Long Wharf Theatre Recieves 4-Year Education Department Grant from Werth Family Foundation, New Haven

Long Wharf Theatre received a grant from The Werth Family Foundation of $224,500 over four years to fund the development of a substantially expanded in-school residency program.

The grant will add three teaching artists to the theatre’s Education Department to meet the increased demand from public schools for high quality, effective arts instruction. The additional teaching artists will be in classrooms starting this fall.

“As we approach our 50th anniversary in 2015, Long Wharf Theatre is working to expand its role not just as a cultural institution, but also as a civic institution. It is clear that we can and should serve as a platform for deeper engagement with the community and invigorate the education of students,” said Managing Director Joshua Borenstein.

The Teaching Artists will provide workshops, seminars and residencies to schools, and guidance to teachers, through a trio of initiatives: the Student Theatre Series, Educators’ Laboratory, and In-School Residencies.

The Student Theatre Series includes age appropriate productions that can be incorporated into the curricula of Connecticut’s middle and high schools, comprehensive study guides, subsidized tickets to a performance, and an in-school residency with a member of Long Wharf Theatre’s education department. The Educators Laboratory has been established as a seminal experience for many educators, exposing them to a wide variety of artistic expressions that can be translated to any course of study. In-school residencies allow Long Wharf Theatre teaching artists the ability to offer meaningful and creative educational experiences for public school students.

“We have historically developed education programs that offer progressive levels of depth and breadth. Because of this grant, we will be able to increase our offerings at a time when the need is great. By expanding the education department, we will have a meaningful impact on a substantial portion of the student population in the Greater New Haven area because we will be in their classrooms. It is my goal that over time, the students we serve will not just be occasional visitors to Long Wharf Theatre, but will actually grow up with us and consider us a familiar place to return to time and time again,” said Director of Education Annie DiMartino.

“This grant is an example of how Long Wharf Theatre is deepening and expanding both its artistic capacity and its educational and community programming,” said Eileen Wiseman, Director of Development. “I do think that this grant reflects, after a period of necessarily pulling in our horns, a more vigorous, confident, forward-moving institution. Important funders are demonstrating their confidence in both our stability and our vision in ways that are allowing us to grow, not simply maintain, our programs.”

For more information or to find out how to support Long Wharf Theatre, visit http://www.longwharf.org/support-us or call 203-787-4282.