RGV Players is a Brownsville-based nonprofit dedicated to providing free, culturally grounded arts and humanities programming for youth in the Rio Grande Valley. Through theater, storytelling, and youth leadership development, including the Student Directors Program, RGV Players creates space for young people to explore identity, build confidence, and engage with their community in meaningful ways.

Founded in response to a clear gap in accessible arts education, RGV Players centers the voices and lived experiences of youth in the Valley. The organization operates on a simple but powerful belief: young people should not have to leave their community to see their stories valued, performed, and preserved.

RGV Players is currently establishing 501(c)(3) status and is guided by a founding board rooted in the community it serves. In its pilot year, the organization aims to serve 60–100 youth ages 6–17, prioritizing those from underserved and under-resourced communities. At its core, this work is about access and ownership, specifically who gets to tell stories and who gets to be seen. RGV Players is intentionally designed to shift that power back to young people, creating spaces where their voices are not filtered or reshaped, but fully expressed, valued, and centered within their own community.

PROGRAM PILLARS

1) Acting: Performance skills, stage presence, voice, movement, and character development.

2) Storytelling: Oral histories, personal narratives, poetry, and culturally rooted story creation.

3) Youth Leadership: Mentorship, directing, facilitation, and creative leadership pathways.

RGV Players

create. perform. belong.