FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WANE) - After-school activities in Fort Wayne range from sports to the arts. For the past 90 years, the Fort Wayne Youtheatre has proven itself to be more than just a place for kids to go at the end of their school day. The organization helps foster life skills and provides a community. And it's why the Fort Wayne Youtheatre is Positively Fort Wayne. The Youtheatre is the 5th oldest youth theatre in the country, according to the organization. "Youtheatre began in 1934. It originally started as the Children's Theatre. It was part of the Old Fort Players, which is now today the Civic Theatre. And it began as a way to help children develop poise and confidence and improve their diction," explained Heather Closson, a former Youtheatre student and now executive director of the organization. After 90 seasons, the Youtheatre still provides those skills, and then some. "Some people don't feel like they fit in. They're not necessarily in a group anywhere. They don't feel like they have a home. And the thing about the arts, for me specifically, it made me feel like I had a family," said Leslie Beauchamp, an advocate for local arts. Fort Wayne Youtheatre to celebrate 90th season; unveils shows Now as a director and former Youtheatre student, Leslie Beauchamp is providing a family to current students. "It gives you a place to go to maybe when you're not feeling all connected to the people at school, or maybe you just need a new outlet to let out your emotions whether that's on stage, whether that's just talking with people who are part of it," said Sammie Vance, a Youtheatre student. For teens having a place of belonging is irreplaceable. "It gives our kids a place to be expressive and to try things and to fail…if you don't fail, you don't know what is succeeding. So it's an important safe place for them to come and feel like they can explore things," said Beauchamp. And lines in a play aren't the only things learned. "Youtheatre has really taught me some important values and helped me grow as a person. I think I've definitely gained a lot of confidence…. I'm now able to take criticism a lot better. I'm able to accept rejection a lot better. And I think I've become a better leader. And I think Youtheatre also taught me a lot of things about working with other people," said Em Organ, a student actor and intern with the Youtheatre. Those skills came around full circle for Closson. "As a youth, I really just gained the confidence to be able to feel a little bit invincible. I was really set up for success, guided through how to really navigate the world of theatre and then really given the confidence to go and pursue that in whatever way I wanted to. I was told that I could do anything that I wanted to do. And I think that is such an important message to continue to instill in our youth today," said Closson. We couldn't talk about the organization without acknowledging Harvey Cocks and his commitment to the Fort Wayne Youtheatre. He served as executive and artistic director from 1977 until 2010 and stayed involved in the Youtheatre until he passed in 2022. "He was a dear, dear man and a huge advocate for the arts, not just in our city, but specifically the arts for the youth. He was very passionate about getting our youth into the arts," said Beauchamp. After 40 years, Botanical Conservatory remains Positively Fort Wayne That passion is what sets the Youtheatre apart from other organizations. "Fort Wayne Youtheatre is theatre for young people by young people. So when you come to a Youtheatre show, we're not only serving an audience of young people and families our actors are youth, the people running the sounds and the lights, stage managing, all of that is being done by youth," said Christopher J. Murphy, artistic director for the Fort Wayne Youtheatre. "We're blessed to live in a community with so many theatre opportunities, but not as many for young children. And some kids might not have a place to go to to be able to express their creativity so it's really important that the Youtheatre is here to offer those," said Organ. The hope is the Youtheatre will be around for another 90 seasons. "We have a really, I think, important place in the arts community in Fort Wayne because we do serve a different audience and we help feed the rest of the artistic community in Fort Wayne. But certainly, as the world and education is changing in the 21st century, you're seeing a lot of schools certainly start to pull back on arts programming so we're really, really proud to be able to provide that outlet for these young artists," said Murphy. "I think that anyone who's even remotely wanting a place to go to act or work backstage at a theatre to really just go for it, email us and to let us know that they're interested. Because it gives you such a good family to be a part of and it gives you a place to learn all these really, really great skills," said Vance. You can click here to see what upcoming shows the Youtheatre will be performing and how to get in contact with the staff if you know a child wanting to participate.