Stage Set for Success: The Creative Arts Team Cat Youth Theater program creates an inclusive—and empowering—environment that is a smash

This article is one of the winning submissions from the New York Post Scholars Contest, presented by Command Education.

For the 29 years since it was founded, the Creative Arts Team’s Cat Youth Theater has changed the lives of countless teenage theater kids. Earlier this year, in February, the program had a major comeback as it performed an original show titled “Between the Lines” at Baruch Performing Arts Center, showcasing its largest cast since the COVID-19 pandemic. Many parents who came to enjoy the show described it as “professional” and “heartwarming” and “incredibly impressive.” The crazy part? The entire cast attended the program and performed in the show for free.

Many of the young adults who attend CAT yearn to shine in stage lights outside of their high school auditoriums; they want something “real.” Unfortunately, many of these teenagers had previously believed that their dreams were impossible, as they cannot afford an agent or the professional training many consider necessary for a chance onstage.

Helen White, the founder and program director of Cat Youth Theater–more commonly regarded by its members as CAT–fully believes that the magic of theater can change a young person’s life. More importantly, she believes that every young person should be given a chance, and her mission in founding CAT was to elevate the voices of today’s youth.

“They have so much to say,” she remarks. “I see it every day. Many of them have incredibly brilliant ideas.”

During the two-months long rehearsal process, the program uses private and public funding to provide its members with lunch and dinner every single day, along with snacks in between meals. It also provides the students with free sanitary supplies, stationery for homework and artwork, costumes and products for hair and makeup.

Although it was performed by high schoolers, the 10-show run of the production “Between the Lines” was no light-hearted play. It covered a variety of current events, highlighting a multitude of social and political issues through nine scenes, which fit the prompt “Between the Lines.”

From the suppression of creativity in schools and the importance of consent to abortion bans and the brutal reality of war, the show left many audience members speechless. Suchitra Kamath, an audience member who works in a NYC public school, gushed over the show’s first scene, saying, “It was good, but heartbreaking, because it is absolutely true. Sometimes, our [school] system does crush a student’s creativity over time.”

Another audience member, a fellow teacher, exclaimed that she was surprised by the content of the show. “I wasn’t expecting them to be so brave.”

An anonymous audience member beside her chimed in, saying, “The topics were controversial, but they presented them with enough nuance that it helped you really understand them. And that too from a kid’s perspective.”

As Helen White states in the introduction to the show, the entire production, from the concept to the lines themselves, were created by the Youth Theater members. She explains, “We didn’t start with a script, or even work with a script writer. We just asked [the Youth Theater members] what they wanted to say, and we helped them figure out how to say it.”

At CAT, she doesn’t just teach the young actors how to elevate their acting, but also shows them how to create scenes themselves through the process of “devising.” Devising at CAT is the process of improvising scenes using a loose idea and refining each detail over a span of multiple weeks until, finally, you emerge from the rehearsal process with a scene strong enough to be performed on stage.

Many Youth Theater members don’t have much faith in the process at first. An anonymous sophomore in high school who started attending CAT this year remarks, “I always remember the silly and stupid things that happened [during rehearsal], and I forget that, like, we actually created something meaningful at the end of it all.”

Teens who have attended CAT in previous years, such as Atlas Johnson-Lopez, have more faith in the devising process. “I love to infuse my own emotions into the roles I play. Something I love about devising is the ability to write a story around your fellow actors and create something that allows all of us to grow.”

CAT has a special place in many of its members’ hearts, and not just because it improved their acting and directing skills. Seventeen-year-old Imanie Cadet professes, “I look forward to coming because I get to be with my friends. CAT taught me how to get out of my comfort zone and start talking to people.”

Another Youth Theater member Ilana Orie admits, “I look forward to coming to CAT because of the atmosphere. There is no judgment, and everyone is very accepting, sociable, and welcoming.”

Even though this year’s show is over, CAT members agree that it is an experience they will never forget. Gabriel Esquivel-Berkman, a member of CAT since 2017, explains that the show’s memory will stay alive with the audience, “After the show, I want people to go home, maybe make some tea, and talk about their favorite parts of the play or scenes that made them think.”

An anonymous freshman shares their perspective, stating, “I’m really going to miss the show. I didn’t know what to expect walking in, and now that it’s over, I think I’ll miss it so much that I won’t know what to expect after it’s done. But that’s okay, because I’ll just come back next year.”

A 9th-grader at Hunter College High School in Manhattan, Bhat wants to pursue what feels like a million careers, including journalism, veterinary science, acting and animation.