This past fall, the Community Foundation for Palm Beach and Martin Counties awarded the Kravis Center $106,500 to be used over a three-year period to expand its Broadway Reach program, designed to provide sequential arts education and exposure to live Broadway touring productions to 145 underserved children from neighborhood after-school programs. Students from Coleman Park, UB Kinsey Elementary School, Lantana Elementary School, Pleasant City’s Urban Youth Impact and Faith’s Place have been enrolled in the program.
“The Kravis Center was truly honored to have received this important grant from the Community Foundation,” said Judith Mitchell, CEO of the Kravis Center. “The grant allows the Kravis Center to provide disadvantaged youth with meaningful arts education and exposure to live performances, education-enriching experiences they might otherwise not receive.”
In selecting the Kravis Center for its grant, the Community Foundation noted that Broadway Reach not only offers students the opportunity to experience the professional world of a Broadway production, it also presents ideas for future career goals beyond their immediate community.
“We support the Kravis Center’s arts education mission,” said Brad Hurlburt, president and CEO of the Community Foundation. “We agree that Broadway Reach challenges students to change the limitations they may have for themselves, expand their view of the world and others and, ultimately, envision a course for their future success in life. By supporting this program for the next three years, we are supporting the difference arts in education can make to the lives of local children.”
During the 2015-2016 performance season at the Kravis Center, the Community Foundation grant has allowed students involved in Broadway Reach to experience three diverse Kravis On Broadway presentations: Blue Man Group, Motown The Musical and Matilda The Musical. This accounts for two more productions than last year’s Broadway Reach program.
The 145 students experienced a series of intensive, interactive arts education sessions leading up to attending a live performance of the productions. Students explored the themes of the productions under the instruction of professional teaching artists from the community, honing their writing, STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Math) and performing arts skills. As part of their sessions, the students also performed or exhibited their work and were able to invite a parent, grandparent or guardian to join them for the Kravis Center performance, where they enjoyed lunch and took part in a special meet-and-greet with the cast.
Broadway Reach Program – PHOTOS: (Courtesy of the Kravis Center)
1. (Photo above) Students from U.B. Kinsey/Palmview Elementary School in West Palm Beach stand with the interactive sculpture they created as part of the Kravis Center’s Broadway Reach program, designed to bring arts education and exposure to Broadway productions to students with limited access to the performing arts. The students worked with their visual arts teachers Rosemary Shaw and Stephen Backhus, along with Kravis Center teaching artist Trish Halvorsen, to create the sculpture, which was on display during the performances of Blue Man Group at the Kravis Center in December.
2. Andrew Sevald, a student at Rosarian Academy, plays with an interactive sculpture created by U.B. Kinsey/Palmview Elementary School students prior to a performance by Blue Man Group at the Kravis Center in December. The creation of the sculpture was part of the Kravis Center’s Broadway Reach program, which provides arts education and exposure to Broadway performances to children who may not otherwise have access to the performing arts. About 30 students from U.B. Kinsey/Palmview participated in the program.
3. U.B. Kinsey/Palmview Elementary School students (from left) Jehki Deshield, Sanora Jackson and Ahrianna Santos work on constructing pieces for the interactive sculpture they helped create as part of the Kravis Center’s Broadway Reach program. The sculpture was on display at the Kravis Center during the show run for Blue Man Group in December. Broadway Reach is designed to provide arts education and exposure to live touring Broadway shows to area youth who may not otherwise have access to the performing arts. The students worked with U.B. Kinsey visual arts teachers Rosemary Shaw and Stephen Backhus, along with Kravis Center teaching artist Trish Halvorsen, to create the hands-on sculpture that moved, made noises and could be touched and played by Kravis Center guests attending Blue Man Group shows.
To learn more about the Kravis Center’s educational programming, please see the Kravis Center’s 2015-2016 education brochure by visiting: www.kravis.org/educationbrochure