About | Philly Children's Th

*rehearsal photos taken by Yong Kim | Staff Photographer, The Philadelphia Inquirer

Philly Children's Theatre was created to provide pay-what-you-can, live, family-friendly theatre for children of all ages. Adult performers travel to various neighborhoods and organizations throughout Philadelphia in order to increase access to the arts.

About Us

Our Values

Accessibility

Philly Children's Theatre was established with the goal to bring theatre to people who otherwise may not have access to the arts. Touring the plays to the neighborhoods is one way that we strive to be accessible.

ASL Translators will be provided at some performances and hopefully, over time, will be provided at every performance.

PCT also offers all plays at a pay-what-you-can rate so that all families have access to performances.

Social Stories will be posted for each location that PCT tours to provide prep materials for the show.

Pay

Although we are in the very early stages of the company, our first performance paid actors a $150 stipend.

We have increased our stipend to $700 total for a show. This is, of course, not nearly enough or what creatives are worth. Paying those involved in our productions uses over 60% of our budget and is the most important thing to us at this time. We hope to continue to increase these stipends.

We will always be upfront about what we pay and the rehearsal schedule. We will have rehearsal processes that reflect this payment by scheduling rehearsals around a full-time day job.

Diverse Voices

We are committed to building a space that is celebrated as inclusive, diverse, and equitable. We endeavor to greet all aspects of our theatre practice with DEIJ at the forefront of our decisions, processes, and productions. Philly Children’s Theatre is committed to accessibility in all of our performances and works to provide spaces and shows where all children are invited and welcome.

We also strive to create a brave space in rehearsal where everyone involved in the show on the creative side is encouraged to give their opinions throughout the process of working with Philly Children’s Theatre.

Support & Bravery

We will strive to create supportive and brave spaces, where every person is valued and has a voice to speak up.

We are open to feedback on how to best create these inclusive spaces and acknowledge that we will make mistakes and will then learn from them.

Philly Artists

As a theatre, we are committed to championing Philadelphia-based Artists and Playwrights.

When there is a chance to use a Philly musical or Philly artist or puppeteer for a project, we will go that route.

We will strive to produce plays written by Philadelphian playwrights, and work with local directors. In addition, we strive to produce new playwrights that specialize in Theatre for Young Audiences (TYA).

All Are Welcome

Everyone is welcome at Philly Children's Theatre, and we aim to create an environment that is inclusive and accessible for all.

Land Acknowledgment

Philly Children’s Theatre recognizes that we practice, gather, and perform on land that belongs to the Lenape people. We acknowledge that this land is not ours and strive to honor the orginial owners of this land through our inclusive community theatre practice. Philly Children’s Theatre often performs outside directly on the land and strives to honor this land through land acknowledgements before shows and in the playbill and by treating the land with respect.

Officer of the Board: Erin Gaydos

Ann Marie-Aves

Jennifer Spencer

Austin Ginsburg

Sarah Gordin

Artistic Director and Founder

Sarah Gordin is a director and choreographer as well as a theatre and dance teaching artist based in Philadelphia, PA. Sarah received her BA in Theatre from Muhlenberg College. She also studied at the National Theatre Institute Advanced Directing Program at the Eugene O’Neill Theatre Center and The Theatre Academy of London. Sarah fell in love with storytelling through reading and now focuses on telling stories in creative and imaginative ways for and with young people. Sarah is currently the early childhood / lower school theatre movement arts teacher at Germantown Friends School. Sarah has taught all over the world, and loves combining her passion of theatre and education to create pathways for children of all backgrounds to experience the arts.