A Two-Fold Mission: Education & Entertainment

MTWichita’s two-fold mission is to educate and entertain the people of our community, while also training and nurturing hundreds of young theatrical artists with Midwestern roots. We are extremely proud of the many young lives we impact each summer, and the longstanding support from Velma Wallace and the Wallace Foundation significantly helps us to foster the careers of countless performers, designers, and theatrical technicians. Velma was fascinated with the work of Music Theatre Wichita’s talented, dedicated, and uniquely focused young performers and backstage artists. She frequently sat in on spring auditions, and often attended the sixth day of rehearsal, when the cast ran through the whole show for the first time.

Velma believed in the model of not only giving opportunities to young people, but also holding them to high standards while providing career guidance, emotional support, and industry-specific training that could lead to solid careers in their chosen fields. Having always wished that she, herself, had been provided more educational opportunities, Velma dedicated herself to underwriting education and career training for future generations, from the engineering scholars at WSU to the young, hopeful students who gain a professional network and system of support when they are hired to spend a summer in Wichita.

MTWichita’s young people will benefit from Velma’s financial support for decades, thanks to her estate gift to Music Theatre Wichita. The resulting interest of these funds will be used specifically to provide jobs, training, and educational opportunities for new generations of MTWichita youth. Continued support from the Wallace Foundation allows MTWichita to produce the high-caliber productions of which Velma was so proud.

-Music Theatre Wichita