The purpose of the Publick Theatre's Young Company is to immerse interested teenagers in the rigors of classical outdoor theatre performance. 

The program is intended to integrate young aspiring actors into a working professional company to allow them to experience first-hand what it takes to be a professional actor.

Founded in 2001 by the theatre's Artistic Director, Diego Arciniegas, the Young Company is a classical Shakespeare training program for teens.  "I founded the Young Company, says Arciniegas, because when I was a teenager I knew I wanted to be a theatre artist but didn't know how to go about it."  Through mentorship, apprenticeship and performance, the Young Company is trained by professional actors and educators from the Main Stage Company on a professional and fully-equipped stage.

Students are taught by members of the professional company, observing, emulating and understudying their own teachers, in some cases in the very roles in which they are receiving instruction. Students are permitted on certain occasions to follow their professional counterparts back stage during a main stage performance.

The Young Company Program

This is a goal-oriented arts program with an active urban outreach policy intended to make the next generation of Greater Boston actors more demographically representative of the region. 

The Young Company's strategy is to create linkage with existing performing arts groups in the Boston Schools and neighborhoods, thereby providing a next step for the most promising young actors and performing arts technicians. By building on, rather than duplicating, the work of existing programs, The Publick Theatre can bridge the gap between school and community programs and performing arts organizations, as well as furthering its own artistic goals. As such, it can foster a sense of professionalism and career possibilities for youngsters who otherwise may lack such role models, while simultaneously developing a diverse and well-trained community of theatre artists for tomorrow.

The foundation of our program is comprised of three building blocks: Mentorship, Apprenticeship and Performance. 

Mentorship

You will participate in workshops conducted by professional actors who have worked on the Publick Theatre mainstage.  Past workshops have included: stage combat, clowning, action theatre and movement, improvisation, skill oriented exercises, warm-ups, body work and text work.

Apprenticeship

You will have the opportunity to work closely with professional company members and shadow adult counterparts during the main stage performances.

Performance

You will perform on the Publick Theatre mainstage using the props, lights and sets of the professional company and will learn frm and perform with members of the adult company.

Young Company Technical Apprenticeship Program
Similar to the acting component of the Young Company, the Technical Apprenticeship Program pairs teenagers intersted in lighting design, set design, costume design, stage managment, house management and theatre business management with their professional counterparts for the purpose of creating a learning experience through mentorship and example. 

The Young Company, in conjunction with the Shakespeare Workshop is intended, over time, to feed into the Mainstage Company. Ostensibly a promising teenager could move from the Young Company into the Shakespeare Workshop, onto the Mainstage, gain entry into the actor's union (Actor's Equity Association) and emerge a working professional, competitive in any region or market.

The model is not intended to be a degree program but rather a hands on means by which aspiring performers may acquire the skills necessary for a career in this art. It is also designed to expose youngsters to the rigors of this discipline early in their education.  Should they choose another career path as a result of their experience, they will have gained an appreciation for the artistic process, and, hopefully, become the audiences and art supporters of tomorrow.