(HACKETTSTOWN, NJ) -- Centenary Stage Company's critically acclaimed Young Performers Workshop is now accepting new and returning applicants for the 2026 YPW Summer Musical Theatre Intensive. Designed to meet the needs of beginning, intermediate, and advanced performers ages 8 – 18, this 5-week musical theatre training intensive runs from July 6 through August 9 and culminates in the YPW Summer Festival of Shows. The deadline to register is July 1, 2026.
No experience is necessary. All new applicants must complete an interview with the program director prior to registering. For more information or to schedule an interview call the Centenary Stage Company box office at (908) 979 – 0900 or e-mail [email protected].
Led by Broadway, Film, and Television veteran Michael Blevins, the Centenary Stage Company Young Performers Workshop (YPW) is dedicated to the enrichment of young lives through theatre arts and serves as a greenhouse for cultivating the next generation of young theatre performers. The program is one of the few that offers formal training alongside production experience for young people. Career-minded individuals can prepare for the rigors of a professional career while all students, regardless of professional aspirations, benefit from the development of life-long skills such as discipline, confidence, empathy, communication, critical thinking, and creativity.
Once registered students participate in a classroom curriculum in the study of acting, voice/diction, singing, tap, and theatre dance each week, while allowing the flexibility to pursue additional areas of interest such as stage combat, theatrical make-up, radio production, monologue workshop, Shakespeare, improv technique, technical theatre, stage management, and box office, among other subjects. Elective classes are offered based on instructor availability. All instructors of Centenary Stage Company's YPW are experienced industry professionals.
Additionally, students have daily rehearsals, under the guidance and direction of theatre professionals culminating in full-scale musical productions presented to the public during the Summer Festival of Shows, which takes place during the last week of the program. All students are guaranteed a part in at least one production.
All new students are required to complete an interview with the program director prior to registering for admittance into the program. The initial interview will cover in detail commitment level, previous experience, applicant goals, and expectations. Parent questions and concerns will also be addressed. All students are accepted into the program. Auditions are held on the first day to determine skill level, allowing for the proper placement of students in appropriate class level by age grouping, as well as determine casting in productions.
Tuition for the Young Performers Workshop 2026 Summer Intensive is $600.00 for the first child and $550.00 for the second, with additional discounts available for larger families. A $75.00 non-refundable registration fee is due upon registering and will be applied toward tuition. Registration deadline is July 1, 2026.
For more information or to schedule an interview please contact the Centenary Stage Company Box Office at (908) 979 – 0900 or by e-mail at [email protected]. The Centenary Stage Company box office is open Monday through Friday from 1:00 – 5:00pm and is located in the Lackland Performing Arts Center at 715 Grand Ave. Hackettstown, NJ 07840.
The 2025-26 Season of Performing Arts events at the Centenary Stage Company is made possible through the generous support of the NJ State Council on the Arts, the Shubert Foundation, the Blanche and Irving Laurie Foundation, the Sandra Kupperman Foundation, the John and Margaret Post Foundation, The New Jersey Theatre Alliance, the CSC corporate sponsors, including Heath Village, Explore Warren, the Hackettstown Rotary Club and Centenary Stage Company members and supporters.
