TDF to Celebrate Open Doors Graduation, June 3

Over 300 guests including current and past New York City high school students, and the performing arts professional 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 5:30pm on Monday, June 3 at The Pershing Square Signature Center - Irene Diamond Stage (480 West 42nd Street, NYC). Last year TDF's Open Doors was the first arts education program to receive a special Tony Honor for Excellence in the Theatre. This year, Open Doors had 28 mentors working with 22 groups of students from New York City high schools.

Open Doors operates on the belief of its co-founder, playwright Wendy Wasserstein, that "theatre going 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.

"Open Doors sounds so simple in concept. Take a theatre artist as mentor, add eight high school students who attend six Broadway shows in orchestra seats then toss in countless pizzas to eat over 90 minutes as they delve into what they experienced, what connections they made to their lives", said Daniel Renner TDF Education Director. "But the recipe is far more complex and the results spectacular. Mentors who are reinvigorated by the students perceptions and probing questions...students who discover live theatre as a new found passion through the lens of these incredible artists who share their world and insights."

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.

To see a brief video of Wendy Wasserstein at the 2003 Open Doors graduation speaking of how she and TDF founded the program, go to: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S4NfclSNbiw (Wendy's comments begin 59 seconds into the video).

The ceremony will feature a short film highlighting this year's Open Doors experience, and personal reminiscences from two Open Doors students. Additionally, all graduating students will receive three $50 TKTS gift certificates to help ensure their future theatre going.

Following is a list of the 2012-13 Open Doors Mentors; the schools where their students are from:

TDF Open Doors Mentors 2012-13

Adam Bock, playwright - Brooklyn HS for the Arts

Mark Brokaw, director and Joe Mantello, director/actor - Long Island City, HS, Queens

Kathleen Chalfant, actress - Telecommunications HS, Brooklyn

Rachel Chanoff, producer/performing arts programmer and Keith Randolph Smith, actor - MS57, Brooklyn
Kirsten Childs, composer/lyricist/playwright - Fannie Lou Hamer HS, The Bronx
Graciela Daniele, choreographer/director - Harvey Milk HS, Manhattan
Joe DiPietro, playwright/lyricist - PanAm Int'l School, The Bronx

Alan Eisenberg, former President of Actor's Equity - Renaissance HS, The Bronx

Scott Ellis, director - All Hallows High School, The Bronx

Peter Friedman and Caitlin O'Connell, actors - EBC, Brooklyn
Miguel Gutierrez, choreographer/dancer - Flushing HS, Queens
David Henry Hwang, playwright - Millennium HS, Manhattan

James Lapine, writer/director - Leadership and Public Service HS,Manhattan

Robert Longbottom, director/choreographer - Townsend Harris HS, Queens
Aubrey Lynch, dancer/choreographer- Talent Unlimited HS, Manhattan

Kathleen Marshall director/choreographer and Scott Landis, producer- Midwood HS, Brooklyn

Michael Mayer, director - Bronx Center for Science and Mathematics

Derek McLane, set designer - Edward R. Murrow HS, Brooklyn
Dominique Morisseau (guest mentor), playwright

Marc Platt, producer- West HS, The Bronx

Frank Rich and Alex Witchel, journalists - DeWitt Clinton HS, The Bronx
Thomas Schumacher, producer and President of Disney Theatricals - Knowledge & Power

Preparatory Academy Int'l, Manhattan
David Zippel, composer/lyricist - Young Women's Leadership School, Manhattan

In addition to Open Doors, TDF operates these 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 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 tdf teaching artist and four conducted by the classroom teacher. During these workshops, the students are engaged in a project which prepares them for the performance while providing an opportunity to experience the creative process.

In response to the need for curriculum-based arts programming, TDF developed the Residency Project (RP), an intensive residency that brings the craft of live performance to young people who have little or no exposure to theatre. Through extensive collaboration, the tdf teaching artist and classroom teacher develop a curriculum that best serves their population of students. The residency consists of:

· twelve workshops per semester conducted by a teaching artist;

· attendance at a Broadway or Off Broadway play;

· a staged reading by professional actors of selected original student pieces at the end of the semester or school year.

RP is an annualized program so the classroom teachers, the teaching artists and the students have a chance to really experience a fully immersive residency.

In 2010, RP was expanded to include the Summer Playwriting Intensive. Each summer, a small group of students from the RP school-year program are selected to take playwriting to the next level. During the two-week intensive, students:

• attend playwriting workshops,
• have small group seminars with professional playwrights,
• attend two Broadway or Off Broadway productions.

The program culminates in the students' work being presented at an Off Broadway theatre with professional actors.

In 2011, SPI inspired the addition of the Summer Teacher Intensive. A week-long intensive playwriting workshop for teachers interested in integrating playwriting into middle and high school classes.

In 2012, the program grew to include WORDlab. WORDlab is a year-long weekly after school playwriting workshop with students from every borough. The ensemble meets to continue writing and workshopping their original plays that are showcased each June.

Theatre Development Fund was created in the conviction that the live theatrical arts afford a unique expression of the human condition that must be sustained and nurtured. It is dedicated to developing diverse audiences for live theatre and dance, and strengthening the performing arts community in New York City. Since 1968, TDF's programs have provided over 83 million people with access to performances at affordable prices and have returned over $2.2 billion to thousands of productions. Best known for its TKTS Discount Booths, TDF's membership, outreach, access (including its newly formed Autism Theatre Initiative) and education programs - as well as its Costume Collection - have introduced thousands of people to the theatre and helped make the unique experience of theatre available to everyone, including students and people with disabilities. Recent TDF honors include a 2011 Mayor's Award for Arts and Culture, a 2012 Tony Honor for Excellence for its Open Doors Arts Education Program, a 2012 New York Innovative Theatre Award for its support of the off-Off Broadway community and a 2013 Lucille Lortel honor for "Outstanding Body of Work" in support of the Off Broadway community.