RALEIGH, N.C. – North Carolina Theatre, the region’s premiere nonprofit professional regional theatre producing Broadway musical revivals, is using their conflict resolution workshop, Theatre4Change (T4C), to promote National Bullying Prevention Month. Through the workshop, NC Theatre seeks to raise awareness of bullying, peer pressure and other critical social issues that negatively impact the mental health of today’s youth.

Professional acting instructors, several of whom have backgrounds in theatre for social justice or adolescent health, lead T4C and use theatre games to help students to apply their conflict resolution and anti-bullying skills to make informed responsible choices. T4C began its second full academic year in partnership with the Wake County Public School System (WCPSS) in September 2014. This partnership has continued to allow NC Theatre to scale up this program with the ultimate goal of creating a model that can be replicated throughout Wake County and beyond.

The successes of the T4C program during the 2014-2015 school year were greatly due to the Contributions Committee of The Bayer USA Foundation’s generous grant of more than $25,000 that allowed the program to achieve its goals. One hundred and sixty workshops were conducted for 4,372 students, and teachers saw major improvements in classroom participation, problem-solving skills and in students learning how to take responsibility for themselves and others.

“NC Theatre is proud of our Theatre4Change program, as it gives students new tools to resolve conflict and prevent bullying through hands-on theatre games and exercises,” said Lisa Grele Barrie, President and CEO of NC Theatre.

About North Carolina Theatre:

North Carolina Theatre is Raleigh’s premiere nonprofit regional theatre. NC Theatre was created to strengthen the cultural vitality of the region and cultivate musical theatre appreciation by producing outstanding professional Broadway musicals and developing the next generation of artists through youth training, performance and outreach programs. By preserving the unique American art form of musical theatre, NC Theatre is able to provide broad access to the arts and to entertain and engage diverse audiences. For more information about the theatre, upcoming performance and tickets, please visit http://www.nctheatre.com.

For tickets to NC Theatre’s production of INTO THE WOODS visit NCTheatre.com or call Ticketmaster at 800-745-3000. For groups of 10 or more, call 919- 831-6941 x6949. Coming up in our 2015/2016 season: INTO THE WOODS, October 20-25; RAGTIME January 12-17; GREASE, February 9-14; WIT, April 29- May 8; MARY POPPINS, July 26- 31.