Young Valley Players

Combining the traditions and skills of the former Belt Valley Shakespeare Players youth theater with the academic experience of the former director of the University of Montana’s English Teaching Program, the Belt Performing Arts Center offers a program that provides fun and effective drama instruction and literacy enrichment for middle and high school students from communities around the area.

The Young Valley Players (YVP) operates as a Belt Performing Arts Center (BPAC) program at the theater in Belt, MT. The program is open to grades 4-12 and guided by YVP’s mission statement: The Young Valley Players is a nonprofit youth theater providing literacy enrichment to students by fostering community, creativity, critical thinking, and confidence in personal and public expression through the study, practice, and performance of dramatic works, including plays by William Shakespeare.

YVP focuses on actors and crew members from local middle and high schools surrounding Belt, especially those rural students who wish to participate in theater but lack the opportunity locally.

Literacy enrichment is the foundation of all the program’s activities and productions and is guided by the YVP creative drama curriculum. Through outreach, parents and teachers will realize the educational/social benefits of the program and will become partners in facilitating the academic enrichment of their students.

Program activities revolve around the practice and performance of individual plays. The program is funded through participation fees, and those families who can't afford tuition will be offered scholarships funded through grants and donations. Program participants and their families will be able to attend performances at no charge.