HERE builds a community that nurtures career artists as they create innovative hybrid live performance in theatre, dance, music, puppetry, media, and visual art.

HERE Arts Center

Seattle Rep collaborates with extraordinary artists to create productions and programs that reflect and elevate the diverse cultures, perspectives, and life experiences of our region.

Seattle Rep

The Official Page of Flat Rock Playhouse, The State Theatre of North Carolina.

In 1937, a group of struggling performers, led by Robroy Farquhar, organized themselves as the Vagabond Players. The Vagabonds worked in a variety of places over the course of three years, and in 1940 found themselves in the Blue Ridge region of Western North Carolina. The local and tourist community welcomed them with open arms when they presented their first summer season of plays in a 150-year-old grist mill they converted into The Old Mill Playhouse at Highland Lake. So successful was that summer, they returned in 1941. After WWII, the Vagabond Players reorganized, came back to the region and opened a playhouse in nearby Lake Summit. The Lake Summit Playhouse thrived during the post-war years and soon the Vagabond Players were looking for a larger and permanent home. In 1952, the troupe of performers, and a newly formed board of directors, made an offer to buy an 8-acre lot in the Village of Flat Rock. This new home made the Vagabonds “locals” and a rented big top gave birth to the Flat Rock Playhouse. As the beautiful Western Carolina region continued to grow, so did the Playhouse and in 1961, by Act of the North Carolina General Assembly, Flat Rock Playhouse was officially designated The State Theatre of North Carolina. What began as a few weeks of summer performances in 1940 is now a nine-month season of plays including Broadway musicals, comedy, drama, and theatre for young audiences. The Playhouse’s dual mission of producing the performing arts and providing education in the performing arts includes a professional series, a summer and fall college apprentice and intern program, year-round classes and workshops for students from kindergarten through adults. Flat Rock Playhouse now hosts over 98,000 patrons annually and is a significant contributor to the local economy and the Arts in North Carolina. See less


Flat Rock Playhouse

Curtain Call Theatre Inc is a nonprofit community theatre based in Braintree, MA. It received its nonprofit status in 1987.

With a mission to entertain, inspire and challenge audiences by producing innovative and thought-provoking theatre of the highest caliber, Curtain Call Theatre has brought quality, affordable theater to the local community for over 60 years. In so doing, we've created a tight-knit theatre family where we hope all artists and patrons new to our space will feel welcomed and supported and join our seasoned supporters in calling Curtain Call Theatre their “home away from home.”

Curtain Call Theatre Inc

We spark thoughtful conversation with provocative plays and entertaining musicals while empowering local and emerging artists. 

SpeakEasy produces intimate, entertaining plays and musicals that are new to Boston and compel thoughtful conversation. We champion new talent and future arts leaders, alongside a diverse community of experienced local theatre professionals who share our devotion to excellence. We treat our artists, audiences and supporters as collaborators, working with us to make Boston a city that is sustainable for artists.

SpeakEasy Stage Company

We are a company of immigrants that are dedicated to passionate, imaginative storytelling and new forms of theater.

ABOUT ARLEKIN

Arlekin Players Theatre, founded by Artistic Director Igor Golyak in 2009, is an artist­-driven company created with and for immigrant actors from the former Soviet Union. For over a decade, we have told powerful stories and invented new forms of theater in both Russian and English, working to build vital connections and create shared human experience. We take special pride in exploring questions of self-identity and working on productions that play on the ideas of culture, identity, home, tradition, the idea of nationality, finding common themes that unite us all.

During our first ten years, Arlekin was invited numerous times to perform on the world-famous stage of the Moscow Art Theatre and at international festivals including the prestigious Mondial du Théâtre in Monaco. During our 10th Anniversary Season, we received a sweep of Boston’s Elliot Norton Awards, including Best Production, Best Designer, Best Actress and Best Director, with a ceremony watched on Zoom due to the sudden closures of COVID. During the pandemic, while mosts theaters worldwide were shuttered, we wasted no time in transforming our small theater into the Zero Gravity (zero-G) Virtual Theater Lab, developing a new genre and producing two international virtual theater productions, State vs Natasha Banina and chekhovOS /an experimental game/, which featured Obie winner Jessica Hecht as Ranevskaya and Mikhail Baryshnikov as Anton Chekhov. These productions went viral, catapulting Arlekin onto the international stage, receiving international attention (with audiences in over 40 countries) and receiving rave press, including two New York Times Critic's Picks. This work has positioned Arlekin and our founder, Igor Golyak, as innovators and international leaders in the virtual theater movement. 

