The Inner Circle is a company composed of talented high school students who work together to bring theatre alive on stage at Circle Arts as well as on tour to local school children and on the road to the annual TNT Youth Conference.

The company was founded by Roberta Elliott  in 1978 with the goal of introducing live theatre to as many children as possible, bringing them either a taste of the classics or a “life lesson” served up in an entertaining way.  Each year, the Inner Circle brings live theatre to as many school children in the area as possible with their Tour Show.  To date, The Inner Circle has given almost 600 performances for over 130,000 elementary and middle school students.

The Inner Circle evolved to also include a play or musical each year to produce and perform at their end-of-year show in May. This show is then cut down to accommodate the 40-minute time-limit for performances at the Texas Non-Profit Theatre Conference each June. This conference is the highlight of the season for the Inner Circle, as it gives them a chance to take classes from professionals in the industry while mingling with their peers from around the state. They earn their tuition for their year-long classes and for TNT Conference via volunteer hours given to the theatre; each member is expected to provide a minimum of 100 hours per year, and many exceed that out of sheer love for the theatre!

Our youth theatre program is designed for students in 2nd through 9th grade. Students begin the semester by learning the fundamentals of theatre; including vocal expression, body movement, facial expression, imagination, pantomime, characterization, and improvisation. As the semester progresses, students put those skills into practice through auditions, music, script work, and rehearsals…culminating in a full-length theatrical performance! KIDs gives young performers the opportunity to build confidence, creativity, teamwork, and stage skills while having FUN and experiencing the excitement of bringing a production to life.

Circle Arts Theatre is proud to give back to our community in many ways. Our main stage productions offer benefit shows to other non-profits in the area to help fund their projects. The Inner Circle travels to local elementary schools to share the experience of live theatre with young audience members, sharing stories of inclusion and self-esteem. We are excited to get our youngest actors involved in this culture of giving back through our Klasses in Drama “Giving Circle.  With each KIDs performance, a collection is organized to benefit another local non-profit.  Our KIDs have collected for the NB Food Bank, Foster Closet, Humane Society, Comal Literacy Project, St Judes Children’s Ranch…and still going!