Star Power

Sometimes, youths can use some direction to get their lives on track. That, at least, is the philosophy behind the All Stars Project, a New York charity that uses theater to provide a showcase for young people’s creative talents and to introduce them to new experiences and people.

For the past 18 years, All Stars volunteers and workers have helped thousands of young people ages 5 to 25 gain self-esteem and develop their performance skills through talent shows and in-school workshops that the nonprofit group organizes in Atlanta, New York, and Newark, N.J. Aspiring rap and gospel singers, step dancers, and other young performers must audition to participate in the shows, but everyone receives a slot in the production.

Several weeks before the performances, the charity holds a workshop in which the participants write poems and perform skits about issues relevant to their lives.

The All Stars “is inspiring my daughter to be more articulate, outspoken, and positive-minded,” says Nichelle Brown, 32, who used to perform in the talent shows herself. She now volunteers for the group, which she credits with giving her the support and confidence she needed to get off welfare and turn her life around.

In addition to organizing the talent shows, the All Stars Project runs an Off Off Broadway community theater, where shows are performed by professional actors and amateurs, and sometimes by past talent-show participants.

The charity also sponsors a 12-week leadership-training program for people ages 16 to 21, in which participants visit corporate offices and are taught to write résumés, improve their communication skills, and become familiar with the job-interview process.