The Public & Brooklyn College Team to Foster Emerging Artists and Administrators

The Public Theater and Brooklyn College announced today a new partnership, strengthening both institutions' deep commitment to fostering the professional development of talented emerging artists and arts administrators. The partnership will invest in nurturing generations of arts leaders whose presence will help diversify the field. This partnership is made possible with the generous support of The Tow Foundation.

The partnership launches a suite of activities, including master classes, arts administration fellowships, and research opportunities. To inaugurate this initiative, The Public Theater recently hosted the 12th annual Bring A Weasel and A Pint of Your Own Blood Festival, presented by the Brooklyn College Theater Program. The festival featured new plays written by MFA students in Mac Wellman's renowned playwriting program. For two weeks, The Public's Shiva Theater served as a laboratory for Brooklyn College playwrights, directors, designers, and actors to collaborate on explosive experiments in form.

"We are so grateful that The Public Theater and Brooklyn College could find a way to partner together and foster new voices in the American theater," said Public Theater Executive Director Patrick Willingham. "As an alumnus of Brooklyn College, I cannot imagine a better university to align with, and I am thrilled that The Tow Foundation could help make this endeavor possible with its incredible support. The Public values artists at all levels and we are ecstatic about working with such a creative and diverse group of students."

"Leonard Tow epitomizes the way in which an alumnus can empower successive generations of students," said Theater Department Artistic DirectorMary Beth Easley and Department of Theater Chairperson Kip Marsh. "The Tow Foundation's magnanimous gift to support a partnership between The Public Theater and Brooklyn College Department of Theater has given our emerging artists life-changing opportunities to learn from and work alongside some of the most brilliant theater-makers working today. We are blessed and deeply honored."

This month, Brooklyn College hosted two Public Theater artist research residencies. Working with students, and with the resources of Brooklyn College at their disposal, resident artists Daniel Alexander Jones, Kaneza Schaal and Christopher Myers explored and prototyped new ideas in design, text, and form.

"The Tow Foundation is thrilled to have played a catalytic role in the creation of this partnership. We look forward to the many ventures that will flow from it," said Leonard Tow, Chairman of The Tow Foundation. Emily Tow Jackson, Executive Director and President of The Tow Foundation said, "We are excited to be bringing together two leading institutions in their respective fields. Nurturing this collaboration furthers the impact of two organizations in which we invest, and all those they touch."

For more information about The Public Theater and Brooklyn College Partnership, visit www.publictheater.org.

BROOKLYN COLLEGE'S DEPARTMENT OF THEATER: Kip Marsh, chair; Mary Beth Easley, artistic director-is one of New York City's leading institutions in the training of actors, directors, designers, dramaturgs, performing arts managers, and theater technicians. The Department offers undergraduate degree programs leading to the Bachelor of Arts in Theater, the Bachelor of Fine Arts in Acting, the Bachelor of Fine Arts in Design & Technical Theater, the Master of Arts in Theater History & Criticism, and the Master of Fine Arts with concentrations in Acting, Directing, Design & Technical Theater, and Performing Arts Management. The Department of Theater is a part of Brooklyn College's School of Visual, Media and Performing Arts, headed by Dean Maria Ann Conelli. Recent graduates have achieved great success in many fields - acting, directing, music, art and film, and behind the scenes in Performing Arts Management and Design. The school is made up of five departments specializing in Art, Film, Music, Television/Radio, Theater and an interdisciplinary program in Performance and Interactive Media Arts.

The Tow Foundation, established in 1988 by Leonard and Claire Tow, funds projects that offer transformative experiences to individuals and create collaborative ventures in fields where they see opportunities for breakthroughs, reform, and benefits for underserved populations. Investments focus on the support of innovative programs and system reform in the areas of juvenile and criminal justice, groundbreaking medical research, higher education, and cultural institutions. For more information, visit www.towfoundation.org.

The world-renowned Public Theater, under the leadership of Artistic Director Oskar Eustis and Executive Director Patrick Willingham, is the only theater in New York that produces Shakespeare, the classics, musicals, contemporary and experimental pieces in equal measure. This fall begins The Public's Astor Anniversary Season celebrating 50 years of new work at 425 Lafayette Street and the 50th Anniversary of HAIR which opened the landmark theater in October 1967. The Public continues the work of its visionary founder, Joe Papp, by acting as an advocate for the theater as an essential cultural force, and by leading and framing dialogue on some of the most important issues of our day. Creating theater for one of the largest and most diverse audience bases in New York City for nearly 60 years, today the Company engages audiences in a variety of venues-including its landmark downtown home at Astor Place, which houses five theaters and Joe's Pub; the Delacorte Theater in Central Park, home to Free Shakespeare in the Park; and the Mobile Unit, which tours productions for underserved audiences throughout New York City's five boroughs. The Public's wide range of programming includes Free Shakespeare in the Park, the bedrock of the Company's dedication to making theater accessible to all; Public Works, an expanding initiative that is designed to cultivate new connections and new models of engagement with artists, audiences and the community each year; the Under the Radar Festival, a yearly festival celebrating diverse and cutting-edge performance from the U.S. and abroad; and audience and artist development initiatives that range from the Emerging Writers Group to the Public Forum series. The Public's work is also seen on tour throughout the U.S. and internationally and in collaborations and co-productions with regional and international theaters. The Public is located on property owned by the City of New York and receives annual support from The New York City Department of Cultural Affairs. The Public is currently represented on Broadway by the Tony Award-winning acclaimed American musical Hamilton by Lin-Manuel Miranda. The Public has received 59 Tony Awards, 169 Obie Awards, 53 Drama Desk Awards, 54 Lortel Awards, 32 Outer Critics Circle Awards, 13 New York Drama Critics Awards, and six Pulitzer Prizes. Visit www.publictheater.org for more.