PYTCo and its impact on the community.

PYTCo’s mission since its conception has been to enhance the quality of life in our community by providing theater experiences and education to promote participation, appreciation, and understanding of the arts.

Over the past decade, PYTCo has partnered with our local schools and other local organizations to make art a staple in our community.

Our summer Theatre Camp alone has serviced over 500 youth at absolutely no enrollment cost to campers. We have also staged over 60 major productions in the community, elementary, middle, and high schools. With the Sampson Theatre, we expect to do even more.

Fostering arts education and ensuring we have access to community-driven arts for generations are two major driving forces behind PYTCo.

But why is it so important to our organization?

Because it not only helps to make our community better, but our youth become more well-rounded, well-prepared learners and leaders in our community!

Check out 6 reasons how arts education helps the youth in our community…

1. Arts Education Increases Student Engagement and Learning in Other Subjects

Arts education allows students the opportunity to demonstrate their skills through authentic performance by giving them a medium to connect new knowledge to personal experiences and express what they have learned to others. It is also hands-on and fosters collaboration.

A report by Americans for the Arts states that young people who participate regularly in the arts (three hours a day for three days a week) are four times more likely to be recognized for academic achievement, to participate in a math and science fair or to win an award for writing an essay or poem than children who do not participate.

2. Children Learn Positive Habits, Behaviors, and Attitudes

Learning a musical instrument, creating a painting, learning to dance, singing in a chorus, or acting in a play teaches students that taking small steps, being persistent, and being patient are important for their growth and improvement. Learning an artistic discipline helps young people develop character, and learn habits, behaviors, and attitudes that are necessary for success in any field.

3. Arts Enhance Creativity

Arts education develops creativity, one of the top five skills employers prize for the 21st century. According to Liberty Classical Academy, performing arts students show greater flexibility and adaptability in thinking than their peers.

4. Students Sharpen Critical Intellectual Skills

The arts teach young people about beauty, proportion, and grace. Students can examine conflict, power, emotion, and life itself. The power of the arts is in its wondrous ability to give us joy, help us understand tragedy, promote empathy and make the written word come alive.

Through the arts, children learn to observe, interpret, see different perspectives, analyze, and synthesize. In a world where people must frequently wade through a sea of information to determine which facts are trustworthy and relevant to a particular topic, critical thinking skills are key to lifelong learning.

5. The Arts Foster Teamwork

Artmaking allows students to experience what it feels like to be active members of a community and to work as a team to determine and achieve common goals. In developing a theatrical production, group performance, or any type of collaborative artistic endeavor, students practice the fine art of teamwork.

As they work together, they learn to understand differences and diversity and realize the ways that teamwork contributes to a great performance. In the arts, students learn to articulate their intentions, receive, and offer constructive criticism and listen actively to others’ ideas.

6. Arts Education Increases Leadership Skills

Students who participate in the arts develop leadership skills, including decision-making, strategy building, planning, and reflection. They also prepare to use these skills effectively by developing a strong sense of identity and confidence in their ability to affect the world around them in meaningful ways.

If you are interested in helping PYTCo revitalize the Sampson Theatre and bring even more arts education to our community, please donate today at https://www.pytco.org/donate.