With support from the California Arts Council, Theatre Of Hearts/Youth First (TOHYF) will deliver high quality multidisciplinary standards-based programs during and after school, working with teenage boys and girls who are wards of the court at County Community Day Schools and Juvenile Camps and Halls where quality arts instruction is limited. The program culminates with a final Presentation open to select family, friends and community.
The Youth First Artist-In-Residence Program was initiated in 1992 to provide ongoing, high quality, standards-based, multidisciplinary arts education workshops for at-promise youth offered at Public and Chartered Schools, Community Day Schools and Community-Based sites in low- and moderate-income neighborhoods throughout Los Angeles County. TOHYF have served over 212,078 youth since 1992. Our residencies are long-term, providing youth with the continuity and ongoing mentoring that is critical for making a lasting impact in their lives. Each program is custom designed to fit the needs of the program site’s current curricula, community interests, cultural preferences, age range, and developmental needs of the youth being served, with due consideration given to administration goals, site requirements, budget, and schedule. AIR programs encompass the full scope of visual and performing arts as well as creative writing with instruction that aligns with the California’s Visual and Performing Arts, Common Core and Social Emotional Learning Framework Standards.

