For decades, Theatre Under the Stars has made musical theater education an intrinsic part of their mission with their Humphreys School of Musical Theatre and River Performing and Visual Arts Center, but now in a partnership with Kinder High School for the Performing and Visual Arts, this duet will take arts education to an unprecedented level.

In a just-announced program, the two Houston performing arts institutions will provide theater students at Kinder HSPVA with a four-year comprehensive musical theater education.

This new musical theater curriculum for Kinder students will be offered as a collaboration between TUTS Teaching Artists and the HSPVA Theatre Department, and will give students opportunities to participate in master classes and workshops with industry professionals. Students will also have access to TUTS productions throughout the year.

“Theatre Under The Stars has a long history with Kinder HSPVA, providing many students and alumni with the opportunity to work as professional artists in Houston. TUTS also awards a scholarship through the Tommy Tune Awards each year named for our school’s founder, Ruth Denney,” said Kinder principal, Dr. R. Scott Allen, in a statement at the partnership announcement. “We are excited to see how this partnership continues to evolve in the coming years.”

As part of Houston Independent School District, HSPVA is a fully accredited high school with the same academic curriculum and graduation requirements, yet with an added focus that correlates the arts with academics. Kinder made national news earlier this year when it opened its new $96 million, state-of-the-art, five-story facility downtown.

For TUTS, the partnership showcases its continuing commitment to arts education for Houstonians of all ages.

“As part of our commitment to strengthening arts education in Houston, we are glad to have the opportunity to work with Kinder HSPVA to provide the best training possible for their musical theatre students,” said Hillary Hart, TUTS executive director, in a statement.

With this announcement, Dan Knechtges, TUTS artistic director, also noted the importance of bringing student and seasoned artists together to learn.

“Peer-to-peer and peer-to-professional training is something TUTS prides itself on providing to our students. Now, it’s incredible to be able to offer even more students who are dedicated to the artform of musical theatre, the opportunity to study with Broadway professionals here in Houston,” said Knechtges, in a statement.