High School Theatre Festival

Building upon the success of our Teen One-Acts Festival, the Berkeley Rep School of Theatre produces an annual High School Theatre Festival, featuring short plays created from scratch through devised theatre techniques with professional teaching artists, performed on Berkeley Rep's Peet's stage.

The High School Theatre Festival is our way of investing in the next generation of artists and change-makers. This joyous event places emphasis on community building, celebration of student theatre creation, arts enrichment, and exposure to professional performance and creative development processes.

Each school selected for participation engages in a 9 to 10-week residency from January through March, where professional theatre artists facilitate the creation of an original play based on themes or issues chosen by students at each campus. Through this program, students build theatre-making skills, ensemble collaboration, and arts engagement strategies to cultivate community and speak to the greatest issues of our time.

In the spring, Berkeley Rep will welcome students and educators for a day of celebration and theatre. Students will gather to rehearse and workshop their plays before presenting a final showcase of their original theatrical works on Berkeley Rep's Peet's stage for invited guests. This final performance is FREE and open to the public, though RSVP is necessary for entry. 

2024 Participating Schools:

Oakland Technical High School

Hayward High School

Skyline High School

Contra Costa School of Performing Arts

Lead education funders

The Woodlawn Foundation

With additional funding provided by

The Miranda Lux Foundation

In-kind sponsors

Semifreddi’s
Picante