FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Kids Who Care Musical Theatre 2010-2011 Resident Company Selected
61 Youth from Metroplex to Tour “District XI – Believe in Me!” and “In the Zone”
FORT WORTH, TX – September 1, 2010 – Kids Who Care, a non-profit international musical theatre company based in Fort Worth since 1989, today announced that it has selected its 2010-2011 Resident Company and will tour work from two original musicals this season. The audition company of youth performers will train and tour together now through May, 2011, presenting its newest original musical, In the Zone, and the acclaimed District XI - Believe in Me!, inspired by the popular YouTube video of 10-year old Dalton Sherman’s convocation speech to Dallas ISD teachers and staff, imploring them to believe in themselves and their students.
Theatre Jones critic Cathy O’Neal says of Kids Who Care in a review of District XI – Believe in Me!, “Whatever you might think about children’s theater or children performing, watching a Kids Who Care production puts all those preconceived notions aside.”
Set in the halls and classrooms of elementary, middle and high schools, District XI - Believe in Me! is a fun, timeless look at school. It also celebrates the teachers who are changing the world and shines a light on our schools, reminding us that, together, we can build the education system our children need.
In the Zone is an original musical that takes us through the gutsy, nerve-wracking and often hilarious process of auditioning for a theatre production. It begins with a child on a swing, singing out loud and swinging high with sheer joy. The scene quickly transforms to a diverse cast of characters, including the child as an adolescent, waiting in line to audition. The show then journeys with the characters through the audition process and back to that moment, high and free in the swing, when it all comes together and the courage to step up and try is met by the steel guts it takes to make it all happen.
This season’s Resident Company is made up of 61 youth performers. The Kids Who Care Resident Company is an audition company of children, ranging in age from six to 18. The kids and teens in the 2010-2011 Resident Company come from all over Fort Worth and its surrounding areas, including: Aledo, Arlington, Benbrook, Burleson, Colleyville, Granbury, Grapevine, Mansfield, Richland Hills, Saginaw, Southlake, Weatherford and White Settlement.
“Being a member of a resident company allows an artist to develop a creative family,” said Deborah Jung, founding and executive director of Kids Who Care. “It is a luxury to live within a cast dedicated to performing and studying together year-round. With Kids Who Care, some actors are with us for a full year and some throughout their childhood. Either way, as a resident company, our work reflects the dedication of something larger than the individuals who choose to perform with us.”
Kids Who Care’s Resident Company trains year-round with a professional theatre staff and performs locally, nationally and internationally, September through May. The Resident Company typically performs anywhere from 40 to 70 times during a season, through a combination of full stage productions and half-hour touring shows. Past performance venues include Off-Broadway at the Lamb’s Theatre, both Disney’s, The Kennedy Center, the Walter Reed Army Medical Center, at 30,000 feet aboard an airplane for the Make-A-Wish Foundation and at many regional stages in Texas.
Each year, the youth Resident Company also travels in March for a spring tour that includes performances, community outreach, cultural exchange and arts education. Past tours have included New York City, Los Angeles, Italy, Germany, Washington D.C., Boston, Chicago, Orlando and Nashville.
About Kids Who Care
Founded in 1989, Kids Who Care is a non-profit international theatre company based in Fort Worth, Texas that seeks to produce confident and creative kids through leadership, musical theatre education and performance. Kids Who Care offers professional musical theatre classes, leadership training, summer musical theatre camps, international cultural exchanges, a touring Resident Company, public performances and more. The Kids Who Care Resident Company has performed Off-Broadway at the Lamb’s Theatre, at both Disney’s, at The Kennedy Center, at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center, at 30,000 feet aboard an airplane for the Make-A-Wish Foundation and at many other locations across the U.S. and overseas. The core values of the organization include: excellence in artistic development, artistic integrity of kids, leadership roles for kids, financial and cultural diversity and ensemble production. For more information, please visit www.kidswhocare.org.
Media Contact:
Kelly Kirkendoll
Shafer Communications for Kids Who Care
817.236.6075
kelly@shafercommunications.com
