Junior Players
3630 Harry HinesDallasTX75219
214-526-4076214-526-0114

Program: Teatro del Barrio Year Started: 1992 Focus: Theater Youth Served: 400 Ages: 11-18 Budget:$33,000 Teatro del Barrio is the result of a collaboration between Junior Players and Dallas-area youth agencies. The program brings theater classes to youth in the city's gang prevention program, juvenile detention centers, Camp Fire Boys and Girls programs and in programs run by local social service agencies. Professional actors work with youth, 75 percent of whom are male, one or two times a week for 12 weeks after school on acting, scriptwriting and rehearsing. The program takes place at up to 10 sites each session, with each site running three consecutive sessions a year. The actors receive support from a professional familiar with the issues and conflicts that can arise when working with at-risk youth. "The youth have more self-confidence and feel more comfortable standing up and talking in public," says Executive Director Kirsten Brandt. "Hopefully this will carry through to their lives, such as at a job interview." The collaboration allows Junior Players to reach a greater number of at-risk youth.