East Valley Children’s Theatre!

Our statements of mission, vision, values, and strategy describe why we exist, who we are, what we do, and how we do it. These statements provide insight, offer motivation, and point the way forward as we seek to grow and achieve our goals in theatre and in life.

East Valley Children’s Theatre has been an artistic force in the East Valley for 26 years, through many unique theatrical programs for children of all ages.  East Valley Children’s Theatre provides a safe environment for children to gain self-esteem, explore creative outlets and grow and mature into community-minded young adults.

The Wild West Casino Gala was a Huge Success!

We had an exciting evening at our Wild West Casino Gala held on Saturday, April 22 at the I.D.E.A Museum in Mesa. The festivities began at 6:00 pm with photos by photographer Kelsey Wilkerson at our Step/Repeat backdrop. We were entered into a door prize drawing and were given a gold coin that could be exchanged for 100 casino chips from a casino dealer.

We enjoyed drinks at the no-host bar by Mesa Arts Center and guests mingled while enjoying country western music by DJ Briton Tarter. Inside, there were silent auction items lining the museum walls! 

Dinner from BobbyQ included Pulled Pork, Pulled Chicken, Cole Slaw, Mac and Cheese, Mixed Green Salad and Dessert. 

Lots of gambling at the Blackjack, Roulette, and Craps tables with Mobile Cactus Casino.  The jail was full all night long with lawless rabble rousers! 

All good things must come to an end, but the memories will last forever in pictures!  If you took pictures, please share them with Lisa at lisaolson@me.com.

Browse the Casino and the Event pictures.
You are welcome to download any of the pictures. 

Online Spring Fling Auction!

If you were unable to attend our in-person Wild West Casino Night fundraiser, you can still support EVCT in our Online Spring Fling Auction! First-time bidders will need to register with Bidding Owl. The Auction runs until Sunday April 30 Midnight! Use the green button below to connect to the Auction.

Thank You!

EVCT would like to honor and thank those who have donated and contributed to the work here at East Valley Children’s Theatre. We can only celebrate the accomplishments of the season with your generosity. We couldn’t do what we do without all our amazing volunteers, donors, sponsors, committee members, board members, teachers, and cast!  Thank you all!

Theatre for Kids, by Kids

Want to know more about getting your child involved at East Valley Children’s Theatre?

We are a professional quality community theatre where children can grow and develop into successful and fulfilled adults. We serve children ages 5 – 18, are managed by an all volunteer board of directors, and staffed by professionals having education, business, and theatrical experience.Kids can take acting classes, join troupes participate in acting camps and audition for performances.

Mesa Arts Center

East Valley Children’s Theatre main stage productions provide youth a forum for creating confidence, gaining self esteem, developing character, and life skills.  We are fortunate enough to perform our productions at the beautiful Mesa Arts Center located in the heart of downtown Mesa.

Learn more about AUDITIONS and how to get your child involved in East Valley Children’s Theatre.

A Parent’s Testimonial

What parents are saying about EVCT

Don’t take our word for it.  Watch a few of our testimonial videos from EVCT parents as they lend a little perspective about what they think of EVCT and how our programs have impacted their children.

Kids can take acting classes, join troupes participate in acting camps and audition for performances.

Hey Parents and Teachers, Looking for fun things to do?

Check out the EVCT Resources Page!

“OUR DAUGHTER HAS DEFINITELY EXPERIENCED A NEW AND DIFFERENT KIND OF CONFIDENCE THAT PLAYING SPORTS COULD NOT HAVE PROVIDED. AS A PARENT I HAVE OBSERVED THIS IN HER, AS WELL AS OTHER CHILDREN, IN THE PRODUCTIONS AND HAVE BEEN VERY IMPRESSED WITH THE LEADERSHIP AND PRODUCTION EFFORT PUT FORWARD BY EVCT.”

Craig B.

“EVCT HAS MADE AN EXTRAORDINARY IMPACT IN THE COMMUNITY. THEY HAVE ENRICHED THE LIVES OF ALL THE FAMILIES THAT HAVE BEEN TOUCHED BY THEM, THEY HAVE PRODUCED CONSISTENTLY HIGH-QUALITY PRODUCTIONS AND HAVE BEEN SUPPORTIVE GREAT FRIENDS TO THE ARTS.”

Randy V.

“ONE OF THE REASONS I KEEP COMING BACK TO EVCT IS BECAUSE OF THE GREAT PEOPLE THERE WHO SHARE THE SAME INTERESTS AS ME AND ACCEPT ME FOR WHO I AM. WHEN I FIRST PERFORMED ON THE MESA ARTS CENTER STAGE, I REALIZED I WANTED TO BE A PERFORMER AND SURROUND MYSELF WITH SUCH POSITIVE PEOPLE AND A GREAT ENVIRONMENT.”

Elizabeth S.

The Benefits of Theatre for Kids

Children’s theater is known to have many benefits—kids learn empathy, critical thinking and how to express themselves. Whether your child is acting, designing a set, or writing a production, he or she will learn how to work with others. Theatre for kids teaches that it’s ok to make mistakes, to try new things and it sparks their imaginations. Kids’ plays help children build lifelong values such as integrity, passion for excellence, respect, and teamwork.

East Valley Children’s Theatre and Culture

With the disappearance of arts in many schools, it’s important to find artistic outlets for kids outside of the classroom. East Valley Children’s Theatre exposes kids to many works of literature and gets them to ask questions and learn more about renowned authors and playwrights. With performances such as “A Little Princess” and “The Heroes of Olim” — a take on “The Heroes of Olympus” — getting your child involved with production or simply taking them to see shows will help them gain an understanding of famous works of literature and understand cultural references as they grow

Theatre in the Digital Era

With society increasingly relying on digital platforms for learning and communication, attention spans are getting shorter. In an era where short-term content is king, it’s important to find long-form live performances to assist with the development of attention spans—and it’s essential for kids’ growth. Watching kids’ plays helps build attention spans and allows students to see gaffes and mistakes in real-time, rather than highly-edited shows and movies on the internet and big screens. It also forces them to use their imaginations rather than relying on CGIs and special effects that are so common in movies.

Involving your kids in children’s theatre pushes their limits. Kids work for weeks or months at a time honing their craft, reading lines, building sets, using their imagination and critical-thinking skills for incorporating props, and getting into character for the final production. Theatre teaches them to keep striving toward the end goal—success doesn’t happen overnight.

Our Sponsors

Turnabout is fair play! Help us support our supporters!

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