A.R.T. Receives $25,000 From Bank Of America Charitable Foundation

American Repertory Theater at Harvard University (A.R.T.), under the leadership of Terrie and Bradley Bloom Artistic Director Diane Paulus and Executive Producer Diane Borger, is pleased to announce that it has received a grant of $25,000 from the Bank of America Charitable Foundation to support Education and Engagement activities related to A.R.T.'s 2018/19 Season productions of The Black Clown and Endlings.

The Bank of America grant subsidized discounted tickets to The Black Clown (August 31 - September 23, 2018) for more than 900 students from nineteen public schools and 1,250 community members from more than 80 Community Connections groups. Foundation funding also supported ten community events during the production's three-week run, including Black Renaissance: A Celebration of Black Art in partnership with Hibernian Hall in Roxbury that featured local artists of color and the cast of The Black Clown; a post-show meet-and-greet with members of UMass Boston & Youth Empowerment; and a nightly voter registration drive.

The Black Clown was a world premiere music theater adaptation of Langston Hughes' poem animating a Black man's resilience against America's legacy of oppression. Reverend Cindy Cabral, who attended a supported pre-show event with other church leaders from the region and production's associate music director, shared afterward, "I cannot express the joy of seeing The Black Clown. It moved my spirit. At one point, the singing and story moved me to visions of hearing the angels singing. The harmony of voices and the interaction of the cast made me feel part of the show."

One student from Cambridge Rindge and Latin School who attended a performance with a subsidized ticket expressed, "This piece was probably the most beautifully performed commentary on the Black struggle in America that I've ever seen, and so peacefully explained."

Bank of America's grant will also support education and engagement programming for the upcoming Endlings (February 26 - March 17, 2019), a world premiere about legacy and migration set on the islands of Man-Jae, Korea and Manhattan. Planned activities include a matinee performance serving approximately 550 students with subsidized tickets, community events, and facilitated conversations around Orientalism and aging.

"Support from Bank of America and organizations like it allow us to seize opportunities to engage with our students, partners, and communities in impactful ways that foster connection, critical dialogue, and celebration through art," said Brenna Nicely, A.R.T.'s Education and Engagement Director.

ABOUT EDUCATION, ACCESS, AND ENGAGEMENT AT A.R.T.

A.R.T.'s Education and Engagement initiatives derive from the theater's commitment to produce work that unites audiences in shared experiences and catalyzes active engagement in the issues facing our world today. By providing affordable tickets, hosting theater skill-building workshops and classes, developing project-based partnerships, and fostering public dialogue, the A.R.T. deepens connections to live theater for audiences of all ages in the community.

Education Experiences and Community Connections

During the 2017/18 Season, the A.R.T. provided 6,523 deeply subsidized tickets to local youth and adults. The A.R.T. fosters partnerships with Greater Boston and regional schools serving students in grades K-12 and Boston-area non-profit organizations to bring high-quality arts experiences to families and individuals traditionally underserved by the arts. The A.R.T. develops and provides comprehensive curricular materials and flexible, custom-built arts programming including artists' site visits, master classes, and creative workshops for these audiences free of charge.

Access for All

The A.R.T. is committed to providing high-quality, immersive arts experiences for all audience members. Most mainstage production runs include ASL-interpreted performances, Open Captioned performances, and Audio Described performances. Sensory-friendly performances of select productions serve audience members with autism or other sensory sensitivities. The A.R.T. is a member of the Massachusetts Cultural Council-facilitated EBT Card to Culture program, which provides $5 tickets to EBT and SNAP card holders.

Community Events

In partnership with community organizations, A.R.T. frequently co-hosts events around the region that feature its affiliated artists and others. Recent events include Citizen Read, a city-wide initiative co-led by ArtsEmerson that engaged more than 900 participants in conversation around Claudia Rankin's Citizen in conjunction with The White Card; with Nigerian Youth Organization, a celebration featuring performances from HEAR WORD! Naija Woman Talk True and conversation around the themes of the play, also at Hibernian Hall; and performances by the Arrabal band in Cambridge, Allston, and South Boston.

ABOUT BANK OF AMERICA ENVIRONMENTAL, SOCIAL AND GOVERNANCE

At Bank of America, our focus on Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) factors is critical to fulfilling our purpose of helping make people's financial lives better. Our commitment to growing our business responsibly is embedded in every aspect of our company. It is demonstrated in the inclusive and supportive workplace we create for our employees, the responsible products and services we offer our customers, and the impact we help create around the world in helping local economies thrive. An important part of this work is forming strong partnerships across sectors-including community and environmental advocate groups, as well as non-profits-in order to bring together our collective networks and expertise to achieve greater impact. Learn more at bankofamerica.com/about and connect with us on Twitter at @BankofAmerica.

ABOUT AMERICAN REPERTORY THEATER

American Repertory Theater at Harvard University (A.R.T.) is a leading force in the American theater, producing groundbreaking work in Cambridge and beyond. A.R.T. was founded in 1980 by Robert Brustein, who served as Artistic Director until 2002, when he was succeeded by Robert Woodruff. Diane Paulus began her tenure as Terrie and Bradley Bloom Artistic Director in 2008. Under the leadership of Paulus and Executive Producer Diane Borger, A.R.T. seeks to expand the boundaries of theater by producing transformative theatrical experiences, always including the audience as a central partner.

Throughout its history, A.R.T. has been honored with many distinguished awards including the Tony Award for Best New Play for All the Way (2014); consecutive Tony Awards for Best Revival of a Musical for Pippin (2013) and The Gershwins' Porgy and Bess (2012), both of which Paulus directed, and sixteen other Tony Awards since 2012; a Pulitzer Prize; a Jujamcyn Prize for outstanding contribution to the development of creative talent; the Regional Theater Tony Award; and more than 100 Elliot Norton and IRNE Awards.

A.R.T. collaborates with artists around the world to develop and create work in new ways. It is currently engaged in a number of multi-year projects, including a collaboration with Harvard's Center for the Environment that will result in the development of new work over several years. Under Paulus' leadership, the A.R.T.'s club theater, OBERON, has been an incubator for local and emerging artists and has attracted national attention for its innovative programming and business models.

As the professional theater on the campus of Harvard University, the A.R.T. catalyzes discourse, interdisciplinary collaboration, and creative exchange among a wide range of academic departments, institutions, students, and faculty members, acting as a conduit between its community of artists and the university. The A.R.T. has trained generations of theater artists through its Institute for Advanced Theater Training, and also plays a central role in Harvard's undergraduate concentration in Theater, Dance & Media.

Dedicated to making great theater accessible, A.R.T. actively engages more than 5,000 community members and local students annually in project-based partnerships, workshops, conversations with artists, and other enrichment activities both at the theater and across the Greater Boston area.

Through all of these initiatives, A.R.T. is dedicated to producing world-class performances in which the audience is central to the theatrical experience.