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2008 Social Innovator

True Colors

Out Youth Theater

Social Issue Track: Empowering Youth Through Arts

Sponsored by: Hunt Alternatives Fund & The Cloud Foundation

True Colors leverages the power of theater to eradicate isolation and fear caused by bigotry and discrimination.

True Colors creates a safe haven where lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) youth are supported and challenged to engage fully in their own personal, social, and artistic development.

A troupe of LGBT youth and their straight allies, guided by a team of theater artists, works to write, stage, and perform an original play. Their work captures the complexities of their lives, their experiences of oppression and liberation, and their hopes for the future.

Troupe members tour the show and facilitate discussions with thousands of their peers in school and community groups throughout New England. As the only LGBT youth theater program in the region and one of only a handful of similar programs throughout the country, True Colors is uniquely positioned to positively impact the lives of all youth, regardless of identity.

Social Problem:

• An estimated 30,000 youth in Massachusetts identify as LGBT


• Only one in five lesbian and gay youth could identify someone who was very supportive of them


• LGBT youth are at high risk for negative outcomes as compared with peers:


• Four times for likely to attempt suicide


• Twice as likely to be threatened or injured with a weapon at school


• Four times more likely to skip school because they feel unsafe


• Five times more likely to use cocaine

Key Accomplishments & Social Impact:

• Since its founding in 1994, True Colors has served over 300 youth participants, who have engaged over 10,000 audience members


• Participants thrive in the program and demonstrate achievement of desired outcomes:


• 81 percent improved public speaking skills


• 86 percent increased desire for social justice


• 71 percent improved leadership skills
 
• Demand for performances has increased 600 percent in the past three years; youth audiences consistently report that they will make different choices regarding LGBT issues as a result of seeing the performance

Two-Year Goals:

• Double the number of youth served through expansion to year-round programming


• Evaluate options and develop plans to increase capacity to serve youth


• Research, plan, and begin dissemination of program model

Evelyn Francis
Director of Education