Mile High Youth Theater Brings Life to Reclaimed Materials

This month, we sat down with Christina Roberts, Executive Director of Mile High Youth Theater, to talk about their growing impact on youth arts in the Denver area and how reclaimed materials from Perks Reclaimed are helping them build worlds on stage.

Perks: Christina, tell us a bit about Mile High Youth Theater. How long has it been around, and what’s your mission?

Christina Roberts: We’re in our third year at our Congress Park location in Denver. We serve students ages 4 to 18, broken into four age groups. We run full productions, classes, and workshops. One of our favorites is the Theater for Young Audiences program, which tours schools and community spaces across the metro area with free shows for kids ages 3 to 7.

We also host an immersive summer camp where kids write and perform original plays using our 100-year-old historic building as their stage. Last August, they created a science-fiction show that guided audiences through the building and even outdoors.

Perks: What have been some big wins for you this past year?

Christina: A huge one is introducing student pit bands and orchestras into our high school productions—having live music has been incredible. Our spring production of Hadestown: Teen Edition was a highlight. It was really well-received and brought new interest to our program.

And then there’s our summer camps. We ran 21 camps this year, serving 350 kids! It really shows the demand for affordable and accessible arts programming in Denver.

Perks: We first met when you stopped by Perks Reclaimed for materials. What kinds of things have you used from Perks?

Christina: Most of our reclaimed lumber—2x4s, 1x3s, the bones of our sets—comes from Perks. For our current Into the Woods production, we also picked up old fence pieces and are repurposing them into an upstage backdrop. We also grabbed used bamboo posts to create some avant-garde trees.

But sometimes we just come for “fun shapes.” Your warehouse has such unique finds that spark creativity.

Perks: What’s the best part of shopping with us?

Christina: Josh the store manager has been amazing and the way your lumber is organized makes it easy for our team to load materials quickly. It’s flexible, affordable, and sustainable. In the arts, we build a lot, so using reclaimed materials reduces our environmental impact. And honestly, the quality of your wood is often sturdier than what we’d buy new—it matters when kids are dancing on these sets!

Perks: What shows are you producing in the next few months?

Christina:

• Into the Woods (High School group) – October 23–November 2 at the JCC Black Box
  
• James and the Giant Peach (Middle School group) – November 21–23 at The People’s Building in Aurora
  
• Imagine a Dragon (Rising Stars, ages 7–9) – December 19–20 at Roaming Gnome Theater

In the spring, we’re shifting into a school theme with High School Musical, Diary of a Wimpy Kid, and Miss Nelson is Missing. We’re excited to be among the first groups in the area to produce Diary of a Wimpy Kid the Musical.

Perks: Who builds your sets? Do the kids help?

Christina: It depends on the show. We usually hire a scenic designer who provides renderings and a ground plan. Sometimes they also build, sometimes volunteers and parents jump in. Our high school students often join technical build days, and we’ve even run technical theater classes where students built full sets. We’d love to expand this side of our program to give kids more hands-on design and construction opportunities.

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We love seeing reclaimed materials find new life on stage, turning fence posts into enchanted forests and reclaimed lumber into platforms for young performers. Christina and her team at Mile High Youth Theater are building more than sets—they’re building confidence, community, and creativity for kids across the Denver metro area. Keep an eye out for their upcoming productions at www.mhyt.org.