Niki Richardson speaks with George Alger about TOArts, which is a nonprofit partner of the Bank of America Performing Arts Center in Thousand Oaks.
The discussion focuses on TOArts’ workforce development programs, which are designed to educate and prepare artists for careers in the arts beyond just performing. Key programs highlighted in the video include:
- Creators Conservatory: A two-and-a-half-week summer theater program for high school students where they create an original piece from scratch, getting involved in roles like writing, directing, and design.
- Youth Arts Leadership Academy (YALA): A year-long program teaching students to be independent and versatile in the arts, covering visual and performance arts as well as life skills like project management and budgeting.
- Artist Incubator: A new program for adult artists launching in the fall, which will teach the business side of being an artist, including marketing, financial management, and pitching their work.
Richardson emphasizes the collaborative nature of the programs and the organization’s commitment to paying working artists fairly. The goal is to help students pursue careers in the arts by giving them a holistic understanding of the industry and networking opportunities.
TV broadcast week beginning 8/17/25
Producer: George Alger
Sponsor: NONPROFIT FIRE, Google Ad Grants Community Building NonProfitFire.org
Sponsor: GWC PRODUCTIONS, Putting Eyes on Your Music GWCProductions.com
Sponsor: SKYWORKS MARKETING, Performance Advertising SkyworksMarketing.com