Our Story
Our founder and director, Centra Smith, discovered her passion for youth advocacy during her time as a public school educator from 2017 to 2024. Her journey began even earlier, teaching Bible school to teenagers and later collaborating with a Detroit artist to produce two community plays, Who is She?. However, it was her experience working in public schools that truly ignited her mission to support young people.
While teaching, Centra noticed the exceptional talent and leadership potential in many inner-city students, but also saw that they lacked the spaces—such as theater programs and personal development workshops—needed to cultivate and showcase their abilities. Determined to address this need, she launched Take the Lead Drama Club in 2019, an after-school program designed to help youth discover their potential, build confidence, and express themselves through theater and leadership development.
For the past four years, Take the Lead Drama Club has been using theater to empower youth by combining social-emotional learning (SEL) workshops with original productions. To date, the program has produced four original plays written and directed by Centra: Rise (2020), And Still I Rise (2022), Choices (2023), and Freedom (2024, co-written by student Malijah Strong)—each one a resounding success! Looking ahead to 2025, the program will continue with the spring play, Confessions.
Our reach has extended beyond our core program through exciting collaborations. Notably, West Bloomfield High School selected and adopted our 2023 play, Choices, for their Black History Month feature in February 2024 and performed scenes from the play during their Juneteenth community event in June 2024.
We have also expanded our impact within the Detroit community, establishing partnerships with organizations such as the Detroit Main Library to deliver monthly SEL and theater workshops to teens, fostering creativity, confidence, and leadership.
The impact of Take the Lead Drama Club is clear: young people have transformed into confident theater artists, finding their voices and developing critical leadership skills. Beyond the stage, we have served over 100 youth annually, providing not only mentorship, but also meals on production days, custom apparel, and the tools to prepare them not just for college and careers, but for life.
Every aspect of this program stems from a God-given vision, with adult volunteers and young people contributing their passion and energy to make it thrive.
Take the Lead Drama Club continues to inspire and uplift youth, creating opportunities for growth on and off the stage.