HOUSTON — Theatre Under The Stars (TUTS) and Kinder High School for the Performing and Visual Arts (Kinder HSPVA) announced a new partnership today that will provide theatre students at Kinder HSPVA with a four-year comprehensive musical theatre education.
“As part of our commitment to strengthening arts education in Houston, we are glad to have the opportunity to work with Kinder HSPVA to provide the best training possible for their musical theatre students,” said Hillary Hart, TUTS Executive Director.
Beginning with the 2019/2020 academic year, TUTS Teaching Artists will collaborate with the Kinder HSPVA Theatre Department engaging students in a musical theatre curriculum developed specifically for this partnership that will include opportunities for masterclasses and workshops with renowned industry professionals, along with innovative studies throughout the course of their four years of study. HSPVA Friends, a nonprofit organization that provides support for young Houston artists and special projects at Kinder Kinder HSPVA, will provide assistance with funding for the partnership in continuation of their support of the arts programs on campus.
“Theatre Under The Stars has a long history with Kinder HSPVA, providing many students and alumni with the opportunity to work as professional artists in Houston. TUTS also awards a scholarship through the Tommy Tune Awards each year named for our school’s founder, Ruth Denney,” said Dr. R. Scott Allen, principal. “We are excited to see how this partnership continues to evolve in the coming years!”
The curriculum for the musical theatre program has been developed to guide each student through a comprehensive study of the art form from the history of musical theatre to rigorous training in the techniques of the craft over the course of their education. In addition to regular studies, students at Kinder HSPVA will have access to TUTS productions, and will attend the Spotlight Series to deepen their understanding of the art form.
“Peer-to-peer and peer-to-professional training is something TUTS prides itself on providing to our students. Now, it’s incredible to be able to offer even more students who are dedicated to the artform of musical theatre, the opportunity to study with Broadway professionals here in Houston,” said Dan Knechtges, TUTS Artistic Director.
THEATRE UNDER THE STARS (“TUTS”) – (Dan Knechtges, Artistic Director; Hillary J Hart, Executive Director) – was founded by Frank M. Young in 1968 and is Houston’s leading musical theatre company for performance, arts education and professional theatrical training; ranging from the classics to new work development. As a 501c3 performing arts organization, TUTS is dedicated to breaking down barriers to access by focusing on inclusivity, education, and community engagement through a commitment to artistic excellence, programs in the community, technique-based curriculum at the Humphreys School of Musical Theatre, and explorative, creative life-skills at The River Performing and Visual Arts Center. For more information, visit tuts.com.
About Kinder HSPVA
Kinder High School for the Performing and Visual Arts (HSPVA) evolved in 1971 from a realization that gifted young artists need highly specialized and rigorous training in the arts to be prepared for the intense competition they will meet in colleges, conservatories, and the professional arts world. Kinder HSPVA is fully accredited and offers the same academic curriculum and graduation requirements as all Houston ISD high schools; the major difference in the academic program is that they offer the added ingredient of correlating the arts with academics, rather than treating either as isolated disciplines. Students spend three hours every day in rigorous focused study in one art discipline with the balance of the day’s study in academics.
ABOUT HSPVA FRIENDS
HSPVA Friends is the nonprofit organization that provides support for the needs of Houston’s talented young artists at the renowned Kinder High School for the Performing and Visual Arts. The HSPVA Friends mission is to cultivate support for the school in order to enhance educational, professional, and artistic opportunities for current and future students of Kinder HSPVA. For more information, visit www.hspvafriends.org.