Mickey Mantle School PS 811@149 Receives American Theatre Wing Andrew Lloyd Webber Classroom Resource Grant

Mickey Mantle School PS 811@140 is pleased to announce that the American Theatre Wing, best known as the creator of the Antoinette Perry "Tony" Awards, is awarding the THEATRE ARTS PROGRAM at The Mickey Mantle School PS 811@149 with a Classroom Resource Grant from the Andrew Lloyd Webber Initiative.

"Arts education, and making theater available to all young persons, is vital to the growth of our culture and society. The grant proposals received this year have shown the widespread need for arts funding in primary and secondary schools across America. I am proud that we are now entering the second year of this program, and am excited for the years to come," said Andrew Lloyd Webber.

"Since we launched Andrew's amazing Initiative last year, we have expanded our program to cover even more schools across every corner of this country. With almost a quarter million dollars available for this year's Classroom Resource Grants, we have been able to double the number of recipient schools. I am beyond thrilled for the additional local programs we can help bolster, along with the countless students who will reap the benefits," said Heather Hitchens, President and CEO of the American Theatre Wing.

With the Andrew Lloyd Webber Foundation's help, the American Theatre Wing is investing in Public Schools to help drama teachers get more of the resources they need to provide quality drama instruction in their schools. Through this Classroom Resource grant-giving program, funding is provided directly to under-resourced public schools to provide instruments, dance floors, lighting grids, and other necessary materials to help create new and enhance existing theater programs.

These grants are part of the American Theatre Wing's Andrew Lloyd Webber Initiative, a major new national program which received $1.3 million in seed funding from the Andrew Lloyd Webber Foundation to promote diversity, equity, and access to the arts. This project is an expansion of the work that the multi-Tony Award winning composer and producer has been doing to promote and fund arts education through his Foundation in the United Kingdom. The Initiative's focus is to bridge the gap between talent and opportunity, creating a stronger pipeline to the professional theater for promising artists of all backgrounds-fostering a future generation of theater makers and patrons that reflects the diversity and dynamism of America as a whole.

"The recognition from the American Theatre Wing is a tremendous honor," said Lynn Manuell, theatre arts instructor "Mickey Mantle School PS 811@149 serves special needs students from pre-k through 5th grade, all of whom have theatre arts. With these studies they learn literacy, math, art, social skills, ensemble building, the jobs of theatre and the joy and enjoyment of making the theatre a part of their lives."

More information about the ALW Classroom Resource Grants can be found at
http://americantheatrewing.org/program/the-andrew-lloyd-webber-initiative/

Information about Mickey Mantle School PS 811#148 is available at http://schools.nyc.gov/SchoolPortals/03/M811/default.htm.

Mickey Mantle School PS 811 @ 149 (New York, NY) for $9,235 to purchase technology to create an innovative theater and art program. The Mickey Mantle School serves students with autism, emotional challenges and in need of academic support. It provides a supportive, creative environment that takes into account each child's individual needs. Their programs are designed to encourage students' self-esteem, independence, and creativity while providing a rigorous and in depth academic curriculum. They will use this technology to create rear view projections and use student's art as a backdrop to their performances. This project will allow students to express their point of view, contribute to the production process, and be introduced to a variety of careers in theater onstage or behind the scenes.

The American Theatre Wing (Heather Hitchens, President and CEO) is dedicated to advancing artistic excellence and nurturing theatre's next generation: on the stage, behind the scenes, and in the audience. For a century, the Wing has pursued this mission with programs that span the nation to invest in the growth and evolution of American Theatre Traditionally, the Wing has encouraged members of the theatre community to share their off-stage time and talent directly with the theatre audience at large--whether it was singing for the troops in the Stage Door Canteen of the 1940s, or sharing their stories on a podcast today. As the founders of The Tony Awards, the American Theatre Wing has developed the foremost national platform for the recognition of theatrical achievement on Broadway. Yet the Wing's reach extends beyond Broadway and beyond New York. The Wing develops the next generation of theatre professionals through the SpringboardNYC and Theatre Intern Network programs, incubates innovative theatre across the country through the National Theatre Company Grants, fosters the song of American theatre through the Jonathan Larson Grants, honors the best in New York theatrical design with the Henry Hewes Design Award, and illuminates the creative process through the "Working in the Theatre" program and media archive. The American Theatre Wing has entered into a long-term partnership with The Village Voice to co-present The Obie Awards, Off Broadway's Highest Honor.

Visitors to AmericanTheatreWing.org can gain inspiration and insight into the artistic process through the Wing's extensive media collection, and learn more about its programming for students, aspiring and working professionals, and audiences.

For more information on The Andrew Lloyd Webber Initiative and the American Theatre Wing, visit AmericanTheatreWing.org and Facebook.com/TheAmericanTheatreWing and follow @TheWing on Instagram and Twitter.