Yukon Theatre for Young People

Yukon Theatre for Young People (YTYP) provides live music, theatre, and musical theatre performance opportunities for Yukon young people ranging in age from 10-19.  Each year, our registered charity produces a full-length Broadway musical performed entirely by youth at the Yukon Arts Centre.  Our formula for success has been simple, we pair youth who are interested in the performing arts with skilled and experienced professional Yukon artists to produce nearly professional level performances.

In addition to our annual mainstage performance, Yukon Theatre for Young People supports healthy choices and mental wellness by offering a series of inclusive, substance-free events, and performance-based workshops which are free for young people to attend.  In the summer, YTYP works with The Heart of Riverdale to deliver a Youth Arts Incubator which provides positive, engaging, and creative theatre-making opportunities for older youth (15-20 years), designed to develop their arts-leadership, and mentorship skills, while also providing an opportunity for performance and community engagement to our young, emerging leadership team.

Yukon Theatre for Young People is led by a dedicated Board of Directors comprised of community members, theatre professionals, health care professionals, and educators.  The Board is advised by a Youth Steering Committee (14-18 years) who are elected at the Annual General Meeting of the organization and who serve for a term of one year.  YTYP is supported by dozens of volunteers who generously give their time to support YTYP’s vision and mandate, and is fortunate to have strong partnerships with several community arts organizations which are instrumental to their success.

In delivering our projects and programming, Yukon Theatre for Young People assembles a team of skilled arts professionals.  This team can vary depending on the nature of the project.  In addition to these established artists, YTYP builds a strong peer-to-peer mentorship model into the undertakings of the company.  The Youth Steering Committee, and other senior members of YTYP, take on leadership roles in the development and delivery of each project, event, workshop and production.  These young people help to establish a welcoming atmosphere where everyone is encouraged to be themselves and to seek out their true creative potential. 

Our programs are all free-of-charge for young people, and only require the signing of commitment letters to participate. Yukon Theatre for Young People is committed to ensuring that our programs remain inclusive and accessible for all.

 Our company uses youth performers in all of its presentations, and selects shows based on consultation with our youth steering committee.  Young people 13 to 18 (entering or currently in high school) are welcome to audition for any role, and anyone interested in joining the company will not be turned away, provided they sign a performance contract and meet the outlined expectations.

Not interested in being onstage?  We have excellent mentorship opportunities for youth who want to learn more about production.  Consider applying to our mentorship program (offered in conjunction with the Yukon Arts Centre), and learn the skills needed to work in lighting, audio, set design, prop building, costumes and more.