
UpBeat!
CFCArts’ UpBeat! provides an artistic platform for youth, teen, and adult exceptional learners and neurodivergent performers. The UpBeat! Troupe, produces multiple performances each year, including both short films and musicals, featuring the unique talents and abilities of a cast of performers with various exceptionalities and diagnoses. CFCArts is proud to holistically support our performers and showcase their abilities, so our community at large can witness their incredible talent and potential.
The UpBeat! Difference
The purpose of this program is to provide an inclusive space for our community with varying abilities. Our performers are given opportunities appropriate to their individual needs that encourage and challenge them in ways not typically available in a mainstream community theater program. What makes UpBeat! unique is the use of an interprofessional team of board-certified music therapists, arts in health practitioners, and teaching artists who collaborate to develop programs based on the individual needs of the performers.
The UpBeat! Approach
We strive to give each performer a meaningful experience that showcases their unique abilities and allows our whole community to see their incredible talent and potential. We employ the following methods:
- Customized scripts are created to match the skills and needs of performers within each show
- Customized rehearsal structure that is uniquely modified to the needs of the cast, to best support group cohesion and social skill development
- We teach creative skills in acting, singing, and dance in a modified format that is accessible in both skill level and pace
- We use teleprompter theater to support students in doing their best in performances by reducing the stress of line memorization
- We support life skills including communication, self-expression, emotional regulation, and general confidence building.
- Additionally, we are happy to provide additional support for individuals on a case-by-case basis.
If you have any questions about UpBeat! or wondering if this group is right for you or your performer, please email: school@cfcarts.com.
Partners
- Advance Learning Academy
- Best Buddies
- Down Syndrome Association of Central Florida | Members of DSACF can receive a full scholarship to participate in Upbeat! Contact us today to find out how!
- Family Café
- Family Café, Youth Summit
- Quest Kids Academy
- Quest, Inc.
Our History
One of the key missions of Central Florida Community Arts has been to make high-quality arts programming accessible to everyone in Central Florida, regardless of age, ability, or available resources. Through our partnership with the Down Syndrome Association of Central Florida, we recognized a critical need in our community. While performing arts programs for individuals with physical and cognitive disabilities existed, many offerings concluded once the participant reached the age of twenty-one.
Recognizing the importance of providing these programs CFCArts created the UpBeat! Theater Troupe in 2018, providing performance opportunities to our local teen and adult exceptional learners. Our purpose was to provide an inclusive space for all members of our community with varying abilities to build creative skills such as acting, singing, and dance in addition to supporting life skills including verbal and non-verbal communication, self-expression, emotional regulation, and group cohesion. In 2020 the program developed a virtual short film option in response to COVID-19, which has continued to serve folks outside of our geographic region including participation from four other states. And in 2021, we created a youth-based program serving ages 7-13 upon requests from parents in our local community.
UpBeat! has received many accolades including winning the 2020 International Hamilton Arts & Innovation Award and a prestigious grant in 2021 from the National Endowment for the Arts. Additionally, UpBeat! has been featured in 2021-2023 at the Family Cafe, Florida’s largest disabilities summit, in addition to being shared as a program model at the National Organization for Arts & Health Conference (2021), Berklee College of Music’s ABLE Assembly (2022), and at the MedPACt’s Global Health Conference hosted by the University of Central Florida (2023).
Our Funders
Culture Builds Florida
DSACF
National Endowment for the Arts
Meet the UpBeat! Team




Edwin Alvarado
UpBeat! Member Ambassador

Beckie Ward
UpBeat! Member Ambassador

UpBeat!
For students ages 16+ wanting an in-person rehearsal and performance experience.
Schedule
UpBeat! In Person Rehearsal Schedule (Live Performance)
Time: Thursdays 6:00-7:30pm
Season: August 10 – November 2
Location: CFCArts Black Box (250 SW Ivanhoe Blvd. Orlando, FL 32804)
Tech Rehearsals:
Thursday, November 2 (6:00-8:00pm)
Tuesday, November 7 (6:00-8:00pm)
Wednesday, November 8 (6:00-8:00pm)
Thursday, November 9 (6:00-8:00pm)
Friday, November 10 (6:00-8:00pm)
Performances: Saturday, November 11, 2023 at 5pm AND Sunday, November 12, 2023 at 3pm in the CFCArts Black Box Theatre (250 SW Ivanhoe Blvd. Orlando, FL 32804)

UpBeat! Jr.
For students ages 8-15 wanting an in-person rehearsal and performance experience
Schedule
UpBeat! Jr. Rehearsal Schedule (Live Performance)
This course is taught by a board-certified music therapist providing integrated music interventions to support student development in addition to preparing a theatrical performance.
Time: Wednesdays 6:00-7:00pm
Season: August 9 – November 1
Location: CFCArts Black Box (250 SW Ivanhoe Blvd. Orlando, FL 32804)
Tech Rehearsals:
Wednesday, November 1 (6:00-7:00pm)
Wednesday, November 8 (6:15-7:15pm)
Thursday, November 9 (6:15-7:15pm)
Friday, November 10 (6:15-8:00pm)
Performances: Saturday, November 11, 2023 at 5pm AND Sunday, November 12, 2023 at 3pm in the CFCArts Black Box Theatre (250 SW Ivanhoe Blvd. Orlando, FL 32804)

UpBeat! Virtual
For students ages 12+ wanting or needing an online/Zoom option with performance via pre-recorded short film
Schedule
UpBeat! Virtual Rehearsal Schedule (Short Film Option)
Time: Mondays 6:30-7:30pm
Season: August 7 – October 30
Location: ZOOM
Filming Time Frame: Students will be filmed individually by appointment via Zoom October 3-20 28.
Premiere: Short films will be premiered as part of the LIVE showcase on November 11-12.
See an example of an UpBeat! Virtual short film performance!

Registration
Registration Information
Registration
- Tuition for the UpBeat! program is $125 per production.
- If you are new to UpBeat! and would like to meet with the director, please contact school@cfcarts.com so that we can schedule a virtual meet and greet prior to the first rehearsal! If the performer lives with a parent or guardian, both the performer and a parent or guardian should be present. If the performer lives independently, a parent or guardian does not need to be present.
- If you need financial assistance, please click here!
- Are you a member of the Down Syndrome Association of Central Florida (DSACF)? Please email school@cfcarts.com for information on a full scholarship from DSACF!
- If you have any additional questions, please email school@cfcarts.com.
Click here to register for UpBeat!