The mission of Honolulu Theatre for Youth (HTY) is to produce professional theatre and drama education programs that make a difference in the lives of young people, families and educators in the State of Hawaii. HTY sees its 2 areas of work, PROFESSIONAL THEATRE and DRAMA EDUCATION as deeply entwined, and approaches its work with a unified vision. HTY is the only professional nonprofit theatre in the State and the largest independent provider of arts education in Hawaii. Honolulu Theatre for Youth is a theatre of place, deeply rooted in the cultures and people of the Pacific and dedicated to serving young people, families and educators across the Hawaiian Islands. Founded in 1955, HTY is one of the oldest professional Theatre for Young Audiences companies in the country and is recognized for its long history of innovative drama education programming and the creation of original theatrical works that celebrate the diverse cultures of Hawaii.

HTY’s goal is to provide all children in Hawaii with access to high quality live theatre and drama education experiences. We believe access to the arts is critical to providing all Hawaii students with a well-rounded education that will enable them to succeed in the classroom and in their daily lives. The objective of HTY's programs is to provide Hawaii children, families and educators with entry points and access to diverse multicultural voices and to be included in the important conversations facing our community.

Source: Nonprofit submitted responses

Goal One: PROFESSIONAL THEATRE for Young Audiences & DRAMA EDUCATION - HTY normally serves over 100,000 children, families and teachers on all 6 major Hawaiian Islands each year.

Goal Type: Grow, expand, scale or increase access to the existing programs and services.

Goal Two: DIGITAL THEATRE - We are committed to producing local virtual content for use either in classrooms or at home as part of distance learning to engage students and enrich their learning experiences.

Goal Type: New program(s) based on observed changes in needs among our constituencies/communities served.

Goal Three: BIPOC artists - Most of our HTY Actors are BIPOC and over the last 10 years HTY has made a concerted effort to hire more Native Hawaiian artists to support the full diversity of our islands.

Goal Type: This goal reflects our commitment to further our advocacy work for our organization and or cause area.

Describe an investment in leadership

In May 2021 HTY was one of the Keynote presenters for the TYA/USA Virtual Conference: Recharge, Recalibrate, Restart and Reimagine. Keynote: Embracing Ensemble in the TYA Model The Honolulu Theatre for Youth Company breaks down how their resident ensemble enhances the organization’s agility, creativity, diversity and productivity while saving resources and enhancing the company’s connection to local community and culture. Not only did HTY ensemble members present at the Keynote, all HTY Staff were invited to attend the conference.

This organization mobilizes for mission in the following ways:

• Strategic Partnerships

• Networks of Collective Impact Efforts

• Thought Leadership

• Raising Awareness

What are this organization’s external mobilizaton efforts?

Honolulu Theatre for Youth has established long term partnerships with a wide variety of government agencies, non-profits and corporations to create and deliver engaging, entertaining, educational productions for Hawaii students. One great example is GRINDS THE STORY OF FOOD IN HAWAII, H2O THE STORY OF WATER IN HAWAII, SHOCKA THE STORY OF ENERGY IN HAWAII, this series of 3 productions ran from 2014-2018. Each production focused on one of Hawaii’s resources and explored a variety of issues ranging from environmental sustainability to physical health. The 3 productions toured statewide and were seen by 88,720 people. Partners included: Hawaii State Department of Agriculture, multiple branches of the Department of Health, HMSA, Johnson Ohana Foundation, Kokua Hawaii Foundation, NOAA, Ulupono Initiative, Honolulu Board of Water Supply, Blue Planet Foundation, City & County of Honolulu Department of Environmental Services and Hawaiian Electric Companies.

This year was transformational for our organization. The inability to gather in person with our audience has forced us to completely re-define how we work. The need for our work sparking creative thought, expanding empathy, building cultural understanding and serving educators, children and families in Hawaii is greater now than at any moment in our history. We are so grateful that our resilient team of educators and creative artists have embraced the moment, expanding our creative toolbox and building entirely new pathways to deliver our services within Hawaii and abroad. HTY made a very quick pivot from producing live performances to creating digital content. By March 2020, we were producing weekly episodes of THE HI WAY, which is broadcast on Hawaii News Now Stations. The show was a direct “real time” response to the situation in Hawaii as it affected young people. We believe that local children deserve access to diverse multicultural voices and to be included in the important conversations facing our community. HTY is providing top quality local content for both teachers and parents to use. THE HI WAY TV broadcasts have received over 5 million views, nominated for 6 regional Emmy awards, and won 3 Emmy awards for the episodes Pono, Racism and DA HOLIDAYS. HTY’s Virtual Field Trip program has continued to provide Hawaii students with access to educational theatre. The Professional Development workshops for classroom teachers were conducted virtually and all courses were filled to capacity. Virtual delivery allowed many teachers to participate in classes taking place on another island. HTY has created an online resource library of short videos on Social/Emotional learning activities that teachers and parents can use with children. Over the past 2 year HTY has become very nimble and adapted to changing circumstances very quickly, so that we could continue to provide Hawaii students and families with exceptional locally relevant arts experiences.