Press Box

April 24, 2009

CONTACT:  Abigail Adams

(914) 649-5606 ~ Abigail@HVShakespeare.org

 

 

(April 24, 2009 – Cold Spring, NY)  Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival today announced that it is one of 37 theater companies receiving a grant of $25,000 to participate in Shakespeare for a New Generation, a national initiative sponsored by the National Endowment for the Arts in cooperation with Arts Midwest, from June 1, 2009-May 31, 2010. NEA's Shakespeare for a New Generation targets middle and high school students, introducing young people to the power of live theater and the masterpieces of William Shakespeare.

 

The Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival’s Education Program, now in its 13th year, offers a range of workshops to schools throughout the region.  In addition, the Program produces a Shakespeare play every year that tours schools and theaters - offering students an opportunity to experience a Shakespeare production, many for the first time.  In 2009 approximately 22,000 students will take part in the workshops and the tour of Macbeth is scheduled to reach 33 schools by May 1.

 

“We are very grateful to President Obama for his ongoing support of the Arts, and to the NEA for their grants to support our efforts in the schools,” said Terrence O’Brien, Founding Artistic Director of the Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival. “It is an honor to receive the recognition from the NEA and to be included in such esteemed company."

 

Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival (HVSF) is also one of six participating companies that will receive an additional grant of $10,000 as part of a partnership with the Coordinating Council on Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention. These grants, which are supported by the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP), U.S. Department of Justice, will support performances and educational activities targeted to youth involved with the juvenile justice system.

 

“This grant will allow us to invest further in the lives of at-risk youth, helping us to help them find their own voices while also working to affect a change in the way that they perceive not only Shakespeare but themselves and their communities,” said Christopher V. Edwards, HVSF's Director of Education and an actor with the company.

Among the schools that invite the HVSF Education Program to return each year is the Phoenix Academy, located in Westchester County, NY.  Operated by Phoenix House in New York City, the residential academy for teens is a residential high school that provides comprehensive substance abuse treatment to adolescents while helping them catch up academically. 
 

"I am so pleased with our school's collaboration with HVSF. When I told the class that they were returning and explained which workshops they would bring, the news was met with enthusiasm and interest. All of our students have a lot of drama in their lives; now they have the opportunity to make it work for them in a positive way, thanks to the NEA and HVSF," said Audrey Mangan Assistant Principal of the Phoenix Academy

 

NEA Acting Chairman Patrice Walker Powell says  "Shakespeare for a New Generation not only enriches the educational experience by bringing live theater performances to new and young audiences -- some of whom may grow up to have a career in theater -- but it also provides employment for today's theater artists." 

 

Each of the 37 participating companies will present productions of Shakespeare plays with accompanying educational activities to at least 10 schools. These activities may include in-school residencies, workshops, or post-performance discussions.  To enhance the educational impact of Shakespeare for a New Generation, the NEA also has developed free, multimedia educational resource kits. To date, more than 65,000 toolkits have been distributed to classroom teachers. Included in the kits are a teacher's guide with lesson plans, a recitation contest guide, Fun with Shakespeare brochure with word games and trivia, a timeline poster, a CD, and two educational DVDs. These resources can be ordered free of charge from www.shakespeareinamericancommunities.org.

 

Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival is a critically-acclaimed professional regional theater, attracting audiences from the tri-state area and beyond. Shakespeare scholars, critics and enthusiastic fans laud its spare, clear and compelling productions. In addition to its summer productions, the Festival sponsors year-round education programs, including Access-Shakespeare, a fully staged touring production; Shakespeare Students on Stage; and Free Will, an artists-in-residence program which reaches over 22,000 students annually from elementary school through college. Other programs include the summer Apprentice Program for a select group of college age actors seriously committed to learning the craft of theater.  In 2008 Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival and Boscobel House and Gardens shared the Best of Hudson Valley Award for Best Outdoor Venue. www.hvshakespeare.org

 

The National Endowment for the Arts is a public agency dedicated to supporting excellence in the arts, both new and established; bringing the arts to all Americans; and providing leadership in arts education. Established by Congress in 1965 as an independent agency of the federal government, the Arts Endowment is the nation's largest annual funder of the arts, bringing great art to all 50 states, including rural areas, inner cities, and military bases. For more information, please visit www.arts.gov.

 

Established by the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act, the Coordinating Council on Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention is an independent body within the executive branch of the federal government. The Council's primary functions are to coordinate federal juvenile delinquency prevention programs, federal programs, and activities that detain or care for unaccompanied juveniles, and federal programs relating to missing and exploited children. The Attorney General serves as chair and the administrator of OJJDP as vice chair.