A.R.T Launches Community Connections, Education Experience Initiatives

Concurrent with the A.R.T. premiere of The Gershwins' Porgy and Bess, the A.R.T. has launched Community Connections, an outreach initiative designed to provide memorable arts experiences to the Greater Boston community at large. Community Connections is a season-long partnership between the A.R.T. and local non-profit organizations dedicated to a diverse range of access and education services. Through subsidized tickets, custom-designed arts enrichment activities, and the coordination of ASL-interpreted and audio-described performances for these organizations' constituents, Community Connections has expanded the theater's accessibility to an unprecedented level.

The Education Experience program, which focuses on working with schools in the greater Boston community, has provided subsidized access to The Gershwins' Porgy and Bess and an arts enrichment curriculum for the students. Customized in-school workshops with members of the A.R.T. staff and teaching artists from the A.R.T./MXAT Institute for Advanced Theater Training allow students the opportunity to investigate themes of the current production that directly relate to relevant topics in their core curriculum. They also receive in-depth study guides and toolkits for further in class review and preparation for attending the performance.

To date, Community Connections and the A.R.T.'s educational outreach program, the Education Experience, has provided subsidized access to The Gershwins' Porgy and Bess for over 1,000 local students and community members.

The Gershwins' Porgy and Bess and its complementary enrichment programming are the beginning of a season-long engagement with local schools and community organizations. A full complement of arts enrichment curricula has been developed for each production in the A.R.T.'s 2011-2012 season.

Participating Community Connections organizations include:
• Artists for Humanity
• Boston Learning Center
• Downtown Boston Veterans Shelter
• Goddard House
• Mssng Lnks
• MGH Center for Community Health Improvement
• YWCA Community Dialogues on Race
• National Center for Race Amity/Students Organized Against Racism
• Wheelock Family Theater
• Brookview House
The following schools are participating in the Education Experience:
• Revere High School
• Cambridge Rindge & Latin
• Boston Collegiate Charter School
• Commonwealth School
• Boston Arts Academy
• Lowell High School
• Boston Latin Academy
• Beacon Academy
• New England Conservatory Preparatory Program
• Cambridge School of Weston

For more information or to get involved in Community Connections or the Education Experience, please visit http://www.americanrepertorytheater.org/outreach

The American Repertory Theater (A.R.T.) is one of the country's most celebrated resident theaters and the winner of numerous awards - including the Tony Award, the Pulitzer Prize and regional Elliot Norton and I.R.N.E. Awards. In 2002 the A.R.T. was the recipient of The National Theatre Conference's Outstanding Achievement Award, and in May of 2003 it was named one of the top three regional theaters in the country by Time magazine. Founded by Robert Brustein in 1980, the A.R.T. during its 30-year history has performed throughout the U.S. and worldwide, and has welcomed many major American and international theater artists, presenting a diverse repertoire that includes new American plays, bold reinterpretations of classical texts and provocative new music Theater Productions. In 2009, the A.R.T. welcomed its new Artistic Director, Diane Paulus. Armed with the A.R.T.'s mission to expand the boundaries of theater, Paulus and her team have engaged thousands of new theatergoers. Critics and audiences have embraced the immersive environments that have become hallmarks of A.R.T. productions. The Theater has broadened its focus to include the audience's total experience, providing them with a sense of ownership in the theatrical event. Initiatives like the A.R.T.'s new club theater OBERON, which Paulus calls a "Second Stage for the 21st century," is an example of one initiative that has not only become an incubator for local artists but also has attracted national attention as a groundbreaking model for programming. Through all of its work, the A.R.T. is committed to building a community of artists, technicians, educators, staff and audience, all of who are integral to the A.R.T.'s core mission of expanding the boundaries of theater.

The balance of the 2011-12 A.R.T. season includes THREE PIANOS by Rick Burkhardt, Alec Duffy and Dave Malloy, with music from Franz Schubert's Winterreise, Op. 89, D911 (1828), directed by Rachel Chavkin (Loeb Drama Center • December 7 - January 8, 2012); AS YOU LIKE IT by William Shakespeare, featuring members of The A.R.T. /MXAT Institute for Advanced Theater Training Class of 2012 (Loeb Drama Center • January 13 - January 28); the world premiere of WILD SWANS by Jung Chang, adapted by Alexandra Wood, directed by Sacha Wares (Loeb Drama Center • February 11 - March 11); and the world premiere of FUTURITY: A Musical by The Lisps, with music and lyrics by César Alvarez with The Lisps; book by Molly Rice and César Alvarez; directed by Sarah Benson (Oberon • March 16 - April 15); and WOODY SEZ, with words and music by Woody Guthrie, devised by David M. Lutken with Nick Corley (Loeb Drama Center • May 5 - May 26). In addition, the A.R.T. will present a special Holiday production for children and their families - THE SNOW QUEEN, Hans Christian Andersen's exuberant ode to childhood, in a stage adaptation by Tyler Monroe, directed by Allegra Libonati. (Loeb Drama Center • December 10 -December 31).

The Loeb Drama Center, located at 64 Brattle Street, Harvard Square, Cambridge, is accessible to persons with special needs and to those requiring wheelchair seating or first-floor restrooms. Deaf and hard-of-hearing patrons can also reach the theater by calling the toll-free N.E. Telephone Relay Center at 1-800-439-2370.
For further information call 617-547-8300 or visit http://www.americanrepertorytheater.org

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