We remain committed to connecting in new ways, creating meaningful, groundbreaking artistic productions, and continually reinventing what theater is for our community in Boston and for an increasing audience across the globe.  

Arlekin Players Theatre

Know Theatre is Cincinnati's Theatrical Playground. Let's Play.

Know Theatre is Cincinnati’s Theatrical Playground. The Know showcases unexpected voices, new works, and plays that embrace the inherent theatricality of the live experience. Know Theatre seeks to be a place where artists and audiences feel welcome to take artistic risks, creating work that is cutting edge and accessible.

We envision a theatre that elevates underserved voices; has a commitment to gender parity, diversity and inclusion in the playwrights it produces and artists it employs; that creates a welcoming space in which to wrestle with challenging ideas; that is accessible for everyone regardless of economic circumstances; and that pays artists a living wage for the work that they create.

We envision a theatre that can change the world.



Know Theatre of Cincinnati

Transforming great literature into great theatre.  Book-It has paused productions as it re-envisions its future.

Book-It Repertory Theatre's mission is to transform great literature into great theatre, through simple and sensitive production, and to inspire our audiences to read. Book-It recently paused productions as it re-envisions its future.

Book-It Repertory Theatre

The Front Porch Arts Collective is a black theatre company committed to advancing racial equity in Boston through theater.

**The Porch is...**
*A communal gathering place.*
For nearly a decade, Boston has existed without a professional black theatre company employing artists of color and demanding the consideration of the major news outlets in Greater Boston. Boston’s reputation as an unwelcoming and racist city, featured prominently in a seven-part Spotlight series in the Boston Globe, highlighted issues of structural racism, including the visible cultural segregation in the arts. As a black theater company committed to rewriting those narratives, our namesake signifies a communal spirit, inspiring us to serve communities of color and produce art that is inclusive of all communities and welcoming to all audiences, to inspire a more tolerant and inclusive Boston.  

Front Porch Arts Collective Of Boston

Lyric Stage produces intimate, challenging and entertaining theatre with Boston-area artists for Boston-area audiences.

Founded in 1974, the Lyric Stage is Boston's oldest professional theatre company, producing a six-show season which ranges in theatrical styles from classic Broadway-style musicals to new plays. Since 1991, the Lyric Stage has been in residence at 140 Clarendon Street, in a 240-seat venue, that is widely regarded as the most intimate in Boston.

With few exceptions, the actors, directors, designers, stage managers, technicians, music directors, and musicians that work at Lyric Stage live in Greater Boston. In casting and hiring, the artistic department seeks to balance ongoing relationships with opportunities for emerging local artists. Our educational programming reflects a commitment to introduce theatre to Boston's residents and to inspire young people to discover the multiple ways in which theatre can enhance, or become, a life-long career.

Lyric Stage Company

The International Beethoven Project, est. 2008 as a NFP, celebrates the extraordinary lives & creative music of unique composers.

​​The mission of the International Beethoven Project is threefold: 

1) to celebrate Beethoven's music and humanist legacy

2) to make classical music more engaging, exciting and meaningful for all people

3) to serve as an educational resource 

By showcasing Beethoven as the revolutionary musician he was, we believe we can inspire new generations of listeners, performers and arts administrators to appreciate and engage with this art form. To do this, IBP has used many different approaches, from producing numerous events to making films, recordings and educational media.

Launching the "International Beethoven Day" initiative in 2021, IBP seeks to engage even more people across the world in carrying Beethoven's legacy of humanism and music forward.

Upcoming projects include a sweeping multi-media traversal of Beethoven's epic 32 piano sonatas that will include, in addition to recordings and films of the originals, music by contemporary composers and musicians inspired by the sonatas, along with readings of Beethoven's letters by actors and musicians and visual works of art to accompany the whole.

This project will be presented globally as well as brought to schools around the world.

IBP is also currently organizing the first-ever web3/blockchain/metaverse/NFT conference focused on the classical music sector.

