A band of teenage directors and designers is steering the ship for GREAT Theatre's season opener this weekend in Waite Park, where an all-youth cast takes the stage in the 40-minute musical “How I Became a Pirate” at the Helgeson Learning Lab. Performances run Friday at 6:00 p.m., Saturday at 10:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m., and Sunday at 2:00 p.m., with tickets priced at $16 each.
The production marks GREAT Theatre kicking off its 29th season, according to WJON. The musical follows an ordinary kid recruited by a band of pirates searching for buried treasure, turning a simple day at the beach into a treasure hunt, per the same report. What sets this staging apart is that high school students are directing and designing the entire show themselves, not just performing in it.
That hands-on leadership comes through GREAT's youth artist project, which gives high school students the opportunity to lead the creative vision of a fully produced musical while operating under the mentorship of professional artists and educators, the outlet reports. It's a structure meant to hand teenagers real creative authority rather than just supporting roles, and it fits squarely within an organization that describes its broader mission as inspiring imagination, building confidence, fostering collaboration and leadership, and creating a sense of belonging.
A Nonprofit Built Around Youth Programming
GREAT Theatre operates as a nonprofit community theatre dedicated to the children and families of Central Minnesota, according to Cause IQ, which lists the organization's address as 710 Sundial Drive in Waite Park and notes it was formed in 1998. Cause IQ's profile describes GREAT running one of the largest summer theatre camp programs in the state alongside an annual youth artist mentorship program, weekday student matinees, in-school residencies and drama workshops — though that profile carries no specific date, so its current status isn't independently confirmed.
The nonprofit typically produces seven to eight shows per season, including three performances at the 150-seat Helgeson Learning Lab Theatre, per Cause IQ's listing. WJON's report describes GREAT's activities as spanning performances, camps, school partnerships and community-based activities throughout Central Minnesota, with the organization framed as bringing the community together through shared theatre experiences.
The two sources diverge on just how many people that reach actually covers each year. WJON's report puts GREAT's annual participation and attendance at nearly 50,000 people, while Cause IQ's organizational profile states the group engages with over 62,000 community members annually through productions, performances and youth outreach programming. The dossier does not reconcile the two figures.
Arts Board Grants Backed Training and a Full Musical
GREAT's youth-focused mission has drawn recent financial backing beyond ticket sales. The Central Minnesota Arts Board awarded the organization $9,720 for immersive staff training focused on evaluation, equity, diversity, inclusion and intercultural competency, according to the Central Minnesota Arts Board. A separate $3,500 award supported one-week theatre residencies giving ISD 742 fifth-grade students the chance to take part in a collaborative production and school performance, the arts board's listing shows.
A third grant, $9,000, funded the production and performance of “Anastasia: The Musical” in December 2025 in Cold Spring, per the arts board. Together, the three awards reflect an organization investing both in staff capacity and in getting young people directly involved in producing full-scale shows.
A Similar Model Has Played Out Elsewhere in Minnesota
GREAT's youth-led approach echoes a comparable production staged earlier this year at Central Lakes College, where “Hadestown: Teen Edition” featured more than 25 performers from the Brainerd Lakes Area, according to Central Lakes College. That show ran June 24 through 27 at 7:00 p.m., with a final matinee on June 29 at 2:00 p.m. at the Chalberg Theatre, and included an ASL-interpreted performance on June 25, the college's announcement notes. It was directed by Amy Borash, with vocal direction by Kennedy Niska, and received partial funding through grants from the Minnesota State Arts Board and Five Wings Arts Council.
Whether GREAT's own “How I Became a Pirate” includes similar accessibility offerings, or how large its cast is, isn't detailed in available reporting. What is confirmed is the schedule: three performance blocks over three days at the Helgeson Learning Lab in Waite Park, with $16 tickets for a show that puts the region's next generation of theatre talent fully in charge.
