Program areas at SPARC
Performing Arts training programs: sparc offers Performing Arts training classes, productions, and camps, featuring a graduated curriculum of classes for students aged pre-k through 12th grade. Classes include beginner level through pre-professional training in the fall, winter, and spring, focusing in acting, singing, and dance. Summer camps at sparc and at satellite locations offer popular half-day and full-day theatre camps for ages 4 to 18. Sparc produces fully mounted mainstage productions for advanced students. Productions are audition-based, with artistically rigorous rehearsal processes lasting five to 12 weeks. Production styles range from studio-style, actor-focused productions in sparc's black box theater to professional-level shows produced in large theaters in the area. Students also have opportunities to participate in technical theatre training, including set design and construction, lighting and sound design, costuming and props, and stage management.
Community programs: sparc has a strong and growing presence in the Richmond Community by way of classes, events, and touring performances. Stages is sparc's in-school Performing Arts education program offered at no charge in elementary schools in low-wealth neighborhoods throughout the region. Stages curriculum focuses on social-emotional learning and oral language skills, built through arts-based experiences. Creative youth development programs engage middle- and high-school students in arts-based experiences designed for social change. Through partnerships with organizations with expertise in specific causes, sparc fosters a safe environment and provides voice and agency for self-determination for the scope of the program. Current programs have been developed with students in Richmond's east end, and with a cohort of lgbtq+ teens and allies from across the Community. Sparc's touring ensembles give performers opportunities to perform at a wide variety of venues and public events, learning to adapt quickly to different performance environments. Performances range from musical revues to full musical theatre productions at street festivals, Community events, retirement and veterans facilities, and public venues.
Live art: sparc's unique program of Performing Arts education classes and major public performance experiences, inclusive of students with and without disabilities. Live art partners with 11 other Community organizations including nonprofits, public schools, private schools, and government agencies, who provide wide Community support, space for class meetings, and a network for identifying students for participation. Participating students include those with developmental disabilities, hearing and vision impairment, and typically developing students, learning together in inclusive and peer-supportive environments.
Other program services include special projects and artistic consulting as funding becomes available.