Our Philosophy - El Dorado Musical Theatre

EDMT's Philosophy and Focusing Goal

Building confidence for life through excellence in theater performance.

At El Dorado Musical Theatre, we understand that we are not just in the theater business. We’re in the youth development business.

At first glance, it is easy to miss. We produce a number of major shows each year. There are audiences, performances, and tickets, not to mention a lot of singing, dancing, and acting.

We have won many awards. There have been many standing ovations.

But those things are not our proudest accomplishments.

Our greatest source of pride is the overwhelming deluge of stories from parents and performers. Each details how the EDMT experience helped that young person build greater confidence to succeed in life.

We know that some of our performers will go on to have Broadway careers. What is even more important are the 99% of our performers who will go on to greater success in life because of their time with EDMT.

Theater is the vehicle we use to build confidence. The ovations, the accolades, and the smiling faces are the bonus our performers receive along the way.

There are 5 Core Guiding Principles for EDMT.

1. EDMT is a Fun place.

2. EDMT is a Safe place.

3. EDMT fosters Excellence. It works to achieve the highest standards of professionalism possible while still involving cast members at a level where they can achieve success.

4. Musical theatre is the vehicle for helping everyone involved to grow personally and learn about being a member of an excellent team.

5. EDMT works to assure that the organization is viable and growing, since lacking either of these key elements, the organization cannot survive or deliver on its goals.

Most theater companies think we are crazy because our approach is to have everyone who auditions to be a part of the show makes the cast and performs on stage. This is true for our Training Shows, Rising Stars, and Main Stage productions. We don’t believe that the path to greater self-confidence begins with the message, “you’re not good enough to make the show.”

And yet, even with the challenge of working with brand-new performers alongside experienced entertainers, our artistic staff pulls off productions that consistently delight audiences. Frankly, it is amazing.

At EDMT, our message to performers is “you can.”