Support Arts Education
Through our three education programs, Vermont Young Playwrights, Public Square Plays, and Suitcase Stage, we serve 4,000 students, grades K-12, across Vermont. Each season our residencies and tours visit schools in Chittenden County and regularly travel to rural communities in Addison, Franklin, Washington, and Rutland Counties, the Northeast Kingdom, and the Upper Valley, with occasional runs as far south as Brattleboro and north to Coventry. Our audiences include elementary students encountering live theatre for the first time, middle and high school students exploring complex historical and civic themes, and teen writers developing original work alongside professional artists. We prioritize schools facing transportation barriers and rural schools with limited access to arts programs and experiences. By traveling to these schools rather than asking schools to travel to us, we make our standards-aligned arts education programs accessible to children and teens who might not otherwise be able to participate.
Our Education Programs
Vermont Young Playwrights
Our longest-running education initiative brings professional teaching artists into schools to guide students through the process of writing their own original plays. The program ends with a festival where selected plays are performed by professional actors. Over 13,500 students served across Vermont since 1995.
Public Square Plays
Launched in 2024, this program tours a professional production to middle and high schools statewide—from Burlington to Brattleboro—bringing live theatre directly to students, sparking meaningful dialogue, and fostering empathy. Over 2,500 students reached annually and growing.
Suitcase Stage
Our newest education program brings the joy of theatre and imagination directly to Vermont elementary students. These traveling productions set up quickly in a school cafetorium, library, gym, or theater and are designed to engage K–5 learners. We aim to reach 1,000 children during this inaugural year.
Scholarships and Subsidies
We are committed to breaking down financial barriers. Our goal is to offer full scholarships and partial subsidies to Title 1 and other schools in need, ensuring that all students have access to arts education.
Our longest-running education initiative brings professional teaching artists into schools to guide students through the process of writing their own original plays. The program ends with a festival where selected plays are performed by professional actors. Over 13,500 students served across Vermont since 1995.
Public Square Plays
Launched in 2024, this program tours a professional production to middle and high schools statewide—from Burlington to Brattleboro—bringing live theatre directly to students, sparking meaningful dialogue, and fostering empathy. Over 2,500 students reached annually and growing.
Suitcase Stage
Our newest education program brings the joy of theatre and imagination directly to Vermont elementary students. These traveling productions set up quickly in a school cafetorium, library, gym, or theater and are designed to engage K–5 learners. We aim to reach 1,000 children during this inaugural year.
Scholarships and Subsidies
We are committed to breaking down financial barriers. Our goal is to offer full scholarships and partial subsidies to Title 1 and other schools in need, ensuring that all students have access to arts education.
What it Costs
Running these programs costs Vermont Stage approximately $85,000 annually. Your support helps cover:
- Artist salaries and transportation costs
- Production expenses like sets, costumes, lighting and sound equipment, licensing fees, and space rentals
- Student scholarships
Set the Stage for Vermont’s Youth
A gift to our Arts Education programs underwrites costs like actor fees, travel expenses, and school scholarships. Donations enable Suitcase Stage to ignite the imaginations of elementary school students, Public Square Plays to create a forum for teen discourse, and Vermont Young Playwrights to support the expression of burgeoning young writers. These programs cost over $85,000 each year and school fees only cover half of these costs. If you can, please donate to these programs so we can say yes to every school that wants to participate.
