About the Nonprofit
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The Actors’ Gang (TAG) mission is to present new, unconventional and uncompromising plays and dynamic reinterpretations of the classics; restore the ancient sense of the stage as a shared sacred space; introduce theater to children and helps them find their own creative voices; and bring the freedom of self-expression to the incarcerated.
The Actors’ Gang Education Department (TAG-ED) has provided free in-school, after-school and summer theater programs for diverse youth populations in Los Angeles County since 2000, empowering children and teens to discover, develop and share their individual creative voices with their community of peers. TAG-ED offers six customizable programs for diverse youth populations in Los Angeles County. Programs include in-school Integrated Arts Immersion, in-school Ensemble in the Classroom, After-School Programs at The Ivy Substation, After-School Programs off site, tuition- based Weekend Classes, and tuition-based Summer Camps. For tuition-based programs, financial aid and scholarships are always offered to those who need it, no student is ever turned away because of financial concerns.
The Actors’ Gang Youth Project (TAGYP) has provided exceptional direct arts services to Los Angeles County youth in the juvenile justice system since 2016, offering ensemble theater as a tool for behavioral transformation and rehabilitation that utilizes the documented power of the arts to reimagine ways to engage with and support children who are currently incarcerated, experiencing reentry, justice-involved, or are system-engaged. TAG employs 17 formerly incarcerated TAs, including three alumni as full-time employees. Their participation provides instant credibility with youth participants and significant impact with the alumni-led mentorship program. TAG amplifies the voices of system-impacted youth through resources dedicated to their continued development.
The Actors’ Gang Prison Project (TAGPP)is an internationally recognized rehabilitation program currently providing theater arts programming in 14 California state prisons, two reentry facilities, Los Angeles County Probation camps and halls for incarcerated youth, two in-community programs with system-impacted young people, and Comedia Del Arte Tecate in Baja MX for the community and in schools. Its mission has been to establish a supportive community that offers
participants tools for acknowledging and managing their emotions, break down barriers, recognize humanity, and create systemic change by centering the voices of those who have been system-impacted.
When our participants began returning home we launched The Actors’ Gang Alumni Advocacy Project, a support system for individuals wanting to continue their training, as well as become meaningful employed as Teaching Artists themselves. These formerly justice-involved participants have now become mentors, leaders, and creative artists with The Actors’ Gang. We currently have 56 formerly incarcerated participants in the Alumni Advocacy Project, 17 working with us as Teaching Artists. All are advocates, not only on behalf of The Prison Project, but for Arts in Corrections, Rehabilitation, and reform of the criminal legal system.
