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Teching It to the Next Level

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Have you ever wondered what it takes to bring a stage production to life? In this exclusive interview, our Tech Theater Program Specialist, Nick Yocum, shares his insights on everything from coordinating lighting and sound to preparing youth apprentices for the big show. As the production manager of Alice & the New Wonderful, he’s intimately familiar with the challenges and rewards of working behind the scenes. So join us for this fascinating glimpse into the world of tech theater and see how our youth apprentices are stepping up to the plate!

Mosaic Youth Theatre of Detroit Presents the World Premiere of Alice & the New Wonderful

Mosaic Youth Theatre of Detroit Presents the World Premiere of Alice & the New Wonderful 1200 675 mosaic

DIA performance caps 30th anniversary year
Production Dates: MAY 13 at 7PM | MAY 14 at 4PM | MAY 20 at 7PM | May 21 at 4PM

DETROIT – (April 12, 2023) – Mosaic Youth Theatre of Detroit to put on final show of the season in culmination with 30th Anniversary season. Join us for Alice & The New Wonderful, a thrilling new adaptation by Idris Goodwin, featuring music by Mosaic Youth Theatre of Detroit. Goodwin is a multiple award-winning playwright, breakbeat poet, content creator and arts champion.

“After such a successful season filled with joy and traditions, we are thrilled to invite audiences of all ages to the Detroit Institute of Arts Film Theatre. After consecutive sold out shows in February, we are humbled to return for our final production of the year featuring our youth ensemble and Class of 2023 seniors,” shares DeLashea Strawder, Executive & Artistic Director. “I also want to extend my gratitude to our partners that helped make this production possible – Thank you to Gucci Changemakers, the DIA, and The National Endowment of the Arts.”

The show tells the story of Alice, a 12-year-old Black girl, who struggles to reintegrate into the real world following their unforgettable adventures in Wonderland. As she grapples with feelings of alienation from her family and friends, she sets off to find a NEW wonderland in her city.

Alice & the New Wonderful runs for two weekends at the Detroit Institute of Arts Film Theatre.

Tickets for in-person audiences are $25 for adults, $15 for seniors and $10 for youth 18 and under.

For show times and to purchase tickets, visit www.mosaicdetroit.org/events. For questions and additional information, please contact [email protected] or call 313.872.6910.

“With a stellar cast and jaw-dropping performances, this memorable production will be one for the books,” says Strawder.

The Mosaic Youth Theatre is Letting the Good Times Roll – Click on Detroit

The Mosaic Youth Theatre is Letting the Good Times Roll – Click on Detroit 1200 640 mosaic

Meet the talented youth of a local Detroit ensemble! – We can all agree that spaces of creativity are great to allow children to learn and grow, and one local ensemble, Mosaic Youth Theatre, is doing just that.

DeLashea Strawder is the executive and artistic director for Mosaic Youth Theatre. Strawder said “Mosaic really uses the arts as a tool to earn mentoring relationships with young people.” She added that the program helps, “…to holistically support them providing them with opportunities to connect to professional artists and mentors.”

For youth interested in joining the ensemble, Strawder said that auditions are every summer and fall, and that the ensemble offers “programming year-round.”

Mosaic Youth Theatre of Detroit to Receive Grant from the National Endowment for the Arts

Mosaic Youth Theatre of Detroit to Receive Grant from the National Endowment for the Arts 1200 900 mosaic

Mosaic Youth Theatre of Detroit is pleased to announce it has been approved by the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) to receive a Grants for Arts Projects award of $15,000. This grant will support our mission of empowering young people to maximize their potential through professional performing arts training. This grant is one of 1,251 Grants for Arts Projects awards totaling nearly $28.8 million that were announced by the NEA as part of its first round of fiscal year 2023 grants.

“The National Endowment for the Arts is proud to support arts projects in communities nationwide,” said NEA Chair Maria Rosario Jackson, PhD. “Projects such as this one with Mosaic Youth Theatre of Detroit strengthen arts and cultural ecosystems, provide equitable opportunities for arts participation and practice, and contribute to the health of our communities and our economy.”

Mosaic Youth Theatre of Detroit is one of Southeast Michigan’s most highly regarded cultural treasures. Our critically acclaimed student-driven performances and national and international tours have brought worldwide attention to Detroit as a center for arts and culture while shining a spotlight on the area’s talented young people and creating new and diverse audiences for the performing arts.

For more information on other projects included in the NEA’s grant announcement, visit arts.gov/news.

Upcoming dates for “12 Plays of Christmas” at the Mosaic Youth Theatre of Detroit – Fox 2

Upcoming dates for “12 Plays of Christmas” at the Mosaic Youth Theatre of Detroit – Fox 2 1200 800 mosaic

Mosaic awarded $25K State Grant for Empowering Youth Performing Arts

Mosaic awarded $25K State Grant for Empowering Youth Performing Arts 1200 959 mosaic

Mosaic Youth Theatre of Detroit has been awarded a grant of $25,000 from the State of Michigan Arts and Culture Council (MACC). The grant was awarded through the MACC peer review process and was one of 639 applications to compete for MACC fiscal year 2023 funding.

This grant helps Mosaic further its mission of empowering young people to maximize their potential through professional performing arts training. In the past year, the youth ensemble has entertained over 36,000 audience members, and every young artist at Mosaic has enrolled in a college or university after their high school graduation. This contribution from the state will allow us to continue transforming and inspiring the Detroit community with our creation of engaging theatrical and musical art.

As an organization receiving a MACC grant award, we are required to match those funds with other public and private dollars. This special honor would not have been possible without the support of our sponsors, including the Lewis Prize for Music, Neighborhood Opportunity Fund, Jacob Family Foundation, Gucci Changemakers, and the McGregor Fund.

