1) Our Beliefs & Practice

Youthclusive believes everyone flourishes when everyone is included. Our mission centers on providing free, open-access performing arts experiences and education that promote participation, appreciation, and understanding of the arts for everyone in our community, not just some. We build a creative ecosystem where youth performers and youth production teams grow together, from the stage to the control room, so creativity, leadership, and teamwork are not just taught, they are lived. We train young people as performers, actors, singers, casting directors, writers, choreographers, producers, stage managers, directors, costume designers, media managers, script editors, lighting technicians, front and back of house staff, production assistants, and videographers, empowering skills that transfer to any educational or career path.

2) Community Need & Why Youthclusive

High quality youth arts opportunities in Santa Barbara County remain costly or selective for many families, and school programs can be constrained by budgets, limited roles, and audition gatekeeping. Youthclusive removes these barriers by offering free participation, open enrollment, and no waitlists. We accept every young person who shows up, then expand capacity to match demand, including open casting across all roles so anyone can be cast regardless of gender, ability, ethnicity, native language, or appearance, double casting of leads with a third lead understudy cast, larger ensembles, and added performance nights, ensuring stage time and leadership opportunities for all. Our shows celebrate the diversity of Santa Barbara, featuring stories and performers that reflect many languages, cultures, abilities, identities, and body types, which strengthens community understanding and belonging.

3) What Makes Youthclusive Unique

• Open access, free of charge, no waitlists, open casting across all roles, welcoming every youth who shows up.

• Youth-led company, young people serve as directors, music directors, stage managers, choreographers, designers, department leads, and performers, adults are on standby for safety, compliance, and mentorship while youth drive the boat and run the show.

• Dual pathway training, onstage performance and backstage leadership, preparing youth for arts careers and any team-based profession.

• Capacity that grows with demand, parallel rehearsals, two lead casts plus a third lead understudy cast, and additional performance nights, so opportunity keeps pace with interest, everyone gets a spotlight if desired and an opportunity to shine.

• Professional mentors, including differently abled mentors, who join in person and via Zoom, reaching from as far as Broadway.

4) Program Overview, Fall 2025 Season

In Fall 2025 Youthclusive will stage High School Musical with two casts of leads and a third lead understudy cast, open casting across all roles, an expanded ensemble, and four performance nights. We will run four tech nights for safety, quality, and youth-crew training. Rehearsals follow universal design for learning, with clear visuals, step-by-step processes, movement and quiet options, and multiple ways to participate across departments. Youth rotate through production disciplines, including stage management, lights and sound, costumes, marketing, and front of house, each guided by professional mentors, including differently abled artists and mentors Zooming in from Broadway. Participation is free, outreach and materials are bilingual, interpretation including ASL is available, transportation assistance and sensory-friendly adaptations reduce barriers.

5) Equity & Access Statement

Inclusivity is our superpower. In community, young people find a way, and our role is to equip them. Youthclusive Inc. is a non-profit, community based, youth founded, and youth led performing arts group making performing arts free and accessible to all youth in Santa Barbara County. This includes, but is not limited to, differences in race, ethnicity, national origin, gender, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, physical ability, mental ability, learning differences, religion, language, immigration status, age, family structure, body size and shape, and cultural background. We co-design access with participants, offering universal-design rehearsals, bilingual communication with interpretation including ASL, transportation help, and sensory-friendly adaptations. Costuming and norms are gender-affirming, youth voice guides pacing and roles. Adults remain available, youth lead, and in doing so young leaders remove barriers that adults have traditionally put in place. We do not waitlist, when interest grows, we add rooms, double cast, and add show nights, creating a Youthclusive community that receives welcoming and culturally responsive spaces and materials.

6) Youth Leadership & Workforce Development

Youth do more than serve as captains or crew leaders, they are the directors, music directors, stage managers, and choreographers. They set schedules and budgets, complete administration and communications, call rehearsals, make artistic decisions, run production meetings, and lead cue to cue and dress rehearsals, while adults remain on standby to ensure safety and compliance and to mentor. This structure reduces adult gatekeeping and implicit bias, opens roles to all identities, and develops collaboration, communication, time management, technical literacy, and public speaking. Mentors, including differently abled professionals and artists joining via Zoom from Santa Barbara, LA and even - Broadway, deepen training and industry exposure.

7) Community Benefit

Youthclusive expands countywide arts access for underserved and underrepresented youth by eliminating fees, language barriers, and role scarcity, and by removing the largest gatekeeper, economics. The Youthclusive community receives welcoming and culturally responsive spaces and materials. Our participants include gender diverse and gender expansive youth, disabled and non-disabled youth, neurodivergent youth, multilingual and immigrant youth, and youth who are economically disadvantaged or economically left out by four figure private program fees. Audiences encounter productions that mirror the community, encouraging appreciation across differences. As youth leadership grows, the creative workforce pipeline in Santa Barbara becomes more inclusive.