The Broadway League has awarded their 2019 New York Education and Engagement Grants to the current Broadway productions of Oklahoma! and To Kill a Mockingbird. The grant comes with $5,000 for each show to support educational and engagement initiatives.
Oklahoma! will offer subsidized tickets to New York City public school students, student education resources, and an intensive workshop for a select group of participants—all part of a program called Oklahoma! Reimagined. Before seeing this new take on the Rodgers and Hammerstein classic, students will be invited to examine life during the time period of the work and imagine their own reactions to experiences from that time.
Meanwhile, Mockingbird will participate in Lincoln Center Theater's Open Stages High School program, providing 1,370 students and 30 teachers in the New York City public school system with free tickets to Aaron Sorkin's new stage adaptation of the Harper Lee novel. After seeing the work, students will be invited to reflect on what they saw in workshops led by LCT teaching artists, while educators will be able to attend professional development sessions—one led by Facing History and Ourselves—on designing lesson plans about the play. Study guides from LCT and FHO will also be provided to teachers.
“[These] important programs encourage students to more deeply engage with live theatre and explore the social issues that surround these stories placing them in their historical context and their present-day relevance,” says Broadway League President Charlotte St. Martin. “We applaud and appreciate the efforts of Broadway shows in continuing to introduce more young people to live theatre and ensuring the growth and vitality of Broadway for generations to come.”
Established in 2002, the New York Education and Engagement Grants aim to support the growth and development of theatre education in the city by encouraging Broadway productions to create opportunities for young people. Together with a similar grant program for touring Broadway productions, the grants have awarded more than $1 million combined to date to theatres in New York and across the country. Both the Broadway and Touring grants were established with additional financial support from TDF.
