YouthREACH

YouthREACH is a growing program for young people that covers acting, singing, dancing, musical theater, and theater technology. YouthREACH Kids Company rehearses shows full of acting, singing, and dancing while incorporating positive lessons through the theater arts, and every child gets a part with no experience or audition required. YouthREACH Teen Company includes detailed scene work, training in the show’s particular style of singing and dancing, and masterclasses in audition technique with visits from established stage artists.

• Ages: 8–18 years old
• Schedule: Kids Company workshops run for six days of rehearsals with a final Saturday performance, with sessions offered December 29, 2025 – January 2, 2026, and multiple one-week sessions between June 15 and July 25, 2026; Teen Company runs Friday, July 31 – Sunday, August 16, with rehearsals on weekdays and additional rehearsals, tech rehearsals, and a performance on specified August dates.
• Price: Kids Company costs $430 per student per workshop, with a refundable amount (minus a $25 processing fee) if written cancellation is received two weeks before the registered week and limited need-based scholarships available; Teen Company costs $1325 per student with a $50 audition fee due at registration that is applied to the fee if the teen is cast, refunded if not cast, and not refunded if the teen is cast and does not accept the role.

Kids Company instruction is provided by professional teaching artists, and space is limited to 35 students per workshop. YouthREACH Kids Company uses a tag-team approach to casting so every child gets a starring part as well as being in the ensemble, and cast members build confidence, flexibility, empathy, and uplift the strengths in others. Every teen in Teen Company gets a part based on their spring audition, and Teen Company shares the stage with Music Theater Works’ professional productions and performs on the same set as the mainstage show.

Music Theater Works, founded in 1980, is a resident professional not-for-profit music theater in Skokie, Illinois. Its mission is to present works for the musical stage, create a bridge for all audiences from classic works to the present day, develop the next generation of theater professionals and patrons, and engage the community in music, theater, and the arts. Creative collaborations with arts and community partners are a vital part of its artistic and social approach, and the organization is committed to inclusion and diversity in show selection, casting, creative teams, and community engagement. Music Theater Works states values that include caring about what aspect of the world is put on stage, being additive to the cultural landscape, supporting artists over time and through multiple projects, viewing music as a vital connection to its artistic image of theater, and recognizing that the art produced is not separable from the communities in which it exists.

Last updated May 24, 2026.