Depot Theatre Academy, 4-H grow partnership with expansion of youth programming

WESTPORT | This June, the Depot Theatre Academy and Cornell Cooperative Extension of Essex County's 4-H program continue their growing partnership with two new opportunities designed to bring young people closer to the creative process, both onstage and behind the scenes. On Friday, June 12, following the evening performance of Hadestown: Teen Edition, the Depot Theatre will host a youth-focused Depot Dialogue, a post-show conversation created with area students in mind. The talkback will offer a chance to reflect on the performance, ask questions, and explore the themes and storytelling choices of the production in a setting that is welcoming, informal, and youth-centered. To support access, 4-H will sponsor a block of reduced-price tickets for Essex County youth, helping make the experience available to more students while creating a natural connection to 4-H programming throughout the year. "This partnership is about creating meaningful entry points for young people," said Elizabeth Lee, Executive Director at Cornell Cooperative Extension of Essex County. "Experiences like this don't just introduce students to the arts, they open the door to continued engagement, connection, and growth through 4-H." The following weekend, on Saturday, June 20, the Academy will host its next Theatre Pop-Up Workshop: Inside the Build: Set, Production, and Process at the Depot Theatre. Timed between productions of Hadestown: Teen Edition and Tick, Tick…Boom!, the two-hour workshop invites students into the working environment of a live theatre in transition. Participants will have the opportunity to observe scenic and production elements up close, engage with aspects of the build process where appropriate, and gain insight into how a professional production comes together. The workshop is designed to be hands-on, flexible, and grounded in real-time learning, offering students a chance to explore not only artistic roles but also the planning, coordination, and problem-solving that underpin every production. "Theatre is one of the few places where art, logistics, and people all collide at once," said Aaron Jodoin, the Depot Theatre's Artistic Director. "This partnership is about opening that world up and giving young people a way to step inside it, ask questions, and see where they might fit." These June programs build on the partnership launched earlier this year between the Depot Theatre Academy and 4-H, which focuses on communication, mentorship, and creative skill-building for Essex County youth through theatre-based experiences. Additional workshops and youth programs are planned throughout the summer. For more information or to register for upcoming workshops, email essex4h@cornell.edu or visit https://bit.ly/Depot4H.

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Depot Theatre Academy, 4-H grow partnership with expansion of youth programming

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