Originally offering weekend drama classes for local youth under the name Auburn Children's Theatre, the Merry-Go-Round Playhouse was founded in September of 1958. In 1961, the children's theatre instituted a semi-professional in-school program and within four years, the program began touring state-wide. In 1974, the youth tour became fully professionalized. In 1981, the current Producing Director, Ed Sayles, took over the leadership of the corporation and the Youth Theatre began to grow in earnest.

From humble beginnings, the organization has blossomed into one of the nation's foremost professional touring youth theatres.

Biography of Producing Director, Ed Sayles
 
Each year, our touring company mounts 10 different productions, averaging 40-45 performances a week; receives over 5,000 letters from students; leads approximately 4,000 classroom workshops and travels over 120,000 miles. Touring throughout Upstate New York, the Youth Theatre reaches over 125,000 students annually in 23 counties. Currently, we serve 170 buildings in 57 school districts spanning from the Adirondacks to Lake Erie, from the Canadian border to the Pennsylvania state line.

 

 
Origins of the Sequential Dramatics Program

In the late 1960's, the decade old Merry-Go-Round Youth Theatre invited a select group of classroom teachers and administrators to a roundtable caucus to discuss the format and value of current programming. Consisting of primarily assembly productions, the Merry-Go-Round's programming was found to be entertaining, but the format did not specifically address the needs of children at every grade level. Having identified this apparent defect in programming, the group set out to craft a new vision, an innovative model that would be of utmost benefit to each and every child. From this vision, the Sequential Dramatics Program was born.

 
Two guiding principals were adopted:
 
1.  Programming should integrate into each individual grade level's curriculum. It should build upon past experiences and strive toward long range goals.
2.  A partnership between educators and artists must be established. Programming should aid classroom teachers in addressing state learning mandates.

While now over fifty years old, the Merry-Go-Round Youth Theatre's Sequential Dramatics Program has continued to evolve through a commitment to this two-fold philosophy into one of the region's most sought after educational enterprises.