CHARLOTTE, N.C. — When it comes to theater and the arts, diversity is pretty low.

A few years ago, the Actors Equity Association did a study showing white men make up the majority of acting and stage management contracts.

Getting into schools with elite performing arts programs is hard too, but it’s even more of a challenge for minorities and those in lower-income households.

But that’s where Corey Mitchell comes in.

For over 20 years, he’s been teaching at Northwest School of the Arts in Charlotte.

“Five years into my teaching experience, I actually quit, and I quit for a year and what I found was that I missed it so much,” he said. “Every single day is an adventure with students.”

His larger-than-life personality, along with his skills, has won him numerous recognitions, including the Excellence in Theatre Education Tony Award, but his teaching career is soon coming to an end.

“I was already in the process, and in that phase of  ‘OK, it’s getting time for me to mix some things up,’” said Mitchell.

He originally planned to retire in 2020, but he halted those plans after the death of George Floyd, and the protests that took place across the country ended up inspiring him.

Mitchell decided to create a nonprofit college prep program called the Theatre Gap Initiative. The program would provide rigorous training and resources to help students of color break into the arts.

“The direct benefit for students that they will get is someone passionate and not just one someone, several people who are passionate about helping them achieve what they believe they can do,” Mitchell.

High school senior Rayna Allen is the program’s very first accepted student.

She spent months applying for colleges with fine arts programs, noticing the lack of diversity.

“Do I even want to go here if I know I’m going to be in a class full of white people and nobody else who can even understand me in any way? That was definitely a toll that I had to think about myself,” she explained.

The program is something she’s truly looking forward to.

Mitchell and his bright personality will retire from Northwest at the end of May, but he’s excited about this new journey and set of students he’ll be helping to mold.

“I use to think of myself as being nimble, and this opportunity gives me a chance to be nimble again,” he said.

The Theatre Gap Initiative will be partnering with Central Piedmont Community College to offer this new program.

The program will bring in 24 students, with applications closing on May 17.

You can learn more about the program and the work Mitchell is doing here.