Broadway In South Africa Non-Profit To Run From 1/12-1/24

Broadway in South Africa (BSA) is a new, not-for-profit organization that works to provide the average child from underadvantaged South African communities, with little or no access to a formal arts education, the tools of self-awareness and self-empowerment through art, so that they may begin to discover a future beyond disease and poverty. Ultimately, BSA’s ongoing work is designed to have lasting effects in the lives of these children, as opposed to single, disjointed efforts.

BSA seeks to create cross-cultural exchange between youth who are in need and artists who seek to use their talents for change.  It takes professional Broadway artists to South Africa as performers and teachers, provides arts education for children from under- advantaged communities and raises funds through star-studded Broadway concerts in America and South Africa.  Honorary board members include Caryl M. Stern, President of the U.S. Fund for UNICEF, and award-winning singer-songwriter and star of Disney’s Aida on Broadway, Deborah Cox, who also serves as international spokesperson.

BSA is comprised of 14 New York City-based professional actors, dancers, singers, directors, musicians and producers, with such Broadway credits as The Lion King, Rent, Wicked, and Hairspray, and a number of film and TV appearances.  They are made up of a vast mix of cultures, all brought together by their desire to affect positive change in the world through art.  Moreover, they believe that they can learn from the potential of bridging the gap between two different cultures artistically.  BSA’s deep philosophy is that all children deserve the opportunity to explore their own creative potential, and should never be denied exposure to art and possibility because of their life situations.

The 2009 inaugural year of the South African initiative will take place January 12 – 24, 2008, in Cape Town, Johannesburg and Durban.  BSA will conduct a four-day arts intensive that includes acting, dance, music and playwriting workshops for children at the JL Zwane Centre in Gugulethu Township, Cape Town.  Approximately 50 students, ages seven to 14, will participate.  There will also be masterclasses taught at University of Witwatersand and Theo-Twala Primary School in Johannesburg, as well as the Agape Orphanage and other children’s centers in Durban. 

In conjunction with producers Pieter Toerien and Hazel Feldman, BSA will produce and perform with local South African artists, like Shaun V, star of Rent in South Africa, in live benefit concerts at Cape Town’s Theatre on the Bay and Johannesburg’s Montecasino, The concerts will be hosted by Mark Rayment, who played Scar in The Lion King South Africa.  Part of the proceeds raised from these and other fundraising activities in South Africa will go directly to Keep A Child Alive (KACA) a charitable organization co-founded by singer-songwriter-actress Alicia Keys that provides medicine for children and their families living with HIV/AIDS.  There will also be performances for local orphanages and communities, including KACA work sites Operation Bobbi Bear and Boikarabelo.

Other BSA sponsors include Nando’s and Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS. 

To track BSA’s daily activities, visit the blog site: www.broadwayinsouthafrica.tumblr.com.

The idea for this organization began in 2004 when Sean Bradford and Zach Bandler, BSA executive directors, and members Rachel Frankenthal and Adam Kantor were students at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, and members of the school’s a cappella singing group.  The group’s curriculum included off-campus performance opportunities.  That year, they traveled to South Africa, in part because they felt South African people would accept and embrace their art, as a cappella singing is a large part of the culture.  They performed throughout Cape Town and were welcomed with open arms.

They had such a compelling experience that they returned in 2006 to perform and give back to the community.  They conducted acting, dance and singing workshops with children in Mitchell’s Plain Township, and performed in hospitals and the juvenile section of a prison.  For both trips, they raised the monies needed to fund their efforts.

After graduating, they moved to New York City to start their individual careers, but decided that their collective work must continue.  Within two years, they gathered a group of like-spirited professional artists, who each embraced the mission, and thus began Broadway in South Africa.  

One of BSA’s first accomplishments and proudest moments was producing a Broadway star-filled benefit concert, opened by a dynamic group of South African artists, who currently perform in The Lion King on Broadway.  It featured world-premiere songs based on letters, poems and drawings created by students at Theo-Twala Primary School.  The songs were created by Broadway composers specifically for the concert and sung by Broadway stars.