Epic Theatre Ensemble's "Shakespeare Remix" Receives Coming Up Taller Award From Michelle Obama

New York's OBIE Award-winning Epic Theatre Ensemble's (Zak Berkman, Melissa Friedman, Ron Russell, Founding Executive Directors) Shakespeare Remix after-school program is being nationally recognized with the prestigious 2009 Coming Up Taller Award. Berkman, Russell, Friedman and youth Remix participant Shana Brown traveled to Washington, D.C., today for a White House ceremony hosted by First Lady Michelle Obama to accept the award.

Coming Up Taller is a national initiative that recognizes and supports outstanding out-of-school and after-school arts and humanities programs for children, especially those with great potential, but limited outlets for creative expression. A project of the President's Committee on the Arts and the Humanities (PCAH), in partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH), and the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), the Coming Up Taller Awards honor programs that offer exceptional learning experiences in the arts and the humanities and that have a tangible effect on the lives of young people as evidenced through improved academic scores, enhanced life skills, and positive relationships with peers and adults.

Epic Theatre Ensemble's Shakespeare Remix is an after-school youth development program at four NYC Public High Schools in Lower Manhattan, Harlem, the Bronx and Brooklyn, that culminates with students performing alongside professional theater artists in fully produced Shakespeare productions at Off Broadway theatres. Remix students fully debate the critical social and political questions of the play, decode the meaning of Shakespeare's text, speaking the language with truth and courage, and weave their own writing into the fabric of the script. Working with Epic's Artists as mentors and cast mates, the students rehearse and perform their Shakespeare Remix creating a bridge from the classic plays to their time through their own words and actions. Leadership support of Epic's youth development programs is provided by New York State Council on the Arts, the National Endowment for the Arts, The Meringoff Family Foundation, The Dana Foundation and Lancôme.
"What's thrilling to me, as an artist, is the quality of the Shakespeare Remix productions," said Melissa Friedman, Epic's Director of Education and Director of the Shakespeare Remix Program. "These students are performing Shakespeare's language with meaning, with truth and with courage and they are bridging these plays to their time with their own words. And what's thrilling to me, as a citizen, is the moment the lights go down at the end of a two hour production, and a community leaps to its feet with thunderous applause that says 'We hear you.'"

Shana Brown, a senior at Chelsea High School and a fourth-year participant in the Shakespeare Remix program remarked, "Epic's Shakespeare Remix program changed my whole view-point on what I wanted to do with my life. It helped me realize the joy I get when I see my writing come to life and opened my eyes to a talent I never knew I had. Before this program I had never read Shakespeare before, I had never even seen an actual play, but three years later I'm writing them."

"This year's Coming Up Taller Awardees exemplify how arts and humanities programs outside of the school setting can impact on the lives of our young people," says Margo Lion, co-chairman, President's Committee on the Arts and the Humanities. "By exciting imaginations and providing opportunities for self-expression through the disciplines of theater, dance, music and literature these exceptional projects offer their participants windows on possibility and a belief in a more positive future."

The President's Committee on the Arts and the Humanities bridges the interests of federal agencies and the private sector, supports special projects that increase participation, and helps incorporate the humanities and the arts into White House objectives. The National Endowment for the Arts is a public agency dedicated to supporting excellence in the arts, both new and established; bringing the arts to all Americans; and providing leadership in arts education. Because democracy demands wisdom, the National Endowment for the Humanities serves and strengthens our Republic by promoting excellence in the humanities and conveying the lessons of history to all Americans. The Institute of Museum and Library Services is an independent federal grant making agency dedicated to creating and sustaining a nation of learners.

Epic Theatre Ensemble will be presenting four Shakespeare Remix productions this season. The first, Shakespeare Remix Macbeth, can be seen December 17-19, 2009 under the direction of Melissa Friedman and feature students from Chelsea High School and Epic artists Kathleen Chalfant, John Keabler, Godfrey L. Simmons, Jr. and James Wallert. All December performances of Shakespeare Remix Macbeth will take place at The Beckett Theatre at Theatre Row (410 West 42nd Street).

The second Shakespeare Remix Macbeth will be February 4-6, 2010 under the direction of Ron Russell and feature students from Bronx High School for Writing and Communication Arts and Epic artists John Keabler and Godfrey L. Simmons, Jr. All February performances will take place at The Pregones Theater (571-575 Walton Avenue between 149th & 150th Streets in the Bronx). Two additional productions in Harlem with the Urban Assembly School for the Performing Arts and in Brooklyn with Frances Perkins Academy at Automotive High School will be announced shortly. All tickets to Shakespeare Remix Macbeth are free, however reservations are required and may be made by calling (212) 613-5434.

Epic Theatre Ensemble nurtures active citizenship throughout New York City by producing socially-minded plays Off Broadway and connecting these productions to the New York City Public Schools via ground-breaking, fully-integrated artist residencies. These productions and residencies inspire an electric exchange of opinions and ideas that foster greater understanding and empathy between diverse groups and individuals.

From Broadway to Brooklyn! In Spring 2010, Epic Theatre Ensemble will present the New York premiere of Passion Play by Sarah Ruhl (In The Next Room (or the vibrator play)) at the Irondale Center, a converted Sunday School inside the Lafayette Avenue Presbyterian Church in Fort Greene, Brooklyn. Passion Play is a wildly imaginative, adventurous and moving exploration of the timeless intersection of religion, art and politics. Inspired by the historic festivals where everyday citizens came together to elevate their communities by staging the life and death of Christ, Passion Play transports audiences first to 16th century England, where Queen Elizabeth threatens to shut down a small town's production; then to Nazi Germany, where Adolf Hitler's arrival at the famous Oberammergau Passion Play influences the lives of its cast and finally to Spearfish, South Dakota in 1984, as a local production becomes a campaign stop for a famous actor-turned-President running for re-election. MarK Wing-Davey will return as director following his highly acclaimed productions of Passion Play at the Goodman Theatre and Yale Repertory Theatre, but will be re-envisioning the play for this site-specific production.

For more information please visit the following Web sites:

Epic Theatre Ensemble: www.epictheatreensemble.org
Coming Up Taller: www.cominguptaller.org
President's Committee on the Arts and the Humanities: www.pcah.gov
National Endowment for the Arts: www.arts.gov
National Endowment for the Humanities: www.neh.gov
Institute of Museum and Library Services: www.imls.gov

 

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