ABOUT
Queer Youth Theater offers queer and allied youth safe spaces to creatively express themselves while providing unique methods for representing and empowering queer voices in their community.
The Pride Youth Theater Alliance began as a cohort of directors, educators, and activists representing Queer Youth Theater (QYT) programs from across the U.S. and Canada. The alliance was officially founded in 2012 to collectively raise awareness and place institutional unity behind the work of individual QYT programs, the field at large, and the needs of communities where QYT groups exist. The PYTA Conference, an annual convening of leaders from the field, has become a defining component of PYTA’s programmatic activity.
MISSION
The Pride Youth Theater Alliance is a growing network that advances the practice of Queer Youth Theater by providing emerging and established leaders in the field with resources and opportunities to exchange, collaborate, and learn.
VISION
A world where all artistic, cultural, and human service organizations have sustainable, safe space for queer and allied youth.
PURPOSE
PYTA was formed to unite Queer Youth Theater directors whose programs were created as isolated responses to local pressures or interests. Today, this thriving alliance promotes successful models of Queer Youth Theater programming through financial support, pedagogical resources, and advocacy for artists, activists, youth, and educators.
VALUES
YOUTH VOICE
Youth voices are necessary for Queer Youth Theater leadership. We collaborate with youth to create opportunities for them to become advocates for themselves and leaders in their community.
LIBERATION
We work to dismantle oppression based on race, gender, age, and sexual orientation to achieve justice for intersectional queer identities.
QUEER
Reclaimed from its discriminatory roots, we use this radical self-identification to honor complexity and intersectionality within and beyond an LGBTQIA2S+ spectrum.
ARTISTIC EXPRESSION
We value artistic expression as a vehicle for youth to understand the complexities of personal identity, build community, and inspire meaningful systemic change.
COMMUNITY
The impact of our work is strengthened by sharing our skills, knowledge, and experience through creative partnerships in the network.