FINDING NEVERLAND & FUN HOME Awarded Broadway League's 2016 NYC Education and Engagement Grants

The Broadway League has awarded the coveted New York Education and Engagement Grants to the Broadway productions of Finding Neverland and Fun Home. Each production received a $5,000 grant towards its 2016 educational and engagement initiatives. The grants aid the growth and development of theatre education in the city in an effort to encourage Broadway productions to create more opportunities for young people.

"The New York Education and Engagement Grants are vital for the Broadway industry's continued effort in encouraging students of all ages to learn about and experience theatre," said Charlotte St. Martin, President of The Broadway League. "Both of these programs reflect the importance of educating young people, inspiring them to embrace the arts and fostering inclusivity-essential aspects for the continued prosperity of Broadway."

The Broadway League established the New York Education and Engagement Grants in 2002 to recognize education initiatives and to support related programs for Broadway shows. As the national trade organization for the commercial theatre industry, the League also sponsors a grant program supporting education and engagement programs for Touring Broadway productions. The two programs combined have to-date awarded over $1 million to theatres in New York and across the country. Both grants were established by the League with generous additional financial support from Theatre Development Fund.

In the Spring of 2016, Broadway's Finding Neverland will partner with The Robin Hood Foundation, New York's largest poverty-fighting organization, to launch "Mapping My Stars," a program created to empower youth to think outside the box when it comes to career possibilities. Based on the principle that all young people have endless imaginations and the idea that "you can be it if you can see it," the program will introduce participants to all aspects of the theatre world including backstage, the box office, marketing, costumes and design, and more. Four times a year, ten participants will spend a day shadowing professionals in all disciplines and conclude their program by attending a performance of Finding Neverland at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre with a chosen family member.

Broadway's 2015 Tony Award-winning Best Musical Fun Home has embarked on a year-long partnership with GLSEN, the Gay, Lesbian & Straight Education Network, a leading advocacy organization for ending discrimination based on sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression. Having begun in January 2016, the partnership will include collaborative workshops for 75 students over the next year on becoming better allies to LGBT youth and how that ties in to the show's themes. The program will also include engagement with national GLSEN chapters and a community-themed art project to be installed at the Circle in the Square Theatre in Summer 2016. At the conclusion of each of the workshops, selected participants will attend a performance of Fun Home at the Circle in the Square Theatre.