Igniting creativity in everyday spaces! Through partnerships with youth-serving organizations, GREAT Theatre’s Drama Workshops meet children where they are—embedded within after-school and summer programs that families already trust and access.

By bringing theatre directly into community spaces and offering programming at no cost, Drama Workshops remove common barriers to arts participation, including transportation, registration fees, and limited access to enrichment opportunities. This approach ensures more children, particularly those from underserved communities, can experience the benefits of arts education.

Students engage in hands-on theatre experiences that build storytelling, character development, improvisation, creative movement, collaboration, and performance skills. Through repeated visits to partner sites, workshops build on previous lessons, allowing students to deepen their understanding of theatre while strengthening relationships with teaching artists and peers.

Thanks to generous gifts from GREAT’s annual donors and grant support, more than 500 youth experienced the joy and growth of theatre, all at no cost to their families or community partners.

This activity is made possible by the voters of Minnesota through grants from the Minnesota State Arts Board and Central Minnesota Arts Board, thanks to a legislative appropriation from the arts and cultural heritage fund.