AGING OUT is a new rock musical that tells the stories of “the ones nobody wanted” - 18 year olds who are aging out of the foster care system into independent, adult life in one giant, scary leap - unlike “normal” teenagers who get to enter adulthood with baby steps and family supporting them on the way.

We meet these teenagers at the end of their “Life Skills” class, taught by a volunteer whose job is to review with them the basics of checkbooks and resumes but constantly discovers more in her students than she bargained for. 

AGING OUT (book and lyrics by Tara Redepenning and Hillary Rollins, music by Darin Goulet) was developed in 2009-2010 by UC Irvine in conjunction with the Academy for New Musical Theatre (ANMT). Its first developmental staged reading at UCI was directed by Myrona Delaney and led to an intensive rewriting process and a second staged reading at NoHo Arts Center in North Hollywood, CA, July 2010. AGING OUT is scheduled to have a full production at UCI in January 2011.

If you are a producer, theatre or producing organization interested in supporting the development of AGING OUT, please contact us via our Facebook page about opportunities to become involved.

The writers extend their thanks to FosterClub, The Serpentine Project, and many other generous and gracious contributors who have assisted in the development

of AGING OUT by sharing with us the stories of young people in foster care.

The AGING OUT cast recording was sung by: Melissa Dunham, Kat Gutierrez, John Johnson, Chelsey Brook Moore, Danny Moreno, Annie Nelson, Ashley Nordland, Isaak Olson, Amy Perkins, Isaac Robinson-Smith, Kensie Sanchez, Galen Sato, Brandon Spooner, and Sarah Rebecca Weiss. Piano: Lex Leigh, Darin Goulet. Drums: Brian Boyce, Andrew Burlinson. Additional Instruments: Darin Goulet. Recorded at Clear Lake Audio, North Hollywood.

Photos by Myrona Delaney.