Streep, Baldwin & More To Read For Project 451, Kick-off Gala Held 5/17,18 In NY

The Literature to Life® program of The American Place Theatre (APT) will kick off its newest campaign, Project 451, with a celebrity gala May 17 and 18 in Theater at St. Clement's, 423 West 46th Street, Manhattan. The organization presents professionally staged adaptations of significant American literary works. APT is working to reverse the trend of declining reading among young Americans as funding is being cut to school arts programs.

Ray Bradbury, author of "Fahrenheit 451," will be honored. A verbatim performance of this classic novel, directed by Wynn Handman, has been developed by Literature to Life® and will debut at the Gala. The program will conclude with readings of very short passages from other works of great literature by distinguished guests.

Celebrities such as actors Meryl Streep, Alec Baldwin, Sam Waterston, John Hockenberry and Kathleen Chalfant, Eric Bogosian, Jessica Lange, Anna Deavere Smith, Chris Cooper and Marion Seldes and poet laureate Billy Collins will contribute to the Project 451 campaign by recording clips for the Project 451 Living Library. Following the Gala, guests will be given the opportunity to do the same. Participants will simply go on camera, say the name and author of a book they feel must be preserved, and read a short passage.

On Monday May 18, St. Clement's Church will be opened to the public for guests to come in, read from their favorite piece of literature while being recorded. New Yorkers will have their very own experience of keeping literature alive, not only for their children but for themselves as well.

Meryl Streep can be viewed reading a passage from "Fahrenheit 451" at http://2009literaturetolifeawards.eventbrite.com/.

Each Literature to Life® Gala to-date has featured the debut of a verbatim performance of a significant book of American Literature, entering it into the repertoire of its arts education program. This year's entry, "Fahrenheit 451," will be acted by Rich Orlow. The piece paints a picture of a world without free thought because citizens don't read, and asks, "What if that came true?" Ray Bradbury, author of "Fahrenheit 451," has said, "You don't have to burn books to destroy a culture, you just have to get people to stop reading them."

Literature to Life® is a performance-based literacy program that presents professionally staged verbatim adaptations of significant American literary works including "The Kite Runner" by Khaled Hosseini, "The Secret Life of Bees" by Sue Monk Kidd, "Black Boy" by Richard Wright, "Teacher Man" by Frank McCourt and "The Bluest Eye" by Toni Morrison. In NYC and across the country, the program gives students a new form of access to literature by bringing to life the world of the book with performances that create an atmosphere of discovery and spark the imagination. The arts/literacy program is delivered to over 30,000 underserved students annually.

Over 70% of the American students reached by this vital program live below the poverty line, and studies show that a majority of families living in poverty own one or no books in their home. Following the experience of seeing a Literature to Life performance, 85% of students want to read or re-read the book. When students experience Literature to Life Performances and in-school Residency workshops, they engage in a deep and meaningful exploration of curriculum and concepts within English, Social Studies, Character Education and Theatre subject areas.

This year, APT has received many calls from teachers and principals who had been able to budget for these educational programs in the past, saying they now cannot find the funding for the program's nominal fees. APT is responding to this vital need by inviting supporters to help the institution provide these invaluable programs at no cost to deserving and needing schools.

The American Place Theatre (www.americanplacetheatre.org), now 47 years old, made its first home at Theater at St. Clements in 1963. So this Gala will also be a cherished homecoming to the place where APT first started nurtured authors and poets as writers for the stage. Notable alumni of its productions from that period include Robert Lowell, Sam Shepard, Dustin Hoffman, and Frank Langella.

Literature to Life® was recently awarded the William T. Grant Foundation's Youth Service Improvement Grant. Mayor Michael Bloomberg, a fan of the program, recently said, "Not only are these inspiring presentations entertaining, they do so much to spark a lifelong passion for reading in their audiences."

The staff of The American Place Theatre are: Wynn Handman, Co-Founder/Artistic Director; David Kener, Executive Director; Jennifer Barnette, Managing Director and Gwen Brownson, Director of Education Programs Its Board of Trustees are Peter W. Klestadt, Chairman; Jeremy Steinberg, treasurer; Peter Askin, Laura Brownson, Tonja Walker Davidson, Pamela Fielder, David B. Ford, Louis L. Gonda, Russell Granet, Wynn Handman, Norman Lear, Kathleen L. McAchran, Sam Shepard and Robert Wilson. Its advisory board includes: (authors) Tim O'Brien, Claude Brown (in memorium), Jonathan Safran Foer, Christina Garcia, Khaled Hosseini, Sue Monk Kidd, Frank McCourt, Jeannette Walls; (educators) Bernadette Anand, Margaret Borger, Cynthia Copeland, Matt Corallo, John Demelio, Ellen Kaplan, Lee Klein, Julie Mann, Christine Olsen, Rebekah Shoaf, Emily Waniewski and Lisa Winkler.

Benefit tickets begin at $100. For more information, call (212) 594-4482 x 16 or visit www.americanplacetheatre.org.

The American Place Theatre website is http://www.americanplacetheatre.org.

More info on the 2009 Literature to Life Awards is online at: http://2009literaturetolifeawards.eventbrite.com/.

For more info on Project 451, please see: http://www.JoinProject451.org.