From annual celebrations of Beethoven's birthday every December since 2010 and through his 250th anniversary in 2020, to multi-disciplinary festivals that have brought all the arts and many musical genres together under one roof, we have sought engagement across generations and society. 

"An event of world-class importance" (Chicago Tribune), IBP's Beethoven Festival has served as a showcase for what was possible in the future of classical music.

The International Beethoven Project has also produced several critically-hailed recordings, including a now-legendary album with a first-ever recording of a work by Beethoven, the Trio Hess 47, a top 25 on the Classical Billboard charts in 2010.

In the last few years, IBP has produced several music films and documentaries on Bach and Beethoven and continues to work on future productions. IBP's goal is to leverage the wide-reaching impact of audiovisual media to create novel ways of appreciating classical music's great classics, as well as inspiring contemporary composers and musicians. 


Stay up to date by visiting our website or following on social media.

www.internationalbeethovenproject.com 


International Beethoven Project

Inspiring children of all ages to reach their full potential.

We help children build confidence, character, and creativity through our unique music and theater productions while instilling the value of community outreach and philanthropy.

The heart of the PPF is about giving back to those in need, our community, and the world while also enriching the lives of our participants through music and theater.

Participants in our various productions learn confidence, creativity, empathy, and how to help others. All the while, becoming part of a loving and supportive environment; one that helps foster positive self-image and lifelong friendships.

Peter Pan Foundation

Largest independent DC theatre school. Transforming lives through theatre education.

Theatre Lab

The Opéra National de Lyon is a non profit association created in 1983.   It was the second opera house in France to be labeled "Opéra National", after the Opéra National de Paris, in 1986.  In May 2017, the International Opera Awards rewarded the Opéra de Lyon for "Best Opera Company". Its missions are to produce, create and distribute operas, ballets and concerts.  Combinations of the classic repertoire, discoveries and new commissions have become the signature of the Opera de Lyon's work. Excellence and openness - these are the two complementary focuses of this opera house, which looks forward to share what it is doing with as many people as possible. 

L'enlèvement au Sérail , MOZART. Director : Wajdi Mouawad. ©Stofleth One of a kind , JIRI KYLIAN. ©Jean-Pierre-Maurin Une nuit à Venise , STRAUSS. Director : Peter Langdal.  ©Stofleth Carmen,  BIZET. Director : Olivier Py. ©Stofleth Grand Foyer de l'Opéra national de Lyon, ©Stofleth Les Muses de l'Opéra national de Lyon, ©Blandine Soulage Rocca

Opera National de Lyon 

Where art, architecture, spirituality and historical memory are all interwoven 
 


Where art, architecture, spirituality and historical memory are all interwoven 
 
 Since the 14th century the Opera di Santa Croce has supported the conservation and development of the Monumental Complex a site that is a precious legacy to all mankind. Today the Opera is a non religous, non-profit organization, that carries out its mission of safeguarding and enhancement without any public subsidy, thanks only to funds raised with paid visits and private donations.  Santa Croce is home to the Greats; Michelangelo, Gallileo, Machiavelli, Dante, and Rossini  to name just some who have their tombs or monuments here as well as the precious Giotto frescos  and other inestimable works for the delight of our international visitors. The Santa Croce Monumental Complex needs  constant attention to conserve its  heritage for future generations. Join us in this great task:  every stone, fresco, stained glass section and slab of marble of Santa Croce's magnificent architecture will survive through the centuries to come, all thanks to your generosity .You can choose to fund a specific project or make a general donation and help us to cover the costs for the more urgent restoration and care, as well as the day to day overall cleaning and art maintenance.  If you choose to make a general donation your help will go where it's needed most.   Any contribution, however large or small, will be accepted with deep gratitude. Visit our website for more:  www.santacroceopera

Opera di Santa Croce

Coeurage Ensemble is LA's only Pay What You Want Theatre Company.  It received its nonprofit status in 2012.

