Your support for The Rose changes lives. It emboldens young people across the region to find and utilize their unique voices to change the world. This season was packed full of amazing talent, both onstage and off. We were able to perform amazing productions such as The Sound of Music , The SpongeBob Musical , Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Cinderella , and The Lightning Thief , just to name a few. Your choice to support The RoseTheater is a choice not simply to bring theater to children but to give some of the very best theatrical productions in Omaha to the children of our community.
The Rose’s commitment to inclusion manifests in every facet of our work. Children notice. They feel The Rose is a place where they are seen and fully heard, in the classroom as well as onstage. Our Every Single Child initiative is an ongoing example of our successful efforts to reach underserved young people. The CommUNITY Connections team continued to strengthen existing bonds and established new partnerships with human service organizations. This complements the longstanding on-site workshops and field trips we host, as well as our robust number of youth productions and dance experiences. Your support this year this year provided the stable foundation upon which this growth happened, and we look forward to reaching even more area families this year!
Recognizing that anti-racist work is the primary work necessary to make a better and an intentionally inclusive world, The Rose joyfully and boldly commits to co-creating an equitable future with young people. We promise to do this by using theater as a bridge that connects us all.
The full EDIA action plan is available by contacting Kathy Tyree, Director of Strategy & Community Impact
Email: kathyt@rosetheater.org
Michelle Smithberg President
Bill Stott Past President
Debora Wisneski President-Elect
Paul Tranisi VP of Marketing/Development
Maureen Ereckson VP of Finance
Jennifer Petersen Production/Education
Allison Balus Secretary/By-Laws
Amy Ryan Foundation Representative
Maranda Adams
Jennie Bartholomew
Dr. Kerry-Ann Escayg
Katherine MacHolmes
Merri Melvin
Doris Moore
Joe Pruch
Gennean Scott
Thomas Sowinski
Joanna Swanson
John Tinius
Jeanette Weber
Sarah Weller
Sarah Volpone
For almost 40 years, the Rose Theater Guild has supported the efforts of The Rose with a group of dedicated volunteers who raise funds and awareness for our programming. The Guild has raised more than $1.5 million since 1985, directly supporting our mission of enriching the lives of young people and their families through live theaters and arts education. All funds raised by The Rose Guild directly support The Rose Theater and its wide array of programs.
Rosebuds are kids 18 & under who support The Rose Theater! Membership is $20 and includes invitations to special events, goodie bags at shows, recognition in each program and much more.
Jude Acker
Beatrix Bittner
Winifred Bittner
Briggs Dittenber
Barrett Dittenber
Hazel Copeland
Henry Copeland
Emerson Ellis
Everett Ellis
Ethan Hansen
Emily Hansen
Nikola Herrmann
Elizabeth Horn
Fletcher Horn
Brooke Kinney
Ava Kock
Sebastian Loue
Mia Josefina Louie
Olivia McCormick
Frank Merwald
James Merwald
Armani Moore
Asher O’Tool
Henry O’Tool
James Pernicek
Lily Pernicek
Lilyan Peters
Carter Poots
Taylor Poots
Oliver Poots
Preston Rich
Fordham Rich
Sydney Richardson
Zachary Richardson
Elise Risicato
Elin Sears
Avi Sears
Ronin Sears
Virginia Spatz
Eleanor Spatz
Adelaide Thielen
William Thielen
Evelyn Turner
Olivia Turner
Annabella Volpone
Giuliana Volpone
William Volpone
The movement throughout the story made students be involved the whole time. My students were smiling and participating. The story was age-appropriate and easy to understand by students.
- Field Club Elementary
The students and teachers always enjoy the programs. Thank you for continuing to provide this opportunity to our students.
- Gomez Heritage
June 3 - June 19, 2022
Director: Matt Gutschick
Public Attendance: 5,315
October 7 - October 23, 2022
Director: Carrie Lewis
Public Attendance: 5,790
August 26 - September 18, 2022
Director: Taylor Adams
Public Attendance: 3,232
October 29 - November 13, 2022
Director: Jackie Kappes
Public Attendance: 392
November 25 - December 18, 2022
Director: Sarah Brown
Public Attendance: 8,121
-CustomerSurvey -Customer Survey
January 20 - February 5, 2023
Director: Matt Gutschick
Public Attendance: 5,224
February 10 - February 19, 2023
Director: Danielle Drakes
Public Attendance: 5,315
March 10 - March 26, 2023
Director: Stephanie Jacobson
Public Attendance: 5,207
Firefly
March 25 - April 8, 2022
Grandparents and grandkids loved it!
