R2P 101

Running to Places (R2P) is a youth community theatre company that brings together middle & high school students from across the area. We're in the business of youth development, helping raise our community's children and making excellent theatre in the process. As stated in our Mission Statement, “R2P is a youth theatre company, fostering a safe and supportive community which provides opportunities for the development of life skills to all interested youth through theatre.” Put another way, this is a place for you to come do theatre and make an artistic and social home for yourself if you like.

Is R2P committed to casting consciously? Does R2P value cultivating a diverse company in terms of race, ethnicity, gender expression, religious identity, ability, and celebrating each other onstage and off?

YES.

Click here for R2P’s Diversity Policy, adopted by our Board of Directors (Sept 2019)

YES! Once upon a time there was a fee for participation, but not anymore. Participation in R2P is entirely FREE! As an organization, we have dedicated ourselves to our founding principle of universal accessibility and torn down all financial barriers to entry – from the students onstage and off to our audiences who we welcome at no cost!

This is only possible thanks to our generous sponsors and donors. We depend on the generosity of our community – friends, families, and neighbors. If you can spare a few dollars per month, please become an R2Patron today.

Working in theatre will give you skills and experiences in areas that you’ll benefit from your whole life including:

* Self-confidence

* Self-expression

* Working under pressure with a deadline you can’t move

* Taking and assimilating direction quickly and gracefully

* Improvising when the unexpected (inevitably) happens

* Poise speaking in front of others

* Time management and self-discipline

* Valuing your contributions as an individual and to a team

Not to mention:

* Possibly making the best friends of your life

* Surrounding yourself with a supportive community that will celebrate you being you!

If you go on to pursue theatre, you’ll have training in acting, singing, dancing, plus an understanding of best-practices for the industry; if you are doing it just to have a lot of fun, you’ll get that, too!

First thing you have to do is just show up! Walking in the door to audition can seem scary at first, but we promise to be the friendliest people you’ll ever audition for. After that, you’ll need to show up as called for rehearsals and, of course, performances. We work fast – typically rehearsing a show in a lot less time than a typical school show. You’re expected to put in work on your own time memorizing lines, practicing dances, etc. We’ll make sure you have the tools you need to do all that, though.

If you’re looking to be onstage, it takes auditioning; if you’re interested in working on other aspects of the production, it just takes letting us know. We don’t cut anyone and there is no fee to participate. (Although we rely on the generosity of our community to sustain our work, so donations are gratefully accepted).

Definitely not. We work hard to make sure we use your valuable time well. That means only scheduling people to come to rehearsal when they’ll have something specific to rehearse. We ask you to check your calendars and be available for all rehearsals, as we can’t tell you when we begin what parts we’ll be rehearsing on which days. But as we go along, we build the schedule and will give you as much notice as possible exactly which times you will be called for which days. As you can imagine, juggling a few dozen cast members and their conflicts makes it tricky to build an efficient rehearsal schedule. This is why it’s very important to let us know about your conflicts ahead of time. (You’ll be asked to list them on the audition sign-up form.) We know that life happens and unexpected circumstances come up, but please let us know about things as soon as possible. In return, we promise not to make a habit out of wasting your time by scheduling you to show up for no reason.

You bet! You’ll have opportunities and invitations to help with sets, costumes, props, stage management, concessions, etc. You're not required to, but ask anyone who has – it’s a ton of fun, and you’ll learn a lot in the process! You can indicate areas of interest when you sign up to audition – but we always cast you first and then look at these areas of interest. If working on the production/tech side is your main thing, fill out the form below!