Youth & School Programs
24/25 Youth & Family Programs Sponsors
The Gheens Foundation and LG&E & KU Foundation
Storytelling With a Purpose
Reaching approximately 20,000 people per year in schools, community centers and performance venues, Kentucky Opera’s youth and school programs extend the company’s civic impact by providing a relevant cultural service to educators, young people, and families. These programs are designed to provide powerful artistic experiences that resonate with children of diverse backgrounds, ethnicities, ages, and interests; engage transferrable learning and skills found within the arts; inspire creative expression and exploration for children, educators, and families; and utilize the arts as a powerful agent of change to build community with equity, compassion, and a place of belonging among people from all walks of life.
Bravo Time
PRESCHOOL – GRADE 2
This 30-minute storybook program for children in preschool through grade 2 and their caregivers fosters early literacy building blocks through the arts. Keeping playful exploration at the heart of learning, children will explore storybooks and storytelling with singing, dramatic play, musical creation, and creative expression. Classes are presented by professionally trained teaching artists. Bravo Time can also be adapted to fit the classroom at preschools, elementary schools & childcare centers across the city.
Youth Opera Project
AGES 8–18
Kentucky Opera’s Youth Opera Project engages young performers in its 10-month after school program. This program for ages 8-18 immerses students in a professional theatre environment with supportive professional teaching artists. Youth Opera Project participants will be cast in chorus roles, solo roles, and be offered other performing opportunities on Kentucky Opera’s mainstage and in the community throughout the season.
Opera Tag-Along
AGES 4-8
Families are welcome at the opera, too! Children ages 4-8 explore the opera on their terms while parents/guardians get to attend the mainstage performances at the Brown Theatre – without worrying about the wiggles. This fun, interactive afternoon with games, singing, crafts, and storytelling, offers your entire family an opportunity to engage with the same opera. Each session is led by Kentucky Opera’s professional teaching artists at the Kentucky Opera Center for Cultural Health – just 3 blocks from he Brown Theatre.
This program will only take place during shows at the Brown, on the 1st Sunday matinee.
Overture
GRADES 7–12
- Group workshops at the Opera Center for your class or group
- Group Costume Shop tours
- Final Dress Rehearsals
Customized experiences can be tailored to your youth group or classroom of 10 to 30 students.
GRADES K-5
Each year, Kentucky Opera tours schools with performances designed to delight the eyes, ears, and mind. Performed in classrooms, gyms, all-purpose rooms, and cafeterias throughout Kentucky and Southern Indiana, these shows are in English and selected specifically for ages K-5. Enhancement materials are shared in advance of each performance to support classroom teachers as they connect the performance to their classroom curriculum.
Financial Assistance Available
Kentucky Opera is committed to eliminating barriers to participation in the arts for everyone. Thanks to the support of our generous donors, Kentucky Opera welcomes anyone and everyone who wants to experience the power of opera, regardless of their financial situation. Each of our programs is offered at a lowered, subsidized cost, and additional financial assistance is always available.
For more information regarding Youth & School Programs please contact youthprograms@kyopera.org