Don’t miss this fun, interactive performance by the pre-professional artists in COCA’s Improv Troupe. Performers practice long-form and short-form improvisation, sketch comedy, and activities that involve audience participation. Using prompts, games, and thematic music, audiences will help to create the characters, settings, and stories that drive this performance. COCA Improv Troupe is directed by Ed Reggi.

EPSG:4326

Coca Improv Troupe: Coca Ignites

Center of Creative Arts

Dive into the enchanting underwater world of Disney's Finding Nemo JR., brought to life by the talented youth of COCA - Center of Creative Arts in collaboration with Variety the Children's Charity. This stage adaptation of the beloved Pixar film follows the heartwarming journey of Marlin, an anxious and over-protective clownfish, as he ventures across the vast ocean to find his son, Nemo, who has been captured and taken to Sydney. Along the way, Marlin encounters a host of memorable characters, including the optimistic Dory, the laid-back sea turtle Crush, and the supportive Tank Gang. Each character plays a crucial role in helping Marlin and Nemo overcome their challenges and discover the true meaning of courage and friendship.

This production is part of a fully inclusive Performing Arts program that brings together kids and teens with and without disabilities, providing a platform for every child to shine. Under the direction of Lara Teeter, with music direction by Marc Schapman and choreography by Dawn Gilbertson, the show promises to be a vibrant and dynamic performance. The collaboration between COCA Kids and Variety Kids ensures a diverse and enriching experience for both the performers and the audience, highlighting the importance of inclusivity and community in the arts.

Collaborative Youth Musical: Disney’s Finding Nemo Jr.

Experience the exhilarating journey of the SIX wives of Henry VIII as they take the stage in "SIX: TEEN EDITION" at the Center of Creative Arts (COCA). This dynamic youth musical transforms five centuries of historical heartbreak into a vibrant celebration of 21st-century girl power. From Tudor Queens to modern-day Pop Icons, the characters of Catherine of Aragon, Anne Boleyn, Jane Seymour, Anna of Cleves, Katherine Howard, and Catherine Parr come alive, each sharing their unique stories through powerful performances and catchy tunes. The New York Times describes SIX as pure entertainment, while the Evening Standard praises it as the most uplifting new British musical. With a talented cast of young performers, including standout roles such as Montgomery Price as Catherine of Aragon and Devynn Yakel as Anne Boleyn, this production promises a fresh and engaging take on history. The ensemble, featuring dancers like Tallulah Lyons, adds an extra layer of energy and excitement to the show. Join us at the Catherine B. Berges Theatre for a musical experience that redefines historical narratives with a contemporary twist.

Six: Teen Edition

This musical adaptation of The Color Purple, Alice Walker’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel and the popular 1985 Steven Spielberg film, spotlights Celie, a downtrodden young woman whose personal awakening over the course of 40 years forms the arc of this epic story.  

The Color Purple

Don’t miss this fun, interactive performance by the company members in COCA’s Improv Troupe. Performers practice long-form and short-form improvisation, sketch comedy, and activities that involve audience participation. Using prompts, games and thematic music, audiences will help to create the characters, settings and stories that drive these performances. 

Join Allegro Vocal Company for their end of season music spectacular, Harmonious. Highlighting COCA’s top voices, Harmonious focuses on different genres of music to celebrate a broad range of prominent musical styles spanning the past century.

Harmonious

MOTheR, a new work by Kirven Douthit-Boyd, centers on a family who uses the power of dance to elevate their existence. Mother and her four sisters serve as protectors of their family, orchestrating movement of the natural world to transport them to sovereignty. They are magical agents of change who use their individual and collective powers to lead their family on a journey that is both worldly and ethereal. This production encompasses alchemy, robust original sound, vibrant imagery inspired by the cultural aesthetic of Afrofuturism, and movement vocabulary that blends cultural and contemporary dance, to tell the story of five women who will stop at nothing to protect the prosperity of their children.  

Mother

Triumphant unites COCA’s Pre-Professional dance companies as they take their season-ending bows and COCA’s graduating seniors grace the stage one last time. Triumphant highlights the versatility of our young artists as they present 12 dance works across three unique programs. Throughout the year, the dancers experience creative development residencies with guest artists including Justin Conte, Tom Gold, My’Kal Stromile, and Omari Wiles. Bringing new work to premiere at COCA, each guest artist mounts their piece specifically for COCA dancers and collaborates with COCA’s production team to fully realize the work.

Triumphant

12-year-old Simone lives an overwhelming and overscheduled life, but they really want to find a place that they can stop and think. At the same time, on the other side of the universe, The Kid at the Edge of Everything lives alone, bored, and isolated. Following a startling sequence of events involving “lots and lots of fireworks” and a rocket ship, their worlds collide changing the trajectory of the children’s lives forever. 

The Kid at the Edge of Everything

Joyful celebrates the winter season in song with a variety of music performed by COCA’s premiere vocal company, Allegro. This year, the vocal company focuses on vocal and mental health as we explore the healing power of music within ourselves as well as within our community. Joyful is also the inaugural performance of Dr. Philip A. Woodmore as COCA’s Artistic Director of Voice. Join us as we spread JOY throughout the holiday season and into the new year. 

Joyful

Don’t miss this fun, interactive performance by the company members in COCA’s Improv Troupe. Performers practice long-form and short-form improvisation, sketch comedy, and activities that involve audience participation. Using prompts, games and thematic music, audiences help to create the characters, settings, and stories that drive these performances.

Two of COCA’s Pre-Professional Division companies come together for a night showcasing new work. Returning for its third season, COCA’s Choreographic Lab Project is a unique opportunity for young creatives to broaden their approach to dance-making. This season, COCA launched a search to find a classical choreographer to lead the project, and the mentors will include current professional ballet dancers and choreographers. Following the performance of this new work will be a conversation with the choreographer. 

Coca New Works Festival

The Carp Who Would Not Quit brings to life traditional fable tellings from Japan and Okinawa to teach important lessons of persistence, respect, and kindness. Introducing live original music, language, and performance traditions from these cultures, this interactive performance is specifically developed for our youngest audiences. 

Center of Creative Arts

Nov 16, 2024

Coca Improv Troupe: Coca Ignites

9 - 11 Aug, 2024

Collaborative Youth Musical: Disney’s Finding Nemo Jr.

Center of Creative Arts