The Young People's Theatre Project is made up of teachers, actors, directors, writers, and technicians who have all benefited from opportunities in educational theatre ... and who want to share their experience with as many people as possible.

The Young People's Theatre Project is made up of young people, who have "graduated" through the various Project programs, and are now returning to both gain and share new experiences by working as volunteers or staff members.

The Young People's Theatre Project is indeed an ever-expanding community of young people of all ages as we expand our work to include participants as young as 6 or 7 and as old as 67.

And when you get involved -- whether on stage, behind the scenes, in the audience, or from a distance -- The Young People's Theatre Project is you.

Founded by Jeff Hall in Denver in 1987, The Young People's Theatre Project has always had a central goal of finding unique and effective ways to introduce theatre artists and arts opportunities to young people.  When Jeff began accepting opportunities to work with other organizations, The Project was put on hold.  In 1991, however, he and his wife Koleen (and their 10-month-old daughter) made Portland their home, with the aim of reinventing ways The Project could fulfill its central mission.

Highlights from the last 15 years include FROM THE PAGE TO THE STAGE residencies in communities throughout the Northwest United States and Guam; FINDING THE TRAIL performances for nearly every elementary school in Northwest Oregon and Southwest Washington (celebrating the 150th anniversary of the Oregon Trail); WHERE IN THE ZOO IS CARMEN SANDIEGO? with Oregon Zoo; and the development of the FROM THE MAGIC PEN assembly programs, promoting creative writing and literacy to students from coast to coast across the US.

For a time, The Project conducted after-school and summer classes in a leased studio space. It quickly became apparent, however, that taking the artists to young people provided far greater economical opportunity than getting young people to come to the artists, and The Project's sole focus on partnerships was born.  By joining forces with public and private schools, parks and recreation programs, community arts centers, and a host of other organizations, The Project's resources were soon in high demand.

In 1998, The Project partnered with Camp Caldera to provide theatre artists for a new program at Blue Lake near Sisters.  The following year, The Young People's Theatre Project Performing Arts Camp was begun, with 30 selected middle and high school students attending a two-week session at Caldera, and returning to Portland to join a Children's Chorus, Junior Ensemble, and Tech Theatre crew to present the musical CHILDREN OF EDEN. This program represented a partnership with Caldera as well as Jesuit High School, where Jeff had become a part-time faculty member in 1991 (when Jeff was asked to increase his teaching load in 1992, he recommended that JHS hire Elaine Kloser -- who was then touring with The Project -- to share the Drama Director position).

The Performing Arts Camp quickly became The Project's primary focus, and today draws far more interest than can be accommodated through existing programming.  Children's Chorus and Junior Ensemble sessions fill quickly, and more students audition for the overnight camp than can be invited to participate.  The Project brings Caldera's largest camper population to the facility (nearly 50), and participants come from throughout the Portland area and beyond.  The Senior Campers at Caldera in 2005 represented more than 25 area schools.  Several of these students meet weekly throughout the year as a part of The Project's school-year Core Group.

In January 2005, The Project received funding to hire an Office Manager, as a next step in moving the company beyond the "artists collective" it had become, and into a more organizational operation.  Driven by its mission to serve an ever-expanding community, the decision was made to take resources from its dynamic past and build on its solid successes to develop three new "growth projects," keeping accessibility as a central concern.

Project Office Manager Joy Corgain works in a donated office space to facilitate The Project's existing Performing Arts Camp and Core Group programs, as well as the three "growth projects" which are already underway.  They include ProLog (Production Logistics) designed specifically to serve high school students and educators with technical resources to help keep their school drama programs viable and alive.  ProLog also works with other non-profit theatre groups in the Portland area, and its artists are in high demand.

For middle school students and educator, a second summer show has been added, specifically for 6th through 8th graders.  Each August, a small group of middle school students produce a show designed especially for them, in a two-week daycamp format.  Their production facilitates the creation of set pieces, props, and costumes, which are then made available to area middle school teachers, working to keep the arts alive for their students.  Schools have the choice of renting the sets and costumes, hiring Project artists to help with their production, or contracting The Project to do the whole thing in their school with their students.

Finally, in the years ahead, The Project hopes to reintroduce a new generation of elementary school students and educators to its FROM THE MAGIC PEN assembly programs, with the inaugural production in the series of five, FROM THE MAGIC PEN: TALES OF HANS CHRISTIAN ANDERSEN. The entire series of two-person, musical, audience-participation shows is centered on encouraging young people to discover the storyteller and writer within themselves, and each show comes complete with a host of activities for teachers to use in the classroom.

Since accessibility is a primary concern, new fundraising efforts have begun, and The Project is actively pursuing new funding sources as this exciting new phase of the company's development is entered.