Dratch, Neal, Fab 5 Freddy, Etc. Set for Urban Arts Festival

"Saturday Night Live"'s Rachel Dratch, the legendary hip-hop pioneer Fab 5 Freddy, "Law & Order SVU"'s Diane Neal, Working Playground Executive Director Philip Courtney, and hundreds of New York City inner-city school students/aspiring artists presenting their work will take part in Working Playground's 2007 Urban Arts Festival on Monday, June 4th at the Barrow Street Theatre (27 Barrow St. at 7nd Ave.).

The Festival "is the culmination of Working Playground's Interactive Master Classes designed to connect accomplished artists with inner city students. The students fine-tuned their festival presentations in a day of celebrity-led Master Classes on March 26 th, where 250 students were selected to work intensely with Master Teachers, including actors Mariska Hargitay, Catalina Sandino Moreno, Sarah Jones, Matthew Lillard and Michael Ealy, Hip hop artists Talib Kweli, Pharoahe Monch, as well as Fab 5 Freddy and MTV News Correspondent Sway, on improving their original art pieces," state press notes.

From 11:00AM–1:00PM, there will be a presentation of student works for an audience of students, teachers and supporters, followed by, from 2:00-4:00 PM, a presentation of student works for an audience of students, teachers and supporters, from 7:30-8:15PM, sushi and open-saki bar reception with hosts Dratch, Fab 5 Freddy, and Neal in attendance, and from 8:15-9:30PM, a best-of student works presentation hosted by Dratch, Fab 5 Freddy, and Neal. Dratch will present a college-bound high-school senior with a 4-year scholarship

"Working Playground is a not-for-profit cultural organization, founded in 1991, with the belief that art is essential to human development, education and culture.  By supporting underserved schools and communities, Working Playground inspires, enlivens, and enriches students' educational experiences with the in-depth study of an art form. Through a dynamic range of programs including instrument building, animated music video production, Spanish theater, science cartooning, dance performance and spoken word, Working Playground empowers youth to develop the creative and analytic impulses that will serve them as students, professionals and citizens."

Visit www.workingplayground.org for more information.

Photo of Rachel Dratch by Mark Rupp