General Information
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General Information |
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Express Children’s Theatre’s growth provides a context that illustrates the demand for quality children’s programming in Houston and beyond.
In the 1991-92 season, under the direction of founder Y.A. Bagersh, Express reached about 3,700 children with one play;
In the next season, five plays increased bookings by over 400%, reaching over 13,500 children;
Express has produced two plays at the Wortham Center, with great success, including Alice in Wonderland in 1995-96, and Arabian Nights in 1996-97.
In 1997-98, Express reached over 130,000 children with 320 performances;
During the 1999-2000 season, for the historic China Exchange Tour alone, over 9,000 children attended performances in Houston and Beijing.
In 2001-02, Express Children’s Theatre realized rapid growth in its educational programs. this past season, we taught 8 after-school programs, 2 Master Classes and numerous workshops.
Express has been a Company-in-Residence at Houston Community College Central Campus since 2002 and has been working with students, teaching master classes and workshops, rehearsing and performing on campus.
The 2003-2004 Season expanded to including a Storytelling Series. These interactive performances bring culturally diverse theatrical experiences to smaller venues.
In 2005 Express Children’s Theatre realized the culmination of a dream with the opening of its new 4,400 sq. ft facility at Northwest Mall. With the generous support of Northwest Mall, The Meadows Foundation and The Houston Endowment, Express completed construction of office space, classroom, production and storage space, as well as a 90 seat, fully equipped theatre.
Last season, in its sixteenth year, Express Theatre presented 226 performances, reaching over 48,000 children. Express has already touched more than 2 million young lives, bringing the magic and excitement of quality theatre directly to Houston’s children in their own schools, along with family performances and field trip opportunities at the Children’s Museum of Houston and Heinen Theatre, Houston Community College; special bookings for community centers, libraries, festivals and hospitals; and several free performances each year at Miller Outdoor Theatre.
Express Children’s Theatre offers performances and classes at its facility in Northwest Mall. Express offers weekend performances; workshops every Saturday and ongoing after-school programming and summer camp programs that culminate in performances on the Express stage.
Express Children’s Theatre creates and presents professional performing arts for children and their families, to honor the curiosity and complexity of young minds with innovative productions of high quality celebrating Houston’s diverse culture. Express Children’s Theatre recognizes the value of collaborations with other community, national, and international organizations, which expand the opportunities for creating theatre that not only entertains, but also educates and enlightens. Express productions are created and performed by some of Houston’s best theatre professionals.
Express has received three B. Iden Payne awards for children’s theatre, a cover story in Stage Directions magazine and was chosen to participate in the historic exchange program with Beijing Children’s Art Theatre. The combined productions played to over 9,000 children in Houston and Beijing. Express performed for over 12,000 children in East Texas during a week long tour sponsored by ArtsView Children's Theatre of Longview, Texas. Our successful collaboration with Illuminations Arts offers shadowed performances for audiences who are deaf or hard-of-hearing.
Board of Directors
Staff Major Contributors
Patricia A.
Silver, Executive Director
Tracey E. Wheat, Program Director
Alex Gardner, Production Manager
El Guillroy, Marketing Associate
Sarah Holeman, Marketing Associate
Marshi Young, Office Manager
Clay Ratcliff & Julia Becker, House Managers
Houston Arts Alliance
Miller Theatre Advisory Board
Texas Commission on the Arts
National Endowment for the Arts
The Meadows Foundation
Houston Endowment, Inc.
The Cullen Trust for the Performing Arts
The Brown Foundation
The Wortham Foundation
The Simmons Foundation
Scurlock Foundation
Albert and Ethel Herzstein Charitable Foundation
Ray C. Fish Foundation
William E. And Natoma Pyle Harvey Foundation
Kusum Family Foundation
KBR
JPMorgan Chase
Schwan Food Company
Wal-Mart Stores
Touch Tel Partners USA
AARC Environmental, Inc.
The Express Children’s Theatre Board of Directors
Express Children's Theatre
446 Northwest Mall
Houston, TX 77092
(713) 682-5044
Express Children's Theatre is Company-in-Residence at
Houston Community College Central Fine Arts Department
