Metropolitan Educational Theatre is a nonprofit educational organization which provides young people with a unique opportunity to be active participants in the dramatic process as actors, singers, dancers and good members of an audience. Alex H. Urban has been the artistic director since 1976.  Everyone who registers and completes the workshops and rehearsals is assured a role on stage in production performances. Production casts have varied from 100 to 300 young people ranging in age from 4 to college, including many parents of the cast. They have performed in high school, college and community theatres, dinner theatre settings, large outdoor tents and professional theatres in the U.S., Europe, Australia and New Zealand.



    Founder and artistic director Alex H. Urban is known throughout California and the nation for his work in the fields of creative drama and theatre for young people. An educator with lifetime teaching credentials in grades K-12 in both California and Illinois, he has over thirty years of classroom teaching experience.  Mr. Urban has published extensively in the areas of educational theatre and human relations with Harcourt, Brace and Jovanovich; Encyclopedia Britannica Educational Corporation and Combined Educational Motivation Systems.  He holds Bachelor of Arts and Master of Arts degrees from the University of Illinois in music, psychology and theatre.  He has complete extensive postgraduate work and served on the faculties of the University of Illinois, the University of Connecticut and the California State University system.  His educational programs, The Most Important Person and On Stage: Wally, Bertha and You, have been adopted for use in schools in many states, including California. They reflect his philosophy of directing which strives to make each young person develop greater self-confidence as well as enhance musical, dramatic and dance skills.  Mr. Urban has directed in theatres from New York to Los Angeles, Europe to the South Pacific, Australia, New Zealand and Moscow, Russia.  His teaching experience includes 30 years as a teacher, administrator, counselor and program development specialist.  He has held positions in some of the most prestigious schools in the United States and has been honored by the National Parent-Teacher Associations Who's Who in American Education, the Danforth and Fullbright Foundations and the National Council of Teachers of English. He is presently a private consultant, resource teacher and artistic director for MET2 (a bi-coastal theatre program) and Artists International of New Zealand and San Francisco.  He is currently working on his doctorate at Columbia University in adult education and fine arts. Mr. Urban is published chiefly by the Encyclopedia Britannica Educational Corporation.



    Mr. Urban has designed a program which provides children with high quality creative learning experiences in the theatre arts.  They contribute to personal growth and self-confidence, stimulate interest in others, encourage meaningful group relationships and strengthen skills in listening, speaking and body coordination. The program builds on childrens' vast natural abilities to use their imaginations and creative energies.

Weekly workshops build a spirit of confidence and cooperation within the working theatre setting. Children learn their own strengths and those of their fellow actors through creative drama and theatre games. They find that they have nothing to fear but fear itself in the supportive group environment.  Instruction is based on the commitment to building each participants self-confidence.  It includes improvisation, pantomime, voice and voice projection, stage movement, singing, dancing and audition techniques. By production time, all these elements come together in a Broadway style musical drama at a standard which consistently receives enthusiastic reviews.

The program is distinct from adult theatre in motivation, presentation and interpretation. It grows out of a desire to delight and instruct in beneficial ways which often enhance a child's view of self and his or her ability to relate effectively to others. The instruction is based on a thorough understanding of the child's mind, emotions and the mastery of techniques which seek to give each student positive and unforgettable experiences.

District Offices in:
San Diego-Metro & San Diego-North County & San Fernando Valley
East San Gabriel Valley & Torrance/South Bay
Main Voice Mail Number:  1-800-961-0194