Broadway League Awards Education Grants to 'Sheba' & 'South Pacific'

The Broadway League has awarded its coveted New York Education Grants to the Broadway productions of Manhattan Theater Club's Come Back, Little Sheba, by William Inge, and to Lincoln Center Theater's production of Rodgers & Hammerstein's South Pacific.  Each production receives a $5,000 grant towards its 2008 educational initiatives. The grants are important to the growth and development of theatre education in the city as they encourage theatres to create more opportunities for young people and to exchange ideas about education.

The League established the New York Education Grants in 2002 to recognize education initiatives and to support further programs for Broadway shows.  As the national trade organization for the commercial theatre industry, the League also sponsors a grant program supporting educational programs for touring Broadway productions.  The two programs combined have to date awarded $670,000 to theatres in New York and across the country. Both awards were established by the League's Education Committee and are also generously supported by Theatre Development Fund.

Come Back, Little Sheba
Students participating in Manhattan Theatre Club's In-School Education Programs will attend an Education Matinee of Come Back, Little Sheba on March 5, 2008.  Working with MTC Teaching Artists, students prepare for the performance by studying the themes of the show through hands-on and writing exercises. For many students, the Education Matinee is their first time attending a Broadway show, as well as their first experience with the performing arts.  

The Family Matinee Series performance for Come Back, Little Sheba will take place on March 8, 2008; to stimulate intergenerational dialogue, students are invited to bring a family member, guardian or mentor of their choice to this event. The student and adult pairs attend a workshop which will aid in their discovery of the rich themes found in the play which they will attend that afternoon.
 
In addition to these programs, MTC hosted a Professional Development workshop on February 2, 2008 to acquaint New York City public school teachers with MTC Education Department's pedagogy and to provide theatre-based techniques that can be used in the classroom.

MTC's Education Program serves students from all five New York City boroughs, with a goal of providing access to an artistic culture otherwise unavailable. These three programs for Come Back, Little Sheba will serve 820 students, teachers and family members.

South Pacific
The Lincoln Center Theater's Open Stages program provides economically disadvantaged junior high and high school students with an introduction to theatre by integrating the subjects and themes of a play or musical into classroom study.

This spring, 1,000 students from 15 New York City public high schools will attend Lincoln Center Theater's revival of Rodgers & Hammerstein's South Pacific, the first Broadway revival of this landmark musical.

To prepare students for their theatre-going experience, teaching artists will conduct three pre-show workshops in all participating classrooms. Thirty-six teachers will attend four training sessions at LCT and devise lesson plans for their students. A study guide will be developed to assist teachers.

The program will teach students about the great American musical art form, as well as the timely themes of war and racism. Not only will Open Stages introduce students to live theatre, it will also introduces students to Lincoln Center, as 46 percent of student participants have never been there.