TDF Holds OPEN DOORS Graduation, 6/6

Over 350 guests including current and past New York City high school students, and the 28 mentors who have participated in TDF's Open Doors, the theatre arts mentoring program that TDF founded in 1998 with playwright Wendy Wasserstein, will attend this year's graduation at 6pm on Monday, June 6 at NYC Center Stage 1 (131 West 55th Street, NYC). This year has been Open Doors biggest year ever with a total of 28 mentors and guest mentors working with 21 groups of students from New York City high schools.

Open Doors operates on the belief of its co-founder, playwright Wendy Wasserstein, that "theatergoing is the birthright of every New Yorker." In Open Doors, dedicated theatre and dance professionals each mentor eight underserved New York City high school students and bring their groups to six Broadway and/or Off Broadway performances over the course of an entire school year. These performances are followed by lively post-performance discussion. The students also keep a journal of their theatre experiences over the course of the year.

These talented mentors understand the importance of live performance in the cultural education of today's youth and engage their groups in lively, in-depth post-performance discussions. Open Doors has proven that, through this personal and dynamic interaction, it fosters a deep appreciation of theatre and an understanding of its relevance in the students' lives.

After the ceremony, which will feature a short talk from a mentor, a teacher a current Open Doors student and an Open Doors graduate, each graduating student will receive two $50 TKTS gift certificates to help ensure the students' future theatregoing,.

The following are the 2010-11 OPEN DOORS mentors and the NYC high schools their students attend:

Adam Bock (playwright) - Validus Prepatory Academy (The Bronx)
Kathleen Chalfant (actor) - Telecommunications High School (Manhattan)
Kirsten Childs (composer/lyricist/playwright) - Fannie Lou Hamer Freedom H.S. (Queens)
Graciela Daniele (director/choreographer) - Harvey Milk H.S. (Manhattan)
Alan Eisenberg (arts executive) - Williamsburg Charter School (Brooklyn)
Scott Ellis (director) - All Hallows Institute (The Bronx)
William Finn (composer/lyricist)/Rachel Chanoff (producer) - Talent Unlimited H.S. (Manhattan)
Miguel Gutierrez (choreographer/dancer) - Flushing International High School (Queens)
James Lapine (writer/director) - Leadership and Public Service H.S. (Manhattan)
Robert Longbottom (director/choreographer) - Townsend Harris H. S. (Queens)
Lar Lubovitch (choreographer)/ Robert LaFosse (choreographer/dancer) - Truman High School (The Bronx)
Kathleen Marshall (director/choreographer)/ Scott Landis (producer) - Midwood H.S. (Brooklyn)
Michael Mayer (director)/ Keith R. Smith (actor) - John Dewey H.S. (Brooklyn)
Derek McLane (designer) - Edward R. Murrow H.S. (Brooklyn)
Marc Platt (producer) - West Bronx Academy (The Bronx)
Mo Rocca (actor/writer/humorist)/ Joe Mantello (director/actor) - Long Island City
Frank Rich (journalist/author) /Alex Witchel (journalist/author) - DeWitt Clinton H.S. (The Bronx)
Rachel Sheinkin (writer)/Aubrey Lynch (dancer/actor/teacher) - Academy for Social Action (Manhattan)
Thomas Schumacher (producer) - Kappa. (Bronx)
Tracey Scott Wilson (playwright) - Millennium H.S. (Manhattan)
David Zippel (lyricist) - Young Women's Leadership School (Manhattan)

In addition to Open Doors, TDF operates the following Arts Education Programs with the belief that future audiences are built by engaging students, first-hand, in the vital and exciting activity of the creative process, as well as providing opportunities to see live performances of great theatre:

Stage Doors - This school year serves 5,000 students in 70 schools:
Stage Doors is a project-based arts education program that provides middle and high school students with a meaningful introduction to live theatre. Each participating class attends a Broadway or Off Broadway performance and participates in eight in-class workshops: four workshops conducted by a guest teaching artist and the other four led by the classroom teacher. During these workshops the students are engaged in a classroom project which serves as preparation for the performance while giving them an opportunity to experience the creative process first hand. This program is offered at no cost to the school or students.

Residency Arts Project (RAP) - This school year serves 350 students in 7 schools:
In response to the need for curriculum-based arts programming, TDF developed RAP, an intensive playwriting program that brings the magic and craft of live theatre to young people who have little or no exposure to theatre. Through extensive collaboration, the teaching artist and classroom teacher develop a playwriting curriculum that best serves their population of students. The residency consists of: ten to twelve playwriting workshops conducted by a teaching artist; attendance at a top Broadway or Off Broadway play; and staged readings by professional actors of selected original student plays at the end of the semester.

RAP Summer Intensive Scholarship
In 2010, RAP was expanded to include the RAP Summer Intensive Scholarship. A small group of students from the RAP school-year program were selected to take playwriting to the next level. During the 3 week intensive, the students: attended playwriting workshops, had small group seminars with professional playwrights, and attended two Broadway or Off Broadway productions. The program culminated in the students' work being presented at an Off Broadway theatre with professional actors.

Youth Theatre Initiative (YTI) - This school year served 60 students in 4 schools
Youth Theatre Initiative (YTI) is TDF's after school arts education program aimed at students who have a strong interest in theatre, writing and performing. The program allows students to explore the skills essential in creating an original piece of theatre. Each YTI is conducted by a theatre professional who is an experienced TDF teaching artist, with the assistance of a cooperating teacher from the school and an assistant teaching artist. The semester long project meets once a week after school on site at a NYC public high schools for 12 weeks and culminates in a performance of the work created by the students. In the course of exploring the various concepts involved in performance, direction and playwriting the students will gain a greater understanding of the theatrical arts.

PxP (Play by Play) - This school year 60,000 circulated four times a year, in over 150 high schools and all NYC Public Libraries
New York City's only theatre magazine written by and for high school students, PxP makes students aware of student-friendly theatre on Broadway, Off Broadway and off-Off Broadway. Each issue contains reviews, interviews and a listing of productions that appeal to high school students with a ticket price of $40 or less. Twice a year, a student opportunity guide is included to inform students how they can be involved in NYC theatre both during the school year and in the summer. Each issue of PxP is accompanied by a teacher guide, which gives teachers advanced notice of the issue's contents and includes ways to incorporate PxP into the classroom. PxP's online version, the PLOG, includes the material found in the issue plus expanded listings, articles, and insider info about NYC theatre. It can be found online at http://pxp.tdf.org.

Theatre Development Fund has played a unique role in strengthening live theatre and dance in New York City for the past 43 years. This not-for-profit service organization's programs have filled over 78 million seats at discount prices (with theatre lovers who would normally not be able to attend live performance) and returned nearly two billion dollars in revenue to thousands of theatre, dance and music productions. Best known for its TKTS Discount Booths, TDF's membership, voucher, access and education programs as well as its Costume Collection, help to make the unique experience of theatre available to everyone. TDF's book, Outrageous Fortune: The Life and Times of the New American Play, has spurred a national conversation about the way playwrights and theatre companies interact. TDF recently launched the Official TKTS app which has been embraced by theatre fans the world over.

TDF gratefully acknowledges the following major donors for their generous support of the Open Doors program:
Helene Berger Foundation; The Educational Foundation of America; Home Box Office; The Rona Jaffe Foundation; Sheila & Bill Lambert; Blanche & Irving Laurie Foundation; Nina Lannan Associates, Inc.; The Herman Lissner Foundation, Inc.; F. Richard Pappas; The Pinkerton Foundation; Marc Platt; Thomas Schumacher; The Segal Company and Serino Coyne, Inc.