YMTC+

From YMTC Producing Artistic Director Jennifer Boesing:

I have always thought of YMTC not just as a training ground for young artists but as a kind of home for working artists, actors, teachers, and directors to come back to.

The vision for YMTC + is to produce productions in which local professional actors– some YMTC teaching artists, some YMTC alumni– perform in a show and have our current students shadow them, or work alongside them. The students are involved in the process of a professional show from the ground up– watching, learning, under-studying (in the true sense of that word) — and then performing in their own invited dress rehearsal on the set.

Thanks to a generous producer and many enthusiastic sponsors who backed me on this vision, Next to Normal—our first YMTC+ professional production—was produced in the Spring of 2018. It was an amazing success on every level, and I am thrilled we are continuing the growth of this branch of our company.

From YMTC Resident Music Director David Möschler: 

One of the most rewarding aspects of being a teaching artist is seeing your students grow over time and take on bigger challenges during the course of their education. It is especially gratifying to then have the chance to work with them again as they continue their journey as professional artists.

YMTC+ gives us that exciting opportunity to explore the life cycle of the artist and work on ever-more challenging work, such as our upcoming production of Fun Home, alongside their mentors and current students.

OUR NEXT YMTC+ PRODUCTION!

This coming season, we are thrilled to embark on our 2nd YMTC+ production. YMTC+ will produce Fun Home by Jeanine Tesori and Lisa Kron, inspired by Alison Bechdel’s graphic novel of the same name. Jacob Basri, YMTC alum and rising star in the directing world, fresh off his MFA at the Yale School of Drama, will direct.

Fun Home will feature a cast of YMTC alumni, teaching artists, and local professionals, as well as current students – and a shadow cast of YMTC students who will understudy the professionals and receive their own rehearsal process.

Interested in becoming a producer for Fun Home? Watch our video below, created for our 2020 production of A Little Night Music (cancelled due to Covid-19) to find out more about producing for YMTC+!

Response to Next to Normal, our inaugural YMTC+ production

VIDEO:  The Shadow Cast from Next to Normal on working with director Susannah Martin

VIDEO:  Audience reactions to Next to Normal

“With ‘Next to Normal,’ YMTC adds depth to its program and repertoire.”
–Berkeleyside, May 4, 2018