When Opening Act arrived at the Franklin K. Lane High School Campus in Brooklyn several years ago, the school’s small theater space was literally being used as a closet, storing old computers on the stage. At the Graphic Communication Arts Campus in Manhattan, our after-school program meets in a library where shelves are empty of any books. Opening Act, an innovative arts in education organization, is transforming bleak, under-utilized rooms in 35 of New York City’s most under-served public high schools into lively, creative, and challenging artistic spaces, where students are learning – through theater – what it means to be a part of a community and what it takes to see a commitment through to the end.
Opening Act brings its high-quality, year-long, after-school theater programs to the schools and students that need us the most: schools where less than 60% of students are graduating in four years, and where there is a severe lack of arts and extra-curricular opportunities. And thanks to the support of groups like Variety the Children’s Charity of New York, we are able to provide our programs 100% free of charge to our schools, allowing us to stay a consistent and positive force in the lives of our students, no matter what is happening with schools’ budgets or priorities.
Opening Act’s curriculum incorporates improvisation, acting games, and writing exercises to help students unleash their creativity, foster collaboration, and develop professional acting technique. Students undergo a rigorous artistic process that helps them gain confidence, develop leadership and problem solving skills, and strengthen skills in self-expression. Core to our mission is the idea of modeling our values of empowerment, commitment, and community so that our students can adopt those values for their own personal growth and development.
Kashawn Cook, an Opening Act alum from Brooklyn, recently told us, “There’s no way I would have graduated from high school without Opening Act.” And Kashawn is not alone. 90% of Opening Act students say they are more motivated to attend school as a result of their work at Opening Act.
Last month, Opening Act celebrated its 14th successful year of programming with our Festival of New Student Plays, when students from 35 high schools presented a week of original performances at Classic Stage Company in Manhattan. During those five nights, filled with standing ovations, laughter, and happy tears, our students shared work reflecting the unique diversity of their lives, experiences, and interests. The ensemble at the Arturo Schomberg Satellite Academy presented a bilingual performance exploring tested friendships, while the ensemble at Peace and Diversity Academy turned classic fairy tales on their heads. The Graphic ensemble created a show about chosen families, memory, and loss, while our Cobble Hill actors took on the challenging subject matter of gun violence and domestic abuse. This is just a small sampling of the innovative, brave, and powerful work our students created. The sense of accomplishment our students felt was palpable at the end of each evening and so was the sense of community they found on their way to that final stage. “Opening Act is like a family,” we hear every year during our last classes. We couldn’t agree more.
A huge thank you to Variety the Children’s Charity of New York for making our success stories possible.