Coachella Valley Repertory awarded Jordan Schnitzer Family Foundation grant

The young people in our valley have had an incredible opportunity to enjoy excellent and professional live theater this summer thanks to many local theater troupes, including the great team at Coachella Valley Repertory in Cathedral City.

Their Theatre for Young Audiences (TYA) program is dedicated to introducing young people to the magic of live performance. This summer they mounted a specifically tailored version of the classic "Snow White" to audiences full of gleeful first-time theatergoers and veterans alike.

And the best part — their policy for TYA is "pay what you can," meaning if you can pay $10 for a seat, great, but if you are not able to pay at all, they invite you into their cool theater to enjoy this wonderful production at no charge.

CV Rep Artistic Director Adam Karsten told us: "We want young people to experience a live performance. We know money is tight right now for so many people. We are happy to be providing these opportunities to all, regardless of their ability to pay."

A not-for-profit organization, CV Rep provides much outreach to our valley. The announcement of a new season of shows is always a much-anticipated event, and all throughout the year they offer excellent programs for all ages.

Their Summer Cabaret Series featuring Broadway veterans performing one-off shows sells out quickly, and they have a popular Drama Club as well as a conservatory and youth outreach that produces relevant content meant to educate and inspire young people.

It's for this excellent and diverse commitment of educational and entertaining programs to members of our community, young and old, that we award this week's Jordan Schnitzer Family Foundation Power of Community $1,000 grant to Coachella Valley Repertory to help it continue its mission to provide a powerful outreach to valley residents and visitors.

"We live in such an amazing place," Karsten said. "There is so much talent here. We are dedicated to introducing and inspiring as many future theatergoers and theater lovers as possible. We are very grateful to be part of the artistic community here."

Bravo! And we are grateful to have you as part of our community as well!

Learn more about Coachella Valley Repertory at cvrep.org.

Sandie Newton is an award-winning broadcast journalist who began her career in Los Angeles as cohost of the nationally syndicated show "PM Magazine." She went on to host many local and national shows like "Hollywood Insider" before becoming one of the original anchors for E! and a regular on Hallmark Channel's "Home & Family." In 2017, she moved to the desert, creating and hosting NBCares for six years. She is currently the host of "Desert Chat," a half-hour lifestyle show spotlighting all the good people, events and news in the Coachella Valley. Watch it Sundays at 6:30 p.m. on KESQ, at 10:30 p.m. on FOX 11 and noon Mondays on CW5.