ACTS troupe brings Aladdin Jr. to Yuma this weekend

Yuma families filled Post Auditorium this weekend for ACTS Performance Troupe’s sold-out staging of Aladdin Jr., a production built around young local performers and a familiar Disney story. The show played Saturday at 1 p.m. and 6 p.m. at 400 West 5th Street, with waitlist options listed after both performances sold out.

For Yuma County, the draw went beyond the title on the marquee. ACTS Performance Troupe works with performers ages 8 to 16 and teaches acting, choreography, theater and singing, giving children a structured place to learn stagecraft while building confidence and teamwork. The production also gave parents, relatives and friends a chance to see that kind of training pay off in a public performance rather than only in rehearsal rooms.

Director Antoinette Estupinan has framed the troupe as more than an after-school outlet. She said ACTS was created to provide local youth with opportunities she did not have growing up, a mission that places the company squarely in the middle of Yuma’s arts education conversation. That purpose showed through in a show that used a well-known story to put first-time and developing performers in front of a live audience.

A radio segment tied to the production highlighted several of those young performers by name: Chloe, Sophia and Elijah. Their involvement reflected the troupe’s emphasis on giving children a chance to do real work on stage, not just watch from the wings. For families looking for arts opportunities in Yuma, the weekend performances offered a direct example of what a community theater program can provide when it stays active and visible.

ACTS has also shown staying power. Its public event listings include Newsies Junior in 2025, Lord of the Pies in 2024, a Junior Thespian Induction Ceremony and an Arizona Thespian Red Carpet Induction Ceremony in March 2026. Those listings suggest a program that is building a steady presence in Yuma’s arts scene, one production and one student event at a time.

The sold-out response to Aladdin Jr. pointed to real local interest in youth theater at a time when community arts programs often have to compete for attention. In Yuma, this weekend’s performances gave young residents a stage, families a reason to show up and the city another reminder that creative opportunity is being built here at home.