Brooklyn Children's Theatre Student Aysha Benjamin Receives Katherine L. Lopez Scholarship

Rising musical theater star, Aysha Benjamin, will star in Brooklyn Children's Theatre's production of "SHREK JR.", courtesy of a new scholarship organized by two theater powerhouses: Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony Award-winner Robert Lopez and Mike O'Neill, President and CEO of BMI.

The Katherine L. Lopez Scholarship was donated to Brooklyn Children's Theatre (BCT) by Mr. O'Neill, in loving memory of Katherine L. Lopez, mother of Robert and Billy Lopez.

Robert Lopez says of his mother: "She was always a supporter of young people in the arts, slipping them twenties and telling them not to mess around, but to pursue their dreams."

The scholarship will enable Aysha Benjamin, a senior at Brooklyn High School for the Arts, to participate in Brooklyn Children's Theatre's Teen Players program for free, where she will star as 'Fiona' in "SHREK JR."

"Aysha best exemplifies the sentiment set forth by Mrs. Lopez. Aysha takes advantage of every opportunity that we give her. She is working hard to find success, both on the stage and off," Says Amy White Graves, Executive Director of BCT. "We are honored that Mr. O'Neill has passed along this opportunity to one of our students, and even more moved by the fact that we get to honor Mrs. Lopez's memory in this way."

Robert Lopez is the co-creator of the smash-hit Broadway musicals "Avenue Q" and "The Book of Mormon." He met his wife, Kristen Anderson-Lopez, at the BMI Lehman Engel Musical Theatre Workshop in 1998. Together, they have co-written songs for the feature film "Frozen." They're stage production of "Frozen" is coming to Broadway this February 2018. Robert Lopez and Kristen Anderson-Lopez serve on Brooklyn Children's Theatre's Advisory Board.

Billy Lopez is an Emmy-winning television writer and songwriter, who created Nickelodeon's new series "Welcome to the Wayne" and also worked on the series "Peg + Cat," "Third and Bird," and "The Wonder Pets!"

The BMI Lehman Engel Musical Theatre Workshop is a program that is widely regarded as the premiere training ground for emerging musical theatre composers, lyricists, and librettists. Its alumni have written such Broadway hits as "A Chorus Line," "Beauty and the Beast," and "Urinetown," among many others.

Brooklyn Children's Theatre brings children together from diverse backgrounds to learn and grow through the collaborative art of musical theatre.

Since its founding in 2004, Brooklyn Children's Theatre (BCT) annually serves more than 1,000 youth and teens, including hundreds of low-income youth. BCT's "OASIS" program enabLes Children from family shelters to participate in BCT programming for free. This season 56 scholarships are going to children living in family shelters. BCT largely produces original material that is written specifically for the students it serves. "Every child gets at least five lines to say - this allows the shy child to come out of her shell and teaches the confident child to share the spotlight," says Graves. "Shrek Jr" is being produced as part of BCT's Teen Players program, the only one of its programs that produces previously published material.

"SHREK JR." will be performed on January 19-20, 2018. For more information about BCT, visit www.brooklynchildrenstheatre.net.

Pictured: Aysha Benjamin as Rafiki in Brooklyn Children's Theatre's production of LION KING JR.

To post a comment, you must register and login.