Youth Leadership Program
Encore’s leadership-development pathway. Young performers ages 14–18 step up to mentor fellow young artists while being mentored by experienced theater staff.
Program Overview
Young performers ages 14–18 step up to mentor fellow young artists while being mentored by experienced theater staff. Participants choose a specialized theater area for deep learning, collaborate on show design and staging, develop teaching and mentorship skills, and practice leadership in real production environments.
Program elements
- Choose specialized theater area for deep learning
- Collaborate on show design, structure, and staging
- Develop teaching and mentorship skills
- Learn creative design and production coordination
- Practice leadership in real production environments
Skills developed
- Leadership and responsibility
- Teaching and communication
- Creative problem-solving
- Production management
- Peer mentorship
Where Youth Leadership Plugs In
YLP participants commonly serve as:
- Camp counselors for the Camps program — the model explicitly relies on this.
- Cast leaders or peer mentors within Signature Shows and Show with a Pro productions.
- Assistant roles in production: see Assistant Stage Manager and Production Assistant for the formal production-side leadership pathway.
Where This Fits in the Education Programs
Youth Leadership Program runs alongside 0.0 - The Stages of Encore rather than within it. Many YLP participants are simultaneously cast members in Junior or Signature productions.
The sister program for technical theater is Youth in the Booth.
Related
- Camps — YLP participants serve as counselors here
- Youth in the Booth — sister program for technical theater
- Director of Education — typically owns the program
- Production Hierarchy — the SM/ASM/PA pathway YLP feeds into
- 0.0 - The Stages of Encore — the production pathway YLP supports
Status: Working · Portal: Public · Last reviewed: 2026-05-11 · Owner: Rhett