VIDEO: Kathleen Chalfant, Joe DiPietro and More Celebrate Students in TDF's WENDY WASSERSTEIN PROJECT

The New York City public school students who participated in the TDF Wendy Wasserstein Project this academic year attended a virtual celebration on Monday, June 8 at 4 p.m. on YouTube. Formerly known as Open Doors, the TDF Wendy Wasserstein Project is a theatre arts mentoring program that TDF founded in 1998 with late Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Wendy Wasserstein. This season a total of 192 students from across the city participated in 24 different groups.

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"Since this program began, the annual ceremony has been key in summing up the year, providing emotional remembrances from past and present participants as they recalled how the year of theatregoing and discussions with their groups gave them fresh insights into the world around them" said Ginger Bartkoski Meagher, Director of TDF Education Programs. "We didn't want this year's students to miss out on that experience, so we produced a virtual graduation in the same format they would have experienced live. What's even more exciting is that every one of our mentors was able to send in a greeting for the students. It is our hope that these students will go forward and experience a life filled with theatregoing."

The 2019-20 TDF Wendy Wasserstein Project mentors and guest mentors who spoke at the virtual graduation:

Adam Bock, playwright - Mark Brokaw, director - Kathleen Chalfant, actress - Keith Randolph Smith, actor - Rachel Chanoff, director - Dawn Chiang, lighting designer - Kirsten Childs, composer/lyricist/playwright - Mindi Dickstein, lyricist/librettist - Alexander Dinelaris, playwright/director - Joe DiPietro, playwright/lyricist - Alan Eisenberg, former Executive Director of Actors' Equity - Scott Ellis, director - Peter Friedman and Caitlin O'Connell, actors - Anne Hamburger, producer - Stephen Karam, playwright - Natasha Katz, lighting designer - James Lapine, writer/director - Robert Longbottom, director/choreographer -Aubrey Lynch II, dancer/choreographer - Kathleen Marshall, director/choreographer and Scott Landis, producer - Derek McLane, set designer - Justin Paul, composer/lyricist - Marc Platt, producer - Dick Scanlan, playwright/director/actor - Caleb Teicher, dancer/choreographer - Serena Wong, lighting designer - David Zippel, composer/lyricist

TDF's Wendy Wasserstein Project operates on the belief of its co-founder, playwright Wendy Wasserstein, that "theatregoing is the birthright of every New Yorker." The dedicated theatre and dance professionals involved in the program mentor eight underserved New York City high school students each, bringing their groups to six Broadway and Off-Broadway shows over the course of the academic year. These outings include lively post-performance discussions over pizza. The students also keep journals of their theatre experiences, which are reviewed by and discussed with their mentors. Through this personal and dynamic interaction, the TDF Wendy Wasserstein Project fosters a deep appreciation of theatre and an understanding of its relevance in the students' lives. Upon completion of the program, all participants receive TDF memberships with a $100 credit to help them continue their theatregoing journey.

The TDF Wendy Wasserstein Project received a special Tony Honor for Excellence in the Theatre in 2012-the first arts education program ever to earn that distinction.