Bringing young people together to study and work in musical theatre, thereby promoting self-awareness, tolerance and racial harmony, has always been a basic tenet of our mission. Educational programs at Amas offer today's youth the opportunity to learn with seasoned professionals, who not only serve to educate, but act as important role models. Our unique programming offers critical life experience to inner-city youth, instilling poise, professional discipline, self-confidence and the desire to succeed.

The Rosetta LeNoire Musical Theatre Academy

Amas' pre-professional musical performance and training program, enrolls up to 30 culturally and economically diverse young people between the ages of 14 and 20 in all-day classes and rehearsals Saturdays and some Sundays from October through May. Students study with professionals in acting, improvisation, singing, dance, creative writing and stagecraft. 85% of our students receive full or partial scholarships. The program concludes with a fully produced musical that runs for two-weeks in an Off-Off Broadway theatre. In the Academy Summer Intensive Program, classes take place on weekday evenings, and the program culminates in an Open House performance.

The Immigration Experience

The Immigration Experience, one of Amas' artists-in-school programs, is an innovative 16-week residency designed for New York City Public Schools. Incorporating theatre games, oral histories, interviews, field trips, research and creative writing activities, Amas' teaching artists collaborate with classroom teachers in helping students to acquire research, writing and performance skills that culminate in the creation of an original script. The students learn about the immigrant experience by taking oral histories, conducting interviews with their families, communities, and members of several senior and cultural centers throughout the city. The plays are presented at the end of the semester to the school and local community.

Urban Mythography

Urban Mythography is a program wherein elementary and middle grade students explore Native American, Asian and classical Western and European mythologies and heroic icons. They uncover the mythic themes that create our own culture and sense of self. Amas teaching artists deploy a variety of theatre-based techniques in which students discover and express their own contemporary vision of the heroic self, a kind of ?best practices? for life.  The program concludes with a dramatic presentation to the extended after school community. 

Lens on Live Theatre

Lens on Live Theatre is an educational outreach program providing middle and high-school students the opportunity to attend an Amas Musical Theatre Mainstage Production, while learning about the world of musical theatre. In four classroom workshops, the students get an in-depth look inside our mainstage productions including music and lyrics, choreography, design elements and scene study, as well as an introduction into what it takes to produce a musical. Amas teaching artists visit three classrooms a total of four times including a wrap up session following the performance. Our teaching artists work closely with classroom teachers, introducing their students to the many components of a professional Off-Broadway production, with specific focus on the unique elements of the Mainstage Production.

Collaborative Theatre and Creative Writing Residencies

Collaborative Theatre and Creative Writing Residencies are structured to allow for partnership between an Amas Musical Theatre Teaching Artist and the classroom teacher to create a residency that responds to and supports the student?s curriculum.  The students will work toward developing a creative means to explore, respond to, and express their ideas about the chosen subject matter.