Please complete this form to ensure you receive location and link information for our monthly meetings.

We welcome new members at any time during the year, with no auditions or prior theatre experience required. Theatre Connect is a place where everyone can find their niche, be it in the spotlight or behind the scenes. Step into the enriching world of community theatre with us—we can't wait to include you and your family in our story.

In collaboration with a PhD student from the UF College of Public Health and Health Professions, we're pioneering research to refine and share our approach nationwide. Moreover, we're excited to share that a local queer documentarian is currently producing a documentary about our program. Families interested in contributing to our research or featuring in the documentary are invited to engage through our members-only site, where optional consent forms will be provided.

The impact of Theatre Connect and the performing arts is significant. Our research highlighted in SOPHE’s Health Promotion Practice journal (full article) shows that programs like ours not only foster a sense of community but also empower LGBTQIA+ youth, improve mental health, and help create positive identities and interpersonal relationships. Additionally, as Theatre Connect adapted to online platforms during the pandemic, we've seen how such initiatives can bridge the gap for youths dealing with isolation, connecting them with peers and mentors in safe and engaging environments as detailed in the Journal of Applied Arts & Health (full article).

We prioritize safe and ethical practice by maintaining partnerships with licensed mental health counselors, professionally supervised interns, and advanced theatre practitioners. Our guidelines, informed by successful strategies from our program's history and scholarly research, focus on creating a theatre-first environment that emphasizes skill-building through play. We strive to ensure that each session not only nurtures theatrical talent but also contributes to the overall well-being of our participants.