Our Mission

The Audacity Performing Arts Project, Inc. engages Silicon Valley, Title 1 schools in all aspects of inclusion-based theater productions and artistic programming. In collaborative partnerships with school districts, local leaders, foundations, parents, partner organizations, teaching artists, and students, Audacity explores the performing arts at the intersection of technology. Through accessible, quality arts education and experiences, students devise their own path to personal empowerment, self-discovery, and higher education.

Our Vision

The Audacity Performing Arts Project, Inc. is a community, collaborative youth performing arts organization. We profoundly believe in the transformative impression the arts can make on devalued communities. Audacity creates a shared inclusive culture of mutual respect, trust, and responsibility that empowers people. A place where differences are resolved through mindful negotiation.

As a California “public benefit’ company, Audacity acts on behalf of the state of California for the youth we are committed to serving. We are guided by the following fundamentals inspired by El Sistema, an arts education social movement:

“When I say that I am for the square deal, I mean not merely that I stand for fair play under the present rules of the game, but that I stand for having those rules change so as to work for a more substantial equality of opportunity and of reward for equally good service.” 

- Theodore Roosevelt

Social Justice

“Once social change begins, it cannot be reversed. You cannot uneducate the person who has learned to read. You cannot humiliate the person who feels pride. You cannot oppress the people who are not afraid anymore. We have seen the future, and the future is ours.”

- César Chávez

Performing arts education is foundational and not a luxury. Today’s radical funding inequities in Silicon Valley Title 1 schools so profoundly fail to offer equitable opportunities to marginalized students that this has become a critical social justice issue.

Equitable Access

“It’s not possible to present an accurate picture of our culture without all the voices of the people in the culture. So at the emerging level, you can’t have a good survey art show without women and artists of color.”

Frida Kahlo

“I do not believe in the gifted, if students have “ganas” I can make them do it.”

Jaime Escalante

At Audacity no one is turned away for the lack of ability to pay a program fee. No student is ever turned away for lack of training or experience. Equitable access to arts education opens the gates to all community students who believe they can manifest anything they dream of and aspire to be. To help students achieve their ambitions, Audacity sees each student as an individual. Audacity accounts for their individual cultures, experiences, challenges and gifts. Through this practice, Audacity creates a seat for students at “the decision making table” of their own creative lives.

Excellence in Arts Education

“I don’t give a damn about the art. I don’t care if our young artists are off book or singing on key. The fact that they’re engaged, learning and inspiring each other is everything. The quality of the art is organic and inspired through their personal development. We act as a vector for inspiration.”

Louis Stone-Collonge, Founder, The Audacity Performing Arts Project

“Collaborative learning has been shown to not only develop higher-level thinking skills in students, but boost their confidence and self-esteem as well.”

Sabrina Gates, NEAToday, 2018

The performing arts are collaborative art forms. Audacity focuses on the humanity of the inspired experience our students create collectively as an ensemble. Excellence comes from this shared creation. Artistic excellence is driven by empowered choice making.

Ambition and Achievement

“You don’t need to teach grit and resilience to young folks in our communities. You find ways to activate existing grit and resilience. Recognize their gift before you demonize their grit.”

Christopher Emdin, Instagram, Jan 2019

Arts education is not about the manufacture of new artists; if that were the case, the project would have failed 1000 years ago; arts education is about creating moments of inspiration that will fuel a lifetime. Audacity provides a catalyst to cultivate their natural resilience, their natural creativity, their natural hopefulness so they can discover their highest self and dream of a better world for themselves, their families, and their communities.

The Nucleo

“It (the Nucleo) is a haven of safety, fun, joy, and friendship, with an ethos of relentless positivity and aspiration, where all students are encouraged to explore their potential.”

Eric Booth

The nucleo is where students can learn from their teaching artists as citizens, artists, teachers and scholars. A place where their parents, siblings, friends and other key community members can partake in the activities of the nucleo, thus coalescing them in their pursuit of the empowering feeling of ownership in the communities into which they contribute.

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By partnering with like-minded organizations, the communities we serve benefit additionally by having:

• Equitable access to a larger pool of arts education and resources.

• Access to a reliable network of arts organizations that share a mission for keeping teaching artists employed and paid a living wage in Silicon Valley.

• Access to a diverse family of leading arts and education voices that are champions for the arts and the impact they can make in the socio-emotional well being of our youth, especially during times of crisis.

Audacity will continue to serve Silicon Valley Title 1 schools and are in a period of recovery along with the community we serve. Audacity is committed to serving 2000 students and reinstating 50-75 youth productions per year as Covid-19 restrictions are lifted. Audacity will expand our portfolio by introducing programs that explore the intersection of art and technology such as film & video production, music production and podcasting. 

Audacity will continually strategize alternative programming and community engagement in preparation for times of crisis. The Audacity Performing Arts Project Inc. will be the leading social justice, youth performing arts education organization in the Silicon Valley.