Ariel Gomez Bradler was recently on The Day with Trae with host Trae Holiday to talk about the Rising Star Project, a youth mentorship program offered by The 5th Avenue Theatre. Bradler is the Director of Education & Engagement at The 5th Avenue Theatre.

“My team and I are responsible for all of both professional development and student programs, as well as any of the engagement efforts,” Bradler said. “So this year, for example, we did the drag community day in relationship with the Little Mermaid, we supported the combined community day within a relationship with ACT theater company over for Cambodian rock band, so we're deeply building community relationships.”

The intention and approach of The 5th Avenue Theatre's Rising Star Project are focused on cultivating deep and meaningful relationships with participants. Through this program, the theater aims to establish trust and support within individuals who may not have a tradition of attending theatrical productions. The goal is to create lasting and reciprocal connections that benefit both the participants and the theater community.

“I grew up really lucky with a tradition of going to performing arts experiencing performing arts,” Bradler said. “But I also know that that's not necessarily something everyone gets. So being at the 5th and having also a very rich tradition of excellence in the city, I need to make sure that everybody feels welcome there. We've done that intentionality, we've done a lot of work in ensuring that folks who arrive as they are to the theater can experience that theater in the way that they are going to experience it and try and break down some of those rules or walls that people both that exist.”

Bradler focuses on empowering youth, particularly aspiring theater artists, by providing them with the tools to advocate for themselves and navigate the theater space effectively. 

“Being able to advocate as what for yourself, identify areas where you want to push yourself in areas where you need to go, ‘No, that's not for me,’ you know, this is really what my team is invested in and making it a healthy ecosystem for those students to enter into,” Bradler said.

The Rising Star Project is a unique program designed to provide professional mentorship for theater artists across all tracks, specifically targeting individuals between the ages of 14 and 19.

“Any student in Washington state is eligible to participate in a tuition-free program, which is intentional,” Bradler said. “We want to make sure that the only barrier to participating is genuinely an investment of time because theater does come with an investment of time.” 

Participants engage in every track of theater production, including performance, orchestra, technical theater, and administrative roles. Each student is paired with a professional mentor from the industry to guide them through the process. The program aims to replicate the professional theater experience as closely as possible, culminating in a performance of a show on The 5th Avenue Theatre's stage using professional-grade costumes, set pieces, and props.

“My actors who are coming into our program, after they audition, they'll receive an initial offer,” Bradler said. “And then they will also sign a contract of participation, which is something that we want to model, we want to get them used to reading a contract, what are we asking you to do? That is, throughout the experience, the stage management team is shown how to build out spreadsheets for tracking the various things that they have to track. So you're not just learning the theater skill, you're also learning how to use Excel, which is a very important, important experience.”

Bradler said that some students participating in the Rising Star Project exhibit a range of responses to their experiences in the program. 

“We assess the students periodically throughout the process,” Bradler said. “They do a very early on assessment and midway through assessment, and then and at the end of the project. Then we ask them to do another and it's all self-assessment, and how did you feel coming in? What are skills that you feel like you gained?”

Occasionally students initially enrolled in a specific track but discovered new interests during the program, prompting them to explore different avenues and consider applying for alternative tracks in subsequent years. Others found unexpected connections with mentors from different tracks, leading them to contemplate entirely new career paths they hadn't previously considered. 

“This program provides an incredible amount of growth,” Bradler said. “It's a process when we're in the theater, it is a process of a lot of self-reflection, knowing how far to push yourself, knowing how much you want to achieve, and setting your own self-paced goals in that way, because it's not, it's not always a straightforward path.” 

The Rising Star Project opens its applications in early September for students interested in participating. 

Auditions or interviews for all students, regardless of track, are conducted between October and November. The cast is announced in late December or early January, with rehearsals commencing at the end of February. The commitment and time investment vary for each student, with families providing support in transportation and other logistical needs. The program emphasizes the collaborative effort between students, families, and the theater community to ensure meaningful engagement and success.

“In many instances, students are starting somewhere between 6:30 and 7:30 in the morning, and they don't leave our building until between nine to 9:30 at night,” Bradler said. “They're investing about 30 to 35 hours of their own time in the commitment of this process to get the show-up and running. And it's just absolutely incredible to watch them. It's incredible to watch them grow. It's incredible to see the finished product and know where they started and where they're at now.” 

Performances happen on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. For more information go visit 5th avenue.org. 

To learn more about programs like the Rising Star Project, tune in to Trae every weekday at 11 am on all Converge Media platforms and The Day With Trae YouTube Channel.