RISING STAR PROGRAM

The Rising Star Theatre Attendance Program inspires a new generation of theatregoers by providing Bay Area high school students with a four play season subscription. As part of the TAP, students receive a pre-show lesson plan that includes theatre games/warm-ups, scene teasers and comprehension questions; the post-show lesson provides further enrichment with activities that draw on their experience as audience members.  Rising Stars also participate in an immediate post-show discussion with the cast and director. They then write a letter to their adult subscriber-sponsor describing their reactions to the performances.

Our Rising Star Program has served over 2000 students from 28 local high schools. Approximately 50% have no formal drama program at their schools, 75% are economically disadvantaged, and 90% are youth of color. In our recent end-of-the-season survey, 25% of students reported that they hadn’t seen a single play prior to attending a San Francisco Playhouse production, and another 50% had only seen one to two shows before participating in the Rising Star Program.

TESTIMONIALS AND LETTERS

Along with seeing the performances, Rising Stars get:

The Star Treatment

Rising Stars get some of the best arts exposure around, and at no cost to them or their schools:

• A pre-show lesson in the classroom
• A post-show talkback with the artists
• The chance to reflect in a letter to their sponsor

Join us at one of our Rising Star performances for a chance to meet your Rising Star and participate in a post-show talkback with the students and artists.

RISING STAR NIGHTS – 24/25 SEASON

Lindsay Sporleder (They/Them) is glad to be a part of this amazing family of artists here at San Francisco Playhouse as the Rising Star Program Coordinator. Serendipitously, they participated in the Rising Star Program while attending Abraham Lincoln High School over a decade ago. Delighted to come full-circle, they are thrilled to welcome the new generation of Rising Stars and share the joy of the arts. A San Francisco native, born and raised, Lindsay is passionate about community, equity, and fostering a safe space for and with disadvantaged and marginalized folx to create, learn, collaborate, support, uplift and empower one another.