Coeurage was founded in the fall of 2009, when 12 graduates from California State University, Fullerton met in the back of a pie shop to form a theatre company. **Our philosophy was simple: the cost of a ticket should never prevent anyone from seeing high quality theatre in Los Angeles.** With our Pay What You Want ticketing model in place, we produced our first piece in early 2010, an original series of monologues written for an all female cast titled “Head Over Heels.” The late Steve Julian attended and wrote a widely shared article with the headline, **"Six people see Head over Heels, millions show no Coeurage."** The writeup, which lauded our work while lamenting small LA theatre houses, helped put us on the map, and our attendance rose to a rare level of consistency amongst LA's intimate theatre scene.


We would have never conceived that the work we originally produced out of garages and now- condemned buildings could ultimately lead us to acclaim in **American Theatre Magazine** and a slot in the mainstage season at **Center Theatre Group's Kirk Douglas Theatre, where Coeurage was awarded the inaugural production of their Block Party program.** 

During the pandemic we were forced to pivot and create art in a different way. ***The Nomad Project*** was launched!  **The ongoing project currently has ten different stories based at specific coordinates around Los Angeles**, using existing locations as inspiration for fully produced aural journeys. Audiences can experience them in-person, on-the-go, or from the comfort of home. You can listen here: [https://www.coeurage.org/nomad-project](https://www.coeurage.org/nomad-project)

Our 2022 productions of RENT by Jonathan Larson, had a cast consciously composed largely with queer and Latinx representation, and a predominantly female-identifying production team. We brought on an EDI consultant for the casting process as well as throughout the entire process. Having her at casting was game-changing and we will continue this practice. And we consciously hired a woman of color to direct a play by a white man. Their contributions to the depth and richness of storytelling were invaluable to both Coeurage Ensemble as an organization and to our audiences. We were sold out by the end of opening night, and were running a waitlist throughout. 


Our 2023 production of FROZEN FLUID by Fly Jamerson was cast entirely with actors who identify as trans or nonbinary. Our partnership with The Los Angeles LGBT Center for this production allowed us to engage directly with the Center's extensive queer and trans community, expanding our Coeurage community and offering greater access to live theater with our Pay What You Want ticket model. We were able to tell a story that had not yet been told in Los Angeles, where stories of the trans, nonbinary experience tend to be grounded in Realism. By presenting Fly’s poetry-driven script, we reached folks in a heartspace. We are incredibly proud of the impact the piece had on our audiences. One (cis-gender male) reviewer wrote, “I’m grateful to Coeurage Ensemble and the Los Angeles LGBT Center for putting this play on. What’s the point of going to the theater if all it does is affirm our values rather than challenge them? To its profound credit, there’s nothing pedantic about this play, and even less so about this playful production. The production is an earnest attempt to figure something out, a noble impulse, and, for this audience member, it offered an invite to do the same.”

Coeurage Theatre Company

ASP is an award­-winning professional theater company with extensive education, youth and community programs.

Actors’ Shakespeare Project, founded in 2004, is an award­-winning professional theater company with a [Resident Artist Company](https://www.actorsshakespeareproject.org/about-asp/resident-acting-co/) and extensive [education](https://www.actorsshakespeareproject.org/project-education/insideschools), [youth](https://www.actorsshakespeareproject.org/project-education/outside-schools/), and [community](https://www.actorsshakespeareproject.org/project-education/community-events/) programs.

ASP performs and works in found spaces, schools, theaters and neighborhoods to present and explore robust language, resonant stories, and deeply human characters.

Our work is ensemble-­based and focused on intimacy, storytelling, language, relationships, voice, risk and artistry within and throughout the Boston area.

Actors' Shakespeare Project

Metropolis Ensemble supports outstanding performers and composers through the creation of new work. We are building a thriving artist collective and a dynamic online platform, supported by a generous community of monthly donors. Out platform provides opportunities for our artists to do what they do best: make and share new music with music lovers everywhere. Please make a donation today and help us bring music to life. You can enter any amount to provide crucial unrestricted funding for Metropolis artists and initiatives. 

Metropolis Ensemble

An NYC-based organization dedicated to fostering and showcasing today's new voices shaping tomorrow's musicals.

Over two decades, Prospect Musicals has premiered more than 35 musicals in New York City, in addition to new plays and numerous re-inventions of classic works.   Reflecting its investment in the future of the field, Prospect leads a variety of developmental initiatives: including an annual Musical Theater Lab for emerging writers, and the IGNITE Series of new musical theater in concert. In 2020, Prospect launched the VISION Series of original music-theater works captured on film, created for online streaming.