Director: Jessica Burrill-Logue
Public Attendance: 487
April 14 - April 30, 2023
Director: Isaiah Ruiz
Public Attendance: 3,601
Underwriting from community supporters made it possible for The Rose to offer field trip performances at a substantially reduced rate, starting at $3.00 for students who qualified for their school’s free or reduced lunch program. As a result, more than 21,000 students attended a mainstage performance at The Rose.
ATTENDED: 3,712
ATTENDED: 2,803
ATTENDED: 827
ATTENDED: 816
ATTENDED: 6,146
ATTENDED: 5,055
ATTENDED: 4,057
The Rose education team taught more that 1,000 curriculum-based workshops in schools all across the metro area. The Rose offers workshops for all school-age children, from Reader’s Theater, and Creative Movement to Elementary American Revolution and Aztec, Incan and Mayan stories. School-based teachers are able to work with Rose educators to choose workshops to best fit their curriculum and classroom needs.
15,124
Metro Tours are mobile shows The Rose can take into metro area schools for the 2022-2023 season. The Rose’s Touring shows consisted of Nebraskaland! , The Mysterious Case Files of Silver Cash, Money Detective , and Two Wolves: Kindness Begins With Us .
3,794
This innovative program is designed to allow elementary students in Omaha the opportunity to take part in at least one meaningful theatrical experience each year, whether it be a school field trip show, touring show, or workshop. Curriculum tie-ins and classroom relevance are strongly factored into the options provided each year.
24,988 SERVED THROUGH ESC
Introduced in 2011, BROADWAY at The Rose offers classes in musical theater, dance, and voice for students who want to hone their skills and prepare to take the stage at school, in community productions and even on The Rose mainstage. BROADWAY at The Rose classes cultivate self-expression, discipline and love for performing arts. The Private and Group Voice classes culminate in a winter and spring recital while our Musical Theater and Dance classes culminate in a Spring Concert on The Rose Theater Mainstage.
The Rose Brigade is a select group of musical theater performers who hone their singing, dancing, and acting skills by learning a musical production throughout the year. They perform a 15-minute cut before a Rose mainstage performance and a full one-hour production with costumes, scenery and lighting for families and friends. They also travel and compete in the annual Junior Theater Festival (JTF), a national convention featuring musical theater students from across the country, with workshops, classes and competitions led by the top musical theater professionals in the world. This year The Rose Brigade received an Excellence in Dance award at the festival.
The Rose Studios for Youth Artists is home to an award-winning competitive company, The Rose Dance Project. This program is designed for students who have dance experience and are ready to take their dancing to a competitive level. They receive technical training from multiple instructors and are dedicated to rehearsing pieces for a variety of competitions. This year, students performed and were awarded outstanding choreography at their four regional competitions and at Star Power Nationals in Las Vegas. Competitive dance instills valuable life skills such as hard work, commitment, confidence and teamwork. The Rose truly believe in helping every student become their best selves.
locations Five teen-only shows are produced each season in which the teen participants are given opportunities to act, direct, write and design.
The Rose is a leader in the field of drama and dance instruction for children with special needs. This season, The Rose served more than 150 students through its course offerings for children with exceptionalities.
DRAMA at The Rose classes promote creativity and provide students with an environment to explore their talent and imagination. In DRAMA classes, young people learn how to use their bodies and voices to tell a story, and to stretch their imagination. Classes include acting, directing, playwriting, improv, stagecraft, puppetry and more.
Pre-K Drama enrichment works in schools and classrooms with Pre-K students to bring them meaningful experiences, connecting theater to emotional and physical milestone growth. The program consists of students seeing three Rose shows and four workshops throughout the year based on shows and curriculum topics. The program provides NE certified continuing education courses for partnering teachers.
