Hennepin Theatre Trust’s Spotlight Education program is an essential part of arts education in many Minnesota schools. Annually, we help nearly 8,000 students in more than 100 high schools build confidence, critical thinking, empathy, sense of community and knowledge of theater. The program supplements and enhances arts curricula through production assessments, masterclasses and theater review writing, increasing equitable access to quality theater education.

Spotlight Education honors and supports Minnesota high school musical theater students and programs.

Spotlight  honors high school musicals and students by formally recognizing the extraordinary achievements and process of developing the young artists, onstage and offstage, in our state’s high school musical theater programs.

We support participating programs and artists by providing high-quality learning, performing and creative experiences for students, thereby developing and empowering the next generation of innovative leaders.

Through Spotlight Education,  we advocate for the importance of high school musical theater education. Through this advocacy, we reinforce the statewide community that inspires high school musical theater artists, teachers and families to participate in and celebrate high school musical theater.