Support Berkeley Rep > 40th Anniversary Campaign > Education & outreach

Education and outreach

investing in our next generation

Increase outreach staff for in-school programming

$1 million

With expanded outreach funds over a 10-year period, Berkeley Rep can employ one full-time outreach staff member who is entirely dedicated to working in the schools and one full-time administrator. At a time of diminishing state-funded arts curricula, these positions will play a key role in the expansion of programming for Bay Area schools. Our outreach staff will also train more teachers to independently integrate theatre into their curricula. In our first years of expanded outreach staff, we have more than doubled the number of schools we serve. Our investment in outreach will help enrich the lives of 200,000+ Bay Area children, including a substantial number of low-income youth, for a decade and beyond.

Purchase and equip School of Theatre facility

$2 million

The Nevo Education Center was opened in 2001 as the home for the Berkeley Rep School of Theatre, a vibrant creative center for the community. Since opening the School, Berkeley Rep’s arts education and outreach programs have flourished, offering hundreds of classes each season, and now serving 20,000 students and teachers. Housed to the east of Berkeley Rep’s Thrust Stage, the Berkeley Rep School of Theatre offers extensive resources, teacher training and educational opportunities for all ages.

Over the past six years the Nevo Education Center Building has been leased to Berkeley Rep. In 2009, our lease agreement expires, and Berkeley Rep seeks to purchase the School of Theatre. To accommodate the growing needs of our classes and active Teen Council programs, we are also transforming our largest classroom, “the Bakery,” into a performance space outfitted with lights, sound and basic props. This will be a showcase space for our acting classes, new lab-based seminars for teens in lighting and sound design and performance-based scene study classes for middle and high school students.

Keep theatre accessible for youth

$1 million

Building the next generation of theatregoers is paramount to Berkeley Rep’s long-term institutional health and to the future of live theatre. Recently, the Theatre has taken significant strides to build the next generation of audiences through targeted outreach, youth discount initiatives and low subscription prices. In an effort to diversify our School, Berkeley Rep will offer 100 youth scholarships per year. Berkeley Rep seeks to lead the country’s theatres through innovative programs to attract young audiences. Our under-30 ticket audience is growing exponentially, representing nearly 20% of our patron base. By removing economic barriers, we seek to create an environment where young people from diverse backgrounds exchange ideas and perspectives through theatre. By investing in these programs, we invest in the power of theatre to enrich academic learning, build arts appreciation and engage the next generation.

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To learn more about our education programs, click here to see our new education video.
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Students performing in the Berkeley Rep School of Theatre’s summer intensive program.

High-school students at the Theatre for a student matinee.

“It’s invaluable to have a trained professional and an involved educator meet with students. It allows my students contact to a wider world that I could not possibly give them. It makes students more aware and gives them a base for critical analysis. If they feel more comfortable, they will attend more art and create more.”
Sarah Samonsky,
Albany High Drama teacher