New Stages: Arts Empowerment for Juvenile Offenders is a program for teens in the Travis County Juvenile Probation Department residential program.  Its goals are to help youth improve perceived social support and develop the interpersonal communication and self-efficacy skills necessary to improve family relationships and social competencies, and
decrease antisocial behavior which will lead to a reduction in gang involvement and recidivism.

New Stages is a gender-specific, interactive arts program that encourages participants to set goals, take positive risks, and assists youth in navigating the choices and behaviors that best help them accomplish those goals while providing an alternative to gang involvement.

Our theatre-based curriculum is coupled with the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention’s (OJJDP) Promising Practice program Girls Circle and its male-focused counterpart Boys Council.  The Girls Circle and Boys Council curricula’s unique methods
of exploring relevant teen issues helps create a solid foundation from which the participants can creatively express their personal connection to those issues.

With the guidance of a Theatre Action Project trained teaching artist, youth will use the knowledge gained from the Girls Circle and Boys Council curricula and their own life experiences, to create an original theatrical performance for their peers, families and the community.

New Stages works beyond youth’s problems and focuses on their strengths and skills to encourage growth. Collaborating with their peers helps create the space for youth to develop deeper levels of empathy and enhance self-empowerment, skills which greatly enhance a
youth’s ability to leave, or avoid being in a gang. By taking a positive risk in presenting this production and demonstrating their acquired skills to their families and the community, the youth will have the opportunity to let their voices be heard.