Uses age-appropriate developmental milestones to work with individual students based on attention span and physical abilities. During each 30 minute weekly class, toddlers and preschoolers learn and practice vocal and dance technique through creative drama lessons. Classes also balance a combination of structured warm-ups and organized character exploration activities specifically designed with the youngest artists in mind. Our four curriculum explore topics such as Colors, Shapes, Confidence and careers with the use of all four learning modalities (VARK- Visual, Auditory, Reading/Writing, Kinesthetic).
The Rose Theater Accessibility Committee was formed in 2016, with representation from every department, in order to continue The Rose’s commitment to creating an intentionally welcoming and inclusive space for individuals of all identity groups.
Throughout the 2022-2023 season, Rose teaching artists in classes, in-school workshops and field trips worked with students with a variety of exceptionalities, including children on the autism spectrum, with Down Syndrome, who are Deaf and hard-of-hearing, have visual impairments and physical disabilities.
One of my students, who is very shy and normally does not participate in fun activities, was so into it! She was making expressions and using her body and voice! Thank you so much! Your fun energy and kindness was so inviting. I loved seeing their smiles and excitement. You are gifted!
- Liberty ElementaryThanks so much for coming! The kids were so excited to do the play. One student said it was the best day of their life!
- Gilder Elementary
CommUNITY Connections, The Rose Theater’s outreach program, makes theater activities available to Omaha area children and families who have not traditionally had access to the theater arts. Thanks to our generous supporters, CommUNITY Connections programming is offered free or at reduced rates to organizational and individual participants. This department is building programs, attending community events and offerings with the motto SUPPORT, CELEBRATE and ELEVATE the Greater Omaha Area.
Participants in CommUNITY Connections create stories of joy and celebration of their differences and their similarities. This unique Rose Theater program works to make a difference in the way young people view the world and their place in it, giving youth a voice and creative outlet to express themselves through theater arts.
The Rose also expanded outreach efforts for class scholarships by attending community events to share access to scholarship information. In addition, The Rose welcomed additional community groups to mainstage shows by providing transportation and special pre-show offerings for partners. This allowed an expanded audience to access the theater by removing obstacles to participation.
Schools:
Fontenelle Elementary
Franklin Elementary
Organizations:
You Turn
Carole’s House of Hope
Girls Inc
One Way Ministries
Lothrop Elementary
Castelar Elementary
Howard Kennedy Elementary
Miller Park Elementary
Educares: Indian Hill, Kellom
Early Learning Centers: Gateway, Skinner, and Howard Kennedy
Benson West Elementary
Hartman Elementary
Edison Elementary
Gateway Elementary
Marrs Middle School
Micah House
North Star
Latino Center of the Midlands
Centro Latino
Completely Kids
North Star
Boys & Girls Club (North)
Mercy House - Crestview Mentor NE
Big Brothers Big Sisters Partnership 4 Kids
Girls Scout Troup- Dr. Cynthia
Gooch Grayson
Mister K’s Clubhouse
Connie Jones - Ladybug Butters
CASA
ZEN
Sharing My Smile
RELEASE Foster Care
RISE
Boys Town
The Hope Center for Kids
This list reflects gifts received April 1, 2022 - May 15, 2023. Gifts received after May 15 will be ackowledged in the next Annual Report. Thanks to these generous corporate sponsors, foundations, government agencies and individual donors, The Rose Theater is able to enrich the lives of children and families through live theater and arts education.
Andrea Butler
Dot & Dick Connealy
Cynthia Curitti
Cutinella Family
Anita & Ryan Foor
Robert Grimm
Sally & Daniel Hartley
Lisa & Terry Helphrey
Staci McDonnell
Kelly McMannama
Neely Miller
Pam Mohan
Anthony Montegut
Lynn Perry
Julie Phillips
Katherine Rhea
Brandon & Ashley Rich
Christine Shuck
Janice Toldeo
Richard Westcott
Roberta Wilhelm & Vic Gutman
Nicole Winters
Tory Wittmaack
Howard Woodward
Lisa Worrall
Halli Wright
The value of sponsors and underwriters to The Rose Theater and its mission to enrich the lives of children and families through live theater and arts education cannot be overstated. Their support is vital to the continued success of The Rose Theater, and we would like to take this opportunity to say “thank you” for being our partners.
