Oakland Center for the Arts facts for kids

The Oakland Center for the Arts is a cool place in Youngstown, Ohio where many different types of art come together. It was started in 1986 and is often just called "The Oakland." It's a community spot for things like theater, movies, music, books, dance, and visual art.

The Oakland Center for the Arts began with help from a Youngstown businessman named Richard Rosenthal. A local person, Alexandra Vansuch, founded it with support from many local artists and community members. The center got its name from one of Mr. Rosenthal's buildings, which used to be an Oakland Motor Car dealership. He gave the new art group space there to get started. Later, when the center moved to a new building called the Morley Building, they named an art space the Star Gallery to honor Mr. Rosenthal's business, Star Supply Company.

Unique Shows and Awards

The Oakland became known for putting on plays written by local people. They also specialized in unique and less common plays and musicals. Some of these shows included Bat Boy: The Musical and Assassins. Their amazing work won them awards and made them well-known in the area.

In the 1990s, The Oakland worked with the Ballet Western Reserve. They helped fix up an old community building called the Elks Building.

Facing Challenges and Making a Comeback

In 2014, The Oakland was one of the few theaters to perform the musical Bare: A Pop Opera. After this, the center faced some serious money problems. These problems eventually led to them losing their long-time space in the Morley Building. In March 2015, The Oakland announced they would stop putting on theater shows for a while. This was mainly because of how the people in charge of the center were managing things at the time.

But The Oakland didn't give up! In 2015, they announced a new group of people would be leading the center. They also started a new program called the Oakland's Kids First Theatre Initiative. This is a free theater program based in Boardman that focuses on education. This successful program helped The Oakland get back on its feet financially.

Programs for Everyone

For their 2018 season, The Oakland announced a special program for seniors. This program offers shows during the daytime hours. It also provides catered lunches for senior groups.

Today, The Oakland continues to put on exciting theater productions for the community.