Mosaic also wishes to thank Governor Whitmer, the MACC, and National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) for investing in our vision to cultivate excellence on and off the stage for Detroit-area youth.

Mosaic Youth Theatre of Detroit is one of Southeast Michigan’s most highly regarded cultural treasures. Our critically acclaimed student-driven performances and national and international tours have brought worldwide attention to Detroit as a center for arts and culture while shining a spotlight on the area’s talented young people and creating new and diverse audiences for the performing arts.

Founded by Rick Sperling in 1992 to address gaps in Metro Detroit arts education, Mosaic served 25 young artists in its inaugural year. Today, hundreds of youth from more than 50 Metro Detroit schools participate in Mosaic’s First, Second and Main Stage programs every year. These innovative programs provide expert training, mentoring and opportunity to the area’s young actors, singers, and stage technicians, while fostering a culture of high expectations, active participation and acceptance that serves them beyond the stage.

The MACC peer review process allows for each grant application to be competitively considered by a panel of in-state and out-of-state arts and culture professionals. This ensures the taxpayers, who support this project through legislative appropriations, and all other visitors or residents in Michigan will have access to the highest quality arts and cultural experiences.

A complete list of grant awards around the state is available by contacting MCACA at (517) 241-4011, or by visiting the MACC website at www.michigan.gov/arts.

Say “hello” to Crain’s Detroit newest 40 Under Forty class member!

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Our very own DeLashea Strawder has been nominated as a Crain’s Detroit 40 UNDER 40. Congratulations on a successful 2022 program year, job well done!

  • Engaged over 650 youth and young adults in transformative arts & leadership experiences in over 35 locations across 20 metro-Detroit communities
  • Increased arts access through the launch of pilot transportation program funded by The Lewis Prize for Music and the Dresner Foundation
  • Collaborated on global Transatlantic Tapestry album featuring Mosaic and Coventry Youth Exchange vocalists and musicians
  • 100% matriculation to college for Class of 2022 Mosaic graduates
  • 78% college persistence rate for Class of 2019 thru 2021 Mosaic graduates

Read more about DeLashea and this incredible honor here.

Mosaic Awarded the Gucci North America Changemakers Impact Fund

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Mosaic is thrilled to announce that we have been awarded the Gucci North America Changemakers Impact Fund! As a non-profit striving for social change through our diverse collection of performing arts programs, Mosaic will receive a $50,000 grant to create new programs and scale existing initiatives.

We are beyond grateful to be one of only 12 programs to receive this prestigious honor from a pool of over 200 applicants across the country. It’s a true honor to be recognized as a leading organization that uses its inclusive art to fight for personal and systemic change.

Gucci’s generous grant will allow Mosaic’s young artists to flourish in an environment that can fully realize their dreams. This unique opportunity allows our youth to engage in volunteer activities with Gucci employees, participate in town hall conversations with company leadership, and have a voice with the Gucci’s North America Brand and Cultural Engagement team. As a new member in the Changemakers Community, we will have the resources to truly empower the Detroit-area youth both on stage and in life.

To read more about this honor click HERE.

DeLashea Strawder Talks About Mosaic Youth Theatre of Detroit’s Latest Show, Mwindo

DeLashea Strawder Talks About Mosaic Youth Theatre of Detroit’s Latest Show, Mwindo 1200 800 mosaic

Check out this video from My TV 20 Detroit of our very own DeLashea talking about our latest show, Mwindo! Head to our events page for more information on tickets.

Nonprofit Core Values, Envisioned Futures, and Leading Forward, Featuring Delashea Strawder on The Nonprofit MBA Podcast

Nonprofit Core Values, Envisioned Futures, and Leading Forward, Featuring Delashea Strawder on The Nonprofit MBA Podcast 1200 800 mosaic

In today’s podcast, Delashea Strawder from Mosaic Youth Theater of Detroit and Stephen Halasnik from Financing Solutions, a leading provider of nonprofits financing in the form of a line of credit, discuss the importance of core values for nonprofits. Every nonprofit craving sustainable growth and progression should ensure that it has some guiding principles that undergird its decision to remain focused on its target goals. Nonprofits’ core values are road maps that facilitate the execution of nonprofits short and long-term projects.

Read an Executive Summary or Listen to the Podcast HERE: Nonprofit Core Values, Envisioned Futures, and Leading Forward

About Delashea Strawder from Mosaic Youth Theater of Detroit

A champion of arts and culture and its inherent ability to motivate, empower and mobilize, DeLashea Strawder celebrates every opportunity to inspire individuals and communities to embrace the arts as vehicles for positive change. She is the Executive & Artistic Director of the internationally acclaimed Mosaic Youth Theater of Detroit, a creative youth development organization that uses the arts to mentor, empower, and support youth to thrive. As an artist and arts administrator working at the intersection of education, arts & culture, and social justice Strawder knows firsthand how music and theater can foster engagement, transform communities, increase opportunity, and promote equity.

About Stephen Halasnik, The Nonprofit MBA Podcast, and Financing Solutions

Stephen Halasnik is the Cofounder of  Financing Solutions which is the leading provider of lines of credit for nonprofits and church financing. The credit line program for nonprofits & churches is fast, easy, inexpensive, and costs nothing to set up making it great when cash flow is temporarily down. Mr. Halasnik is also the host of the popular, The Nonprofit MBA Podcast. The podcast brings on experts to talk about fundraising, nonprofit grants, executive director leadership, nonprofit boards, and other important topics. You can learn more about the nonprofit line of credit program here or call 862-207-4118.