before anything gets written, we build a community. Through theatre games, creative writing exercises, and ensemble practice, participants learn to be bold and creative around each other.
Led by a professional writing mentor, teens explore prompts, personal stories, and creative exercises to discover their themes. Scenes and characters emerge from their own voices.
Scenes are shaped into a cohesive original play through collaborative editing sessions, rehearsals, and ongoing writing work. The group makes creative decisions together.
Once the script is set, we cast the show with whoever wants to act in it, then full rehearsals begin: blocking, designing, and preparing for performance.
The original production is performed for the public: family, friends, community members. Participants take the stage with a show that is entirely theirs.
AMPLIFY PROGRAM GOALS
Empower Youth
Empower youth to develop and share authentic stories through collaborative theatre-making.
Hands-on Experience
Provide students with hands-on experience in writing, devising, revising, and performing original work.
Transferable Skills
Equip young artists with transferable skills including collaboration, adaptability, and self-expression that extend beyond the stage.
Community Engagement
Create meaningful opportunities for youth voice, artistic agency, and community engagement through original performance.
PAST PRODUCTIONS
Every AMPLIFY production is an original work, devised and written from scratch by that year's teen ensemble.
Internal Interrogations
A fully teen-devised piece confronting the criminal justice system, built from real research and community conversations.
Unraveling Wonderland
An exploration of mental health and the 'wonderlands' we create for ourselves, featuring two original songs.
U.F.O.
One conspiracy theorist races to prove humanity deserves a second chance. Equal parts comedy and heart.
Duo-ly Noted
Follow the Intergalactic Note Carriers, a duo delivering humanity's private thoughts across space and time.
The Wild Within
This year's ensemble is currently writing and devising their original production now. Auditions underway.
On To The Next...
We're actively expanding AMPLIFY into new communities. Bring this program to your school or organization.
VOICES FROM THE ENSEMBLE
"Your energy, enthusiasm, and encouragement helped him find his out-loud voice and who knew he was so funny!! The outcomes have been immeasurable. He has more confidence, new friendships, and new life skills."
"Creating a devised play is an experience like no other. You and your castmates build a story from the ground up, and it gives you a whole new perspective on the theatrical process. I'd recommend AMPLIFY to any student in a heartbeat."
"My favorite part of AMPLIFY was the community, the friendships I made motivated me as much as the writing itself... By the end, I could revise alongside my castmates and adapt my own work to fit theirs."
"The piece you created together was beautiful. It was witty and clever and humorous, and simultaneously thoughtful and insightful and brilliantly authentic. In a program that strives to serve teens, your work truly amplified their voices."
BRING AMPLIFY
TO YOUR LOCATION
AMPLIFY isn't tied to one building. We partner with schools, theatres, after-school programs, and youth organizations to bring this program directly to the communities that need it most.
Hosting AMPLIFY means your community gets a fully-staffed devised theatre program with professional teaching artists, full curriculum, and a public production at the end.
What You Provide
A space for rehearsal and a venue for performance, and help spreading the word! That's it, we bring the rest.
What We Provide
Professional writing and devising mentors, full curriculum, materials, and production support from page to stage.