Shine an LCD Projector Light on Brooklyn Theater!

For the past four years Artscape has had the great privilege of bringing the performing arts to a high school in New York City. The student body of this school has a great variety of talents, interests and capabilities, and the school’s curriculum does not address all the needs of the diverse student population. The school has not been able to offer comprehensive classes that nurture the creative spirit. Therefore, they have turned to outside companies like Artscape to bring arts programs to the school. The services Artscape provides are specifically targeted to the special needs of this particular high school’s students. The productions Artscape has produced have included children from a wide cross section of the student population, including those with learning disabilities, speech impediments and hearing impairments.

All participating children in Artscape programs have benefited, not just those with special needs. Many have suffered from an almost debilitating lack of confidence. By the end of a production the students have expressed gratitude for helping them develop their unrealized talents. This increased confidence then improves their academic and social achievement. Artscape has worked with children living on the streets and in shelters, who were lured by dangerous street gangs, or who had parents and guardians that suffered from drug and alcohol addiction. Many times these children admitted that the theater program was the only “family” they had. This sense of community, coupled with the skills the Artscape arts training provides, have given many students a sense of purpose, and, by their own admission, made them happier. This has led directly to an increase in academic achievement. Obviously, many factors contribute to the enhanced performance of the students. But what cannot be denied is that the students in the Theater Program have improved attendance and higher grades when compared to pre-program levels.

Recent budget cuts in the NYC Public School system have deeply affected the Drama Department, and the greater economic climate is less conducive to giving than it has been in the past. While there is less money in the program, Artscape is using the current financial reality as an opportunity to deepen the students' understanding of different types of theater, while maintaining the high production values Artscape has brought to the productions at this school. This year's productions are being produced with an eye toward cutting production costs as much as possible. A multimedia set design has been chosen, consisting of a Rear Projection screen and a digital projector. The screen will be placed on stage and different backdrops and interactive video clips will be projected onto it, similar in nature to the projections used in the recent Broadway production of Sunday in the Park with George, but on a much smaller scale. Artscape has already donated the set, lighting, and computer, for this production. What is needed is a projector which can save long-run costs in physical set production.

The theater program gives participating children a positive creative outlet for the anger and disappointment they sometimes feel. Artscape’s educational outreach extends beyond the bounds of traditional arts programs. Productions not only encompasse all aspects of performing arts, but writing, music production, graphic design, lighting and sound design, costume construction and maintenance, make-up design and application, marketing, advertising, retail sales, customer service and office skills. This is your chance to keep this high-skills program alive!