East Lynne Theater Company receives grant from Target for Educational Outreach

JJust because East Lynne Theater Company, recently awarded The New Jersey Theatre Alliance's "Achievement of Excellence Award" for "30 years of celebrating America's heritage through productions and educational programs," is not currently performing in Cape May, doesn't mean the company is idle. There are grant reports, year-end financial reports, contracts to negotiate, overseeing ELTC's touring productions, and the year-long educational outreach.

For one of these educational programs, East Lynne Theater Company has Target to thank for a $1,500.00 grant to provide a history-based theater workshop for students in Cape May County. The students selected by ELTC's Artistic Director, Gayle Stahlhuth, are those involved with the after-school program, known as the Homework Institute, at the Martin Luther King Center in Whitesboro. The focus will be on the history of Whitesboro, established in 1900, named after Congressman George H. White, a leading investor in the community and the man for whom the town was named.

Congressman White, from North Carolina, was the last former slave to serve in Congress, and the last "Post-Reconstruction" African-American member of the House of Representatives. His land improvement company, which included fellow associates George F. T. Cook and John F. Cook, Jr., purchased 1700 acres, once part of a large plantation, in Cape May County. By 1903, African-Americans from the south, seeking a better way of life, had begun purchasing lots in Whitesboro for as little as $10 down, and $5 a month - lots on which they built their own homes.

Stahlhuth, who has taught in-school and after-school theater-related residencies for over 25 years in locations as varied as Ute reservations in Utah to middle schools in Brooklyn, is spearheading the workshop, with fellow Equity-professional actor Patti Chambers, who has performed in New York City, as well as in Cape May, and has also worked with students.

The Homework Institute is one of several programs created and supervised by the nonprofit Concerned Citizens of Whitesboro, Inc. In November, Stahlhuth met with President Bernard Blanks, Program Secretary Cheryl Spaulding, and Recording Secretary Necheala Pierce-Garcia, who also heads the Homework Institute. She, with a volunteer staff of seven, meet with approximately 40 Middle Township School Students four afternoons weekly from 3:30-5:30 to help them with their homework and encourage further studies.

Stahlhuth and Chambers meet with the students on February 18 to explain the process and the goals. From March 1-12, they will work with the students five times a week, helping them to research, write, and rehearse their scenes about the history of Whitesboro. On Friday, March 12, at 7:00pm, the students will perform their scenes for the public, admission-free, at the Martin Luther King Center in Whitesboro.

Last March, Stahlhuth worked with students on a play about Cape May's Civil War hero Captain Henry Sawyer, funded by The New Jersey Theater Alliance, and is excited about further expanding the knowledge of Cape May County's history by providing this workshop that highlights the history of Whitesboro.

Since 1946, Target has given 5% of their income to the communities they serve, and their Target stores carry on this tradition by making local grants and supporting volunteer initiatives. This is the first time ELTC has received a grant from Target and the Board of Trustees and Artistic Director Gayle Stahlhuth are pleased to be able to use it to fund this residency.

Everyone is welcome to see these scenes written by Whitesboro students, about the history of their own Whitesboro community. To learn more about this and other programs presented by East Lynne Theater Company, call 884-5898, or go to the website: www.eastlynnetheater.org.

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