In recognition of its enterprising and risk-taking new musical theater, the company has received an OBIE Award grant, and its role as a community anchor for emerging artists that strengthens the quality, diversity, and dynamism of American theater was honored by the American Theatre Wing.

Prospect is dedicated to a bright future for the American musical.  We develop and produce new works, envisioned and implemented by emerging artists working in diverse genres and styles but share an interest in re-inventing the art form of musical theater for the 21st Century.

Prospect creates educational and training opportunities, and sustains a supportive network within the field.  We provide a forum for artists and audiences to connect and learn from each other, and we foster the work of a vibrant community of both emerging and established artists.

Since its incorporation in June of 1998, Prospect Musicals has supported an outstanding and diverse group of emerging artists in NYC’s off-Broadway scene.
Recently, Prospect produced the Drama Desk Award-nominated EINSTEIN'S DREAMS (2019) by Joanne Sydney Lessner & Joshua Rosenblum, adapted from the novel by Alan Lightman, and The Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle Award-nominated THE HELLO GIRLS (2018), by company founding artists Peter Mills & Cara Reichel. Both shows ran Off-Broadway at 59E59 Theaters, and have original cast albums available from Broadway Records.

Other notable productions include: Kerrigan & Lowdermilk's THE MAD ONES (2017); Milburn & Vigoda's LONG STORY SHORT (2015); Ryan Scott Oliver and Hunter Foster's JASPER IN DEADLAND (2014); the Drama Desk nominated TAMAR OF THE RIVER (2013) by Joshua H. Cohen and Marisa Michelson; Carner & Gregor's UNLOCK'D (2013); Gordon Greenberg's revisal of WORKING (Drama Desk Award, Outstanding Ensemble, 2012) including new songs by Lin Manuel Miranda; Elizabeth Lucas' re-imagining of Guettel's MYTHS & HYMNS (2012); and John Gregor's WITH GLEE (2010).

Prospect Musicals

We use magic to create a just world full of possibility in communities worldwide. Entertaining, Educating and Empowering.

We believe that learning, practicing, and performing magic transform at-risk youth’s lives by awakening dreams and the hope that the impossible is possible. 

I the past year we have visited Ukraine in three ocations and have created our education chapter there, in Lviv.

We created a unique long-term education program that increases a child’s self-confidence, discipline, focus, and self-esteem. This allows them to raise themselves out of poverty and enthusiastically create a hopeful future. 
	
This program is implemented in the slums of big cities. Mainly in Latin America: Bogotá, Medellín, Barranca de Upía (Colombia), Curridabat (Costa Rica) Ahuachapan, Santa Ana, San Salvador (El Salvador) , India (Mumbai), Cape Town (South Africa) and the United States. The magic classes of 10-20 children meet weekly to learn, practice and eventually perform magic. These classes continue for at least a year; some have been going on for as long as seven years. 

We also give them entrepreneurial skills training so that they can sell magic services to gain extra income.

Since 2002, Magicians Without Borders has traveled to over thirty countries using magic to entertain, educate and empower. By UN estimates we have entertained over 500,000 of the most forgotten people in the world –mostly refugees and orphans living in desperate, difficult and often war torn parts of the world. Detailed accounts of this work can be found on our Our Travels page. We are also educating children in Santa Ana, El Salvador, Mumbai, India and Bogata, Colombia to become magicians. As they study magic, they develop self-confidence, self-esteem, discipline, focus and a sense of personal power. We have also established a Scholarship fund to empower these children to finish High School and go on to college, nursing school, and culinary school.

