As high school and college students nationwide attend commencement ceremonies, a different sort of graduation is taking place at the Lyric Opera of Chicago. The inaugural cohort of the Youth Opera Council is completing its tenure. This new initiative, championed by the Lyric Unlimited marketing campaign, invited 22 high school students from Chicago and its suburbs to cross the orchestra pit and learn about daily operations at the company.
In a bid to attract a generation raised on sound-bites and interactive content, offering visibility into the behind-the-scenes and fostering word-of-mouth enthusiasm among peers is an exciting new strategy. Participants network with Lyric staff and artists, attend dress rehearsals and performances, plan events, and more. The Lyric’s first cohort encountered opportunities to be envied by opera fans of all ages, including meeting stars such as Nathan Gunn, Isabel Leonard, and Joyce DiDonato.
This program follows the lead of other premiere Chicago theatre companies.
The Steppenwolf’s Young Adult Council annually engages a group of high school students for a similar array of artistic and professional events.
The Goodman Theatre offers more variations on the theme; its Cindy Bandle Young Critics program specifically targets girls in their junior year of high school who are interested in journalism and theatre criticism, and its General Theatre Studies program targets aspiring performers from the city of Chicago. Its Youth Arts Council serves as a selective capstone program for alumni of the other programs.
Although the application for the 2014-2015 season programs at the Lyric and the Steppenwolf have passed, interested students can monitor for future opportunities at each company’s website.
