YOUTH PROGRAMS
We’re committed to training the next generation of theatre arts professionals and bringing arts education to students around the Bay Area through artistic workshops, tailored curriculum, performance opportunities, and apprenticeship programs.
We partner with schools to deliver engaging assemblies, presentations, discussions, and student-centered programming. To bring our team to your school, please reach out to aidaa@sfbatco.org—we’d love to collaborate with you.
Our current partners and programs:
Young Actors Lab / Mission Academy of Performing Arts @ Brava
Ida B Wells Continuation High School
San Francisco Waldorf High School
Scroll down to learn more.
Free Teen Acting Workshop: Acting Technique with Arti Ishak of Arab Spring
In this workshop, students will explore a kinesthetic method to learn lines and embody the words written on the page. The workshop will include fun on-your-feet acting exercises as students work with the dialogue from the play Arab Spring.
Date: June 27th
Time: 2:30 - 5:00pm
Location: Brava Theater Cabaret, 2781 24th Street, SF
Students will work on:
Faster memorization
Making a scene sound natural
Making the words on the page your own
For current High School students and 2026 High School graduates.
Arti Ishak (they/them) is a Chicago actor/writer/director whose work centers on Queer, Muslim, and multicultural stories. Select Credits TV: Southside (HBO); Dark Matter (Apple TV); Chicago Med (NBC). Theatre: Fantastic Super Great Nation Numero Uno, The Best Decision You’ve Ever Made (The Second City); Witch, Buried Child (Writers), Venus in Fur (Circle). Directing credits include short films Shukran Bas (Means of Productions), ba la (HF Productions), HALF (ZAXIE), and upcoming short Divorce Party. Arti is a senior instructor at Black Box Acting and Adjunct Professor at The Theatre School at DePaul. @artiishak www.artiishak.com
FREE Young Actors Lab (Spring 2026)
The Young Actors Lab is a FREE pre-professional Acting program for students of all experience levels. The Young Actors Lab is part of the Mission Academy of the Arts at the Brava Theater Center and programming is led by SFBATCO. Our Spring 2026 Production will be She Kills Monsters, written by Qui Nguyen, directed by Michelle Talgarow.
This free program serves students ages 13-18
January 21 to April 11 (Wednesdays and Thursdays) at Brava Theater Center, 2781 24th St, SF
Email aidaa@sfbatco.org with any questions
IDA B WELLS CONTINUATION HIGH SCHOOL PROGRAM
Program Title: Performance and Theater-making
Over 10 weeks, three teaching artists will work alongside in-school staff to engage students at Ida B. Wells Continuation High School in devising a 30-minute performance of original scenes and monologues. As the students write and rehearse their performance project, they will learn the basics of ensemble theater work, acting scene study, and dramatic writing skills. The theme of the student's project will be 'social media and identity.' The project will serve as an opportunity for students to learn about digital privacy, technology rights, and ethical questions currently debated in the technology field.
The project theme also aligns with the core topics brought up in a full production SFBATCO is producing that will run during the program called PRIVATE. The students will be invited to attend the show as part of their curriculum and will use excerpts of the script to practice scene work in class.