Youth Ensemble of Atlanta

Youth Ensemble of Atlanta (YEA): History, Mission, and Fact Sheet

            Founded in 1990, the Youth Ensemble of Atlanta (YEA) is the Southeast’s premiere African American youth theatrical company. Comprised of more than 60 young people ages 9 to 23, this talented ensemble fuses the elements of music, dance, and drama to address social and political issues such as AIDS, racism, child abuse, teen pregnancy and sexuality, drugs, gun violence, and Apartheid. YEA members develop and perform dynamic original musical dramas that address these and other issues plaguing young people in their community. Through hours of work sessions, rehearsals, and performances, the members of this dedicated ensemble explore and express their feelings and concerns about the world within them and the world around them.

            YEA provides an atmosphere for tremendous personal growth and artistic development.  YEA members gain valuable performance training and experience as well as a strong sense of confidence, self-discipline, focus, and self-esteem.  YEA’s company-developed productions include “Rhymes and Reasons,” “Soweto! Soweto! Soweto! … A Township is Calling,” “School House Rocks,” “Times,” “Psalm 13,” “BLACK (Better Left a Colored Kid),” “Prey,” “Gumbo,” and “Jekonni’s Song.” All have been critically praised and enthusiastically received by local, national, and international audiences. Currently, YEA members are working on a new piece called "Lured" about the scourge of child sex trafficking; because it is a major global transportation hub, Atlanta is ground zero for human trafficking.

           The mission of YEA is to empower young people, through the performing arts, to become catalysts for positive change in their communities.  Nurturing the gifts of a talented young person as he or she becomes a professional artist and confident adult has always been a goal of YEA.  Along the way, YEA has produced many alumni who can be seen in films, on TV, and on Broadway and international stages, as well as several major recording artists. YEA is proud to say that because of our dedication to both the artistic and educational development of our members, we have a 100% high school graduation and college attendance rate!