Our name comes from a theatre game, where an individual starts a story and the next person picks up the telling by responding, “Yes! And…” then adding their part of the story, and so on. Collaboration is a vital skill for children to learn. It is much more powerful than compromise. Collaboration creates a space where vision, ideas, and desires are affirmed and can be achieved because people are working together. It creates a stronger sense of self-worth when a child understands that "Yes!" people support his or her ideas "And…" there are people to partner with them.

The “And…” is as important as the “Yes!”

Yes! And... equips children and teens with the tools to become better learners by giving them a stake in their success through involvement in the process of creating through collaboration. Yes! And... uses the arts as a tool for personal and communal discovery, reconciliation, and the construction of strong, positive sense of self and potential. Our goal is to partner with schools, community groups and social agencies in underserved areas to create and sustain Collaborative Arts Education Programs that meet the needs of each specific neighborhood.