Mission: To help minority and inner-city youth discover, develop and display their talents through cooperative multi-media activities and learning exercises.

Program Objectives:

1.) To provide young people with the tools they need to develop the talents they have and learn the skills that they need to be successful in different aspects of the entertainment industry.
2.) To help young people find positive outlets for their pain, fear and frustration. Teaching them to turn negatives into positives using their own creativity.
3.) Teaching and promoting teamwork and organizational skills as youngsters have to work in cooperation with people with different views, talents and abilities to accomplish a common goal, which will be their final productions.
4.) Help young people interested in pursuing a career in multi-media and performing arts, develop the resume they need to apply to the appropriate schools.
5.) Building self-esteem and pride through positive re-enforcement, encouragement and giving them a sense of accomplishment. Giving them a reason to say “no” to temptations that might lead them down the wrong path.

Description:

EXE Jr. is a program dedicated to young people with creative minds. Working with youth ages 8-19 in the area of music, film and stage productions.

The program helps youth who identify a area of interest in the arts, find their strengths and identify areas for improvement. They are taught skills related to their specific talent as well as lessons that will help them in areas of interpersonal communication, team work, goal setting and time management.

Students are put in groups based on their interest and are taught and mentored by people who are in their field of interest. They will take classes on their major as well as classes that teach basic skills to help them be an all around successful individual. There will be guest speakers to give students an idea of what the industry is like, a realistic view of the work involved and why education is so important no matter what they want to be when they grow up.

As a group they begin to develop a group project. Projects like but not limited to: audio recordings, 1 act plays, PSA’s, videos and other stage performances. This team project is just the first step in learning how to work in cooperation with other students with different skill sets. The projects for each group are critiqued by the teachers and mentors. Students are taught new lessons as a group based on what was learned from their presentation that can help them grow. It is also a lesson in self-evaluation. The second project is a project in which all students in the program put together the final presentation in which all the groups have different areas of responsibility to make the entire production happen. This will be a show open to family, friends and the general public where students can showcase their talents.

Through these confidence building activities the youth will learn how to communicate through their art, listen and work together with peers, build resumes, and explore the entertainment industry as well as themselves.