Magicians Without Borders

One of the most sought-after young artist programs in France 

This Paris-based opera company is dedicated to lyric repertoire from the mid-18th century to the present. Founded and directed by American conductor David Stern, it combines an ambitious young artists program and a versatile instrumental ensemble.  Opera Fuoco has been in existence since 2003 initially as a top-level period instrument ensemble and later as an internationally recognized young artist troupe.  David Stern, Katharina Wolff and the Fuoco team have developed a multi-faceted program to develop young vocal talent at a professional level.  Opera Fuoco offers a unique, custom-made experience to young singers transitioning from conservatory to professional life.  Singers are able to work with Maestro Stern, experienced vocal coaches and stage directors in various contexts ranging from masterclasses and recitals to large-scale performances with orchestra and fully staged opera productions. The repertoire spans not only several centuries but a variety of genres, from baroque to contemporary, including musical comedy and jazz.  Opera Fuoco has shaped its young artist program not as an academy but as a professional company for young singers engaged for a period of three to four years. In its 13 years of existence, Opera Fuoco's Young Artist Program has trained approximately 50 singers from 15 different countries. Our 15 current members come from 5 different countries, and candidates from the last round of auditions represented 34 nationalities. Opera Fuoco's activities are largely Paris-area based, with masterclasses held in prestigious spaces such as the Petit Palais and regular concerts at the Philharmonie de Paris and the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées. The company has also enhanced its international reputation by developing regular performance partnerships with the Bachfest in Leipzig, the Beethovenfest in Bonn, the International Telemann Festival, the Swedish Chamber Orchestra as well as the Shanghai Baroque and Beijing Music Festivals in China. 

Opera Fuoco

We are the oldest educational institution for the performing arts in Greece, founded as a non-profit organization in 1871. 

The Athens Conservatoire (greek: Odeion Athinon) is the oldest educational institution for the performing arts in modern Greece, founded as a non-profit organization in 1871, by the "Music and Drama Association "Athens Conservatoire - 1871"
The institution played a significant role in the advancement of music studies in Greece since day one. Some of the most renowned international musical personalities have graduated from or taught at the Athens Conservatoire, including conductor Dimitiris Mitropoulos (NY Philharmonic music director from 1951 to 1958), composers Nikos Skalkottas and Mikis Theodorakis, opera diva Maria Callas, pianists Gina Bachauer and Dimitris Sgouros and many others. Today, apart from continuing to offer to its c.700 music students the full range of classical music studies from the earliest stages to the concert diploma, the Athens Conservatoire is constantly expanding into new areas: thus, the Jazz Music Department includes leading Greek jazz musicians among its teaching staff and has already gained significant momentum, the Centre of Early Music offers new insights into historically informed performance to a growing number of students in collaboration with international institutions such as the Leeds University (UK), while a new program of studies leading to a BMus (Hons) degree in classical music performance is being developed in collaboration with Goldsmiths College, University of London (UK). 

Meanwhile, the first Drama School in Greece, also founded in 1871, has had a pivotal role in the advancement of theatrical studies in the country. Today, the Drama School of the Athens Conservatoire, member of the World Theatre Education Alliance (WTEA) – Beijing, is included among the select few top professional drama schools in Greece, officially recognized by the Ministry of Culture. The school students and its staff regularly stage cutting edge performances and cooperate with leading drama institutions abroad.

The Athens Conservatoire School of Dance, although established in the ‘00s, has been constantly expanding ever since and today features one of the few state-accredited Higher Professional Dance Schools in the country, complementing perfectly the Athens Conservatoire's wide portfolio of performing arts disciplines.

The Athens Conservatoire Centre for Research and Documentation, initially founded in 2015 to rescue from oblivion and decay our institution's extensive historical archives, is currently developing a broad range of research and editorial initiatives such as the preparation and edition of the first ever extensive History of Music in Contemporary Greece. The AC Centre for Research and Documentation participates and regularly contributes to international fora like the IAML (International Association of Music Libraries, Archives and Documentation Centres), publishes scientific papers and a magazine, and organizes various exhibitions, such as a major exhibition on the composer Iannis Xenakis in collaboration with the Greek National Museum of Contemporary Art.

Many other major Greek arts organizations such as the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Centre, the Greek National Opera, the Athens & Epidaurus International Festival, the Onassis Cultural Centre, the Athens Concert Hall (Megaron) and many others regularly invite us to participate in leading cultural events.

The Athens Conservatoire iconic building, located in the heart of Athens near the Presidential Palace and the Aristotle Lyceum, is designed by the famous Greek architect Ioannis Despotopoulos (1903-1992) who holds a prominent position within the modernist architectural movement of the 1930s and the Bauhaus School in which he actively participated. His work for the Athens Conservatoire is the only completed part of an ambitious large-scale cultural complex commissioned in 1959 by the then government for Athens. For these reasons, the building is officially designated as a "Modern Architectural Monument" by the Greek Ministry of Culture. Today, this recently renovated building is functioning as a unique and enviable cultural hub for various contemporary artistic and cultural high profile events.

