A sizable gift by L.A. Theatre Works supporter Norma Ring in the name of Norman Corwin will be used to enroll 125 additional California schools in LATW's national education and access program, "Alive and Aloud: Radio Plays for Learning in the Classroom," which makes the company's extensive collection of plays on tape available to thousands of public secondary schools and teachers. Participating schools across the country receive--at no cost--ten high quality audio recordings accompanied by imaginative curriculum study guides to help teachers use theatre as a tool for learning in the classroom.Titles include five literary works and five docudramas, and star such actors as Edward Asner, Richard Dreyfuss, Hector Elizondo, Kelsey Grammer and Paul Winfield. California public secondary schools interested in enrolling should call LATW at (800) 708-8863.

To celebrate Ring's gift, LATW joins with the USC/Annenberg School for Communication and the Skirball Cultural Center to honor Corwin on the occasion of his 90th birthday. Corwin wrote, directed and produced some of the most famous radio programs in American broadcasting history, and he is considered by many to be the father of American radio drama. Norman Lear, Charles Kuralt and Walter Cronkite are among those who consider him a major influence.

-- By Willard Manus
Southern California Correspondent