The Orpheum Theatre

The Orpheum’s annual High School Musical Theatre Awards (HSTMAs) recognizes achievements in all areas of high school musical theatre. The ceremony is modeled after the Tony Awards and is part of the National High School Musical Theatre Awards which includes 30 programs across the country. Participants include as many as 36 schools across three states, and over 250 students will perform on the historic Orpheum stage during the ceremony. The Best Actor and Best Actress winners move on to compete at the national level in New York City. The HSTMAs bring students together over a common love of the performing arts and encourage them to celebrate each other’s creative successes. The HSTMAs take place at the Orpheum Theatre.

In partnership with Shelby County Schools, Arts Integrated Teacher Training invites teachers to be coached by Kennedy Center teaching artists in the methods and execution of arts integration in the classroom through 6 to 7 workshops as well as a week-long Summer Institute.

From June through July, the Orpheum offers a broad range of week-long camps that work to introduce students to the stage and enhance their creative skills. Programs include Rising Stars Camp (grades 4-6), Junior Broadway Boot Camp (grades 7-9), Senior Broadway Boot Camp (grades 10-12), Musical Theatre Intensive (for students serious about pursuing a career in musical theatre), and Technical Theatre Intensive (for students interested in pursuing a career in technical theatre). Rising Star and Broadway Boot Camps culminate in a program that the students write, direct, and perform. Through the generosity of its donors and sponsors, the Orpheum is able to offer scholarships to students and families who need financial assistance.

Mending Hearts Camp (MHC) welcomes students entering grades 3-8 who have experienced the death of one or both parents. Surrounded by a community of peers who have experienced a similar loss, campers explore their creativity through acting, singing, dance, and design classes, giving them the ability to express themselves and build self-confidence as they collaborate to create a culminating showcase. Professional healing counselors provide support and lead group sessions throughout the two-weeks. We also invite three to four adults who lost a parent as a child to share their story, exposing campers to people who survived trauma similar to theirs and giving them hope for the future. In summer 2019, OTG expanded the program, offering two 2-week sessions, one for students entering 3rd-5th grade and the second for those entering 6th-8th, reaching nearly 100 campers throughout the summer.

ACTs of Engagement (ACTs) is an umbrella program for projects that engage students and members of the community in collaborative, creative art making and storytelling. ACTs have included Listen Up!, From Where I Stand, and History Around Memphis Poetry Slam. Listen Up! is a collaboration between OTG, the National Coalition of 100 Black Women, the Butterfly Effect Mentorship Program, Douglass High School, and Memphis Academy of Health Sciences High School that creates and records an original storytelling documentary, digitally encapsulating the experiences of the program participants. Students participate in every aspect of filmmaking, exposing them not only to the process of devising and writing, but also to the technology-based part of the process that they are not likely to have access to outside of the program.

The Listen Up! LEGACY2 film follows the journey of young Memphians as they define and shape their individual legacies – addressing themes of family, traditions, and values. The Listen Up! IMPACT film follows the journey of several Memphis-based mentoring programs as they discover the rippling impact of serving others. The program culminates in a presentation of the film they create followed by a community reflection, giving the audience an opportunity to have a dialogue with the student creators about their work and stories.

From Where I Stand (FWIS) is a theatrical storytelling initiative that invites students from around Memphis to share their stories in a collaborative group performance centered around a theme. Students work with Orpheum staff and teaching artists to create an original piece over the course of three months, culminating in a performance for the community, followed by a reflection. In 2019, OTG partnered with Cazateatro Bilingual Theatre Group, Facing History and Ourselves, Refugee Empowerment Program, Stax Music Academy, and Shelby County Schools for the inaugural FWIS initiative.

The Teaching Artist Training Program seeks to train local artists and educators to leverage their artistic practice in creating high-quality instruction and facilitation for youth and communities throughout the Mid-South. OTG cultivates an annual cohort of trained teaching artists made up of passionate, energized, disciplined, collaborative, and open-minded artists who represent diverse cultural backgrounds, communities, and artistic disciplines in theatre, music, design, and movement.

With the goal of elevating the standard for teaching artistry in the region, the program aims to equip local, regional, and national artists with the skills to formulate sustainable careers as teaching artists while continuing to enrich the artistic landscape of the cities they choose to reside in. In addition to participating in all mandatory training sessions, participants have required readings, lesson plan drafting assignments, and participate in a sample lesson for evaluation. Mentorship, coaching, and professional development in both artistic practice and pedagogy are ongoing (as available).

Classroom Connections bridges core curriculum with Orpheum Theatre Group’s Student Matinee Series through high-quality arts-integrated instruction and engagement. Orpheum Theatre Group will send teaching artists into K-8 classrooms to facilitate THREE one-hour workshops prior to student matinee series performances. These interactive workshops will use state and national standards in the arts and academic subject areas to create meaningful connections to curriculum and deepen the impact of live arts experiences on students. By integrating math, social studies, language arts, and science with specific performances, students will deepen connections between academic curriculum, artistic disciplines, and student matinee performances.