WHY DONATE TO US:

Since our establishment more than 150 years ago, we offer top-class education in the fields of Music, Drama and -more recently- Dance.

However, our main goal is to create a level-playing field for all children and young artists, offering equal opportunities for all interested in performing arts to join our programs, irrespective of their background, financial situation, class, ethnicity, religion or sex. 
We strive to serve this goal via a series of endowments and donations which support many students for the realization of their musical and artistic dreams. 

Therefore, your contributions are valuable since they will greatly help to ensure the seamless continuation of our efforts and programs from one year to the next and will also enhance our capacity to offer unique life-changing opportunities to even more aspiring young artists.



The Athens Conservatoire 

Our programs help young performing artists bridge the gap from university training to careers in opera and musical theatre.

Music Theater Bavaria (DBA Musiktheater Bavaria) is a Florida-based nonprofit devoted to performing arts education for emerging professional opera and musical theatre performers between the ages of 19 and 30. Students from throughout the United States (singers, dancers, and pianists) are competitively selected for our summer study-abroad program in Germany, where they train intensively for one month with world-class international faculty and perform in public concerts in either our Opera Studio or our Musical Theater Studio.

Our programs offer our students practical career training beyond what is provided in even very fine university and conservatory music and theater degree programs, giving them an extra edge that can make a difference in successfully launching their professional careers, introducing them to international opportunities they may have never dreamed exist, and providing the maturing effect of studying side by side with other highly talented colleagues from throughout the U.S. who are serious about learning how to compete in a tough business where their talent alone does not guarantee a career.

Need-based scholarship funding is a very important part of our mission, as the per-student cost of our month-long program in Germany (including room and board) is about $6,000. Our ability to offer scholarships is wholly dependent on donations to our scholarship fund. Donations to Musiktheater Bavaria through every.org will directly and personally benefit young performing artists, helping us to ensure that top applicants from all economic backgrounds can access these transformative opportunities for career-building and personal growth. Each summer our scholarship fund starts anew from zero, as each year we have awarded all the funds we have raised. Your gift is a gift of access to a highly talented student who could not otherwise dream of enrolling in our program.

Music Theater Bavaria Inc

Boulder Dance Coalition is a nonprofit organization focused on providing accessibly priced spaces for dance and movement groups.

The Boulder Dance Coalition (BDC) is a coalition of groups and individuals that are committed to promoting traditional participatory art forms – that is, art forms in which you can join in – such as dance, music, singing, and storytelling.

The majority of the groups deal with participatory dance.

We are a non-profit, tax-exempt, educational organization, incorporated in the state of Colorado in 1989. Our mission is to promote public participation in music, dance and other folk arts on the Front Range of Colorado, to encourage expansion of these activities in the larger community, to develop facilities for these activities, and to provide services for other organizations and individuals that share these goals.  

We also work to develop a sense of community among our group and individual members through interaction and shared activities.  Much of our dance building, The Avalon, has been remodeled and built out by volunteer labor by our dance members.

We currently have three major dance spaces of different sizes and two smaller, less formal spaces.

Boulder Dance Coalition

A Historic Concert Hall in the centre of Amsterdam. Its superb acoustics place it among the finest concert halls in the world.

The Concertgebouw: A hall of and for music lovers

Back in 1881, leading members of the community took the initiative to build a concert hall, and it was thanks to members of the public that The Concertgebouw was inaugurated in 1888. To this very day, it is still the general public and private funds which keep the hall open. In fact, only five per cent of The Concertgebouw’s annual income is provided by the state. Indeed, The Concertgebouw intends to remain a private institution in the future. Obviously, support from the private sector is essential to ensuring that the hall can continue to welcome musicians and audience members alike, both today and in the future.

To safeguard The Concertgebouw’s existence, the Concertgebouw Fund Foundation was established in 2000. The fund contributes to the renovation and restoration of the hall and supports a variety of education projects which is one of its main goals. Perhaps you yourself have toyed with the idea of supporting the Concertgebouw and thus helping to secure its future. The Concertgebouw Fund offers a variety of options to help make that idea a reality. In exchange, you’ll be able to enjoy many special privileges as a patron of the Concertgebouw Fund.

