WORK HERE!!!! They accept submissions on a rolling basis and that is a rare find these days! They also cast virtually which is amazing for actors and accessibility! They are incredible to work for, the production quality is UNREAL (cmon LED light wall!). The creative team is amazing, so smart and truly great folks. Shane is the BEST. The talent brought in is unmatched. The youth theatre here is broadway quality. The costumes lighting and sound are amazing.I would go back in a heartbeat.
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I’d like to provide some insight into the experience I know many MANY young performers have had with the Palace Theatre in the past 10 years. I’m tired of staying silent to protect my peace from their administrators who have, on multiple occasions, punished and harassed previous performers for speaking out against them. From eating disorders, trauma, bullying, gaslighting, and verbal abuse, this theatre has left countless young performers entering the industry with plenty of horror stories. To offer honesty and finally shine a spotlight on the horrors that still haunt me after many years out of their programs, I would like to briefly highlight a few experiences that they should be held accountable for.
To begin with, Carl Rajotte is the most traumatizing power figure I have ever worked with. Carl, and by extension the rest of their administrators who supported and participated in his behavior, consistently put children in toxic and dangerous situations to enforce through fear their outdated ideologies of how the theatre industry would treat them. I know because I was one of these children for many years. On countless occasions, Carl would body shame us and enforce terrible exercise routines upon the 14-17 year olds in their “Palace Teen Company”, including (but not limited to) forcing us to run around the block local to the theatre until we reached a mile, yelling at us to lift metal folding-chairs and squat with 10-pound boxes of copy paper to enforce our “Broadway Bod” WEEKLY, ask us what our weight was and provide feedback on where he thought we should be, encouraging MANY harmful diet trends that promoted purging and fasting, and more. Beyond the body shaming, there were several instances of the staff hosting private meetings with each teenager and telling them, to their face, what their “flaws“ were. This included being “too sensitive”, “caring too much about schoolwork”, or even “not trying enough“. Carl enjoyed ruling through fear and, as such, made sure to reinforce his position through bullying and gaslighting. Several other administrators participated in this behavior and regularly bullied student performers (with the exception of Shane, who has always been incredibly kind without failure). There have also been several instances of text messages between teenagers and staff members, especially Hunter Ulbin, being leaked in which they made jokes at the expense of their youth actors, insulted their abilities, and encouraged harmful bullying.
All in all, the experience of many young actors leaving their teen programs has been a negative one filled with trauma and pain. There are countless other stories that are either not mine to share or too long to post on one forum that would corroborate this claim. The exterior reputation of this theatre and its programs has overshadowed the real stories and experiences of countless young performers who (still) regularly discuss their shared traumas. Please reconsider participating in these programs and hold their administrators accountable for the abuse they have inflicted on many many impressionable teenagers who look to them for guidance as they navigate the arts.