MISSION STATEMENT:The mission of Running to Places is to provide young people with opportunities for theatrical performances in which they are the primary artists and technicians, to contribute to the artistic life of any community of which we may be a part, and to advance the artistic horizons and knowledge of young people in the theatrical arts.**********Running to Places Theatre Company (R2P) is a youth-based community theatre company that seeks to cultivate self-esteem, personal and collective responsibility, and creativity in young people. We build community by gathering a diverse group of young artists from across the county to collaborate on a full season of five theatrical productions. Created in 2007, R2P has staged forty productions with hundreds of students in grades 6-12, representing every school district in the county, including private and homeschooled students. They have served as theatre artists onstage and off, mentored by skilled professionals. Participants are treated with respect and are challenged by an intense rehearsal process. We provide them with instruction in acting, singing, dancing, and technical theatre to ensure they have the tools they need to meet those challenges successfully. They given mentorship and opportunities to practice invaluable life skills including striving for excellence as an individual while contributing to a group, taking and assimilating direction quickly and graciously, working well under pressure with deadlines that cannot move, exercising one’s body and creativity, establishing priorities, and problem solving. Our entire community benefits from the acquisition of such skills by our young people.While having participants go on to careers in theatre is an inevitable outcome given the remarkable pool of talent we have encountered over the years, it is not our ultimate goal. We feel successful when we see company members make friends with others they otherwise never would have had the chance to meet, when we see young people overcome personal obstacles to shine in their role, and when we see kids look to Running to Places as a community where they have a place to belong and grow. It is of paramount importance to us that every child can find a home at R2P and that no child is faced with a barrier to entry due to their family’s financial circumstances.As of this season, we have taken the step to eliminate any tuition requirement for participation. Put simply, kids now may participate in shows for free. We will continue to depend on donations from families, but now this will be entirely on a voluntary basis. This is part of a reaffirmation of our core founding principles, namely to have participation in R2P be free of any barriers to entry – both actual and perceived. We will achieve this shift through a combination of minimizing expenses and seeking community support.