History: The beginning of The Concertgebouw

The beginning
The date is 15 September 1881. Six illustrious Amsterdam citizens come together to breathe life into the ‘Provisional Committee to build a concert hall’. The Park Hall theatre in the Plantage area was about to be demolished, the Felix Meritis building was too small, and Amsterdam’s Crystal Palace was uncomfortable and notorious for its poor acoustics. A few months earlier, the weekly paper De Amsterdammer denounced the sad state of the capital city’s music scene. 'While the leaders of all self-respecting cities abroad have made sure their cities are graced with good concert halls, our government has declared that these ill-fated ‘arts’ are not its responsibility,’ the paper reported.

Construction commences
To determine a suitable location, the committee turns to Pierre Cuypers, the architect of the Rijksmuseum which was being built at that time. He helps negotiate the purchase of a plot of land near the new museum, just outside the city limits, in the middle of the Nieuwer-Amstel fields. On 7 March 1882, plans were completed for a public limited company with a capital sum of 400,000 guilders, for which shares could be purchased for 1000 guilders. On 8 July 1882, the company N.V. Het Concertgebouw was officially founded, even though only 250,000 guilders in shares had been sold.

Dolf van Gendt
There was no requirement for a particular building style, as long as the end result would fit on an area of 130 x 55 metres, be constructed for a budget of 300,000 guilders, and provide space for around 2000 concertgoers. After some bickering, a design was chosen – albeit a scaled-down version – from Amsterdam’s most frequently patronised architect, Adolf Leonard (Dolf) van Gendt, the creator of many famous buildings, including the Hollandsche Manege, Frascati, De IJsbreker and the Gallery of the Crystal Palace.

Grand opening
The Concertgebouw was completed in late 1886. However, due to a lack of confidence on the part of the funders as well as the necessary difficulties with the municipality of Nieuwer-Amstel (for example, with respect to filling in a small canal, paving the access roads and installing street lights), the grand opening of the long-awaited building was only celebrated on Wednesday 11 April 1888.

Famous acoustics: The secret of the Main Hall

Unparalleled acoustics
So what is the secret of the world-famous acoustics of the Main Hall of The Royal Concertgebouw? Is it just a coincidence that Dolf van Gendt, considered by his family to be completely devoid of musical talent, was able to create a perfectly resonant hall? In the time that The Concertgebouw was taking shape, the science of acoustics was still considered a mysterious combination of many different and undefinable factors. Professional recording equipment was only developed in the 20th century; at the time, architects only had successful examples to look to.

As a result, the Recital Hall is nearly identical to the renowned oval hall in the Felix Meritis building, while the Main Hall – in terms of design and materials used – was based on the large concert hall of the Neue Gewandhaus in Leipzig, Germany. In later restorations, the original design and finishing details of the halls were left intact as much as possible to preserve the sensitive acoustics. Because even the most advanced equipment is unable to unmask the secret of the Main Hall’s unparalleled acoustics.

Het Concertgebouw Fonds

P.S. ARTS is dedicated to advancing equity and opportunity by providing arts education in public schools and communities.


P.S. ARTS is dedicated to improving the lives of children by providing arts education to underserved public schools and communities. P.S. ARTS is the only organization in Southern and Central California that provides yearlong arts education in dance, music, theater, and visual arts to every child in a school during the regular school day. Without our programs, children in these underfunded school districts would not have access to the arts. 

P.S. ARTS also coordinates with school administrators and parent groups to provide community outreach services designed to increase the community’s capacity to advocate for educational equity and to provide critical cultural experiences for the entire family. 

P.S. ARTS programs help level the educational playing field by teaching creative and cognitive skills to students struggling to overcome economic, ability, or literacy barriers that will better equip them to be competitive and successful people. Studies show the arts keep children motivated and engaged, and with the high school dropout rate in Los Angeles County as high as 50% in recent years, the children in our community need the arts!

P.S. ARTS

Founded in 1979, Imagination Stage is a holistic theatre arts organization for all children and youth.

Imagination Stage empowers all young people to discover their voice and identity through performing arts education and professional theatre.

Imagination Stage

American Patrons and Friends of the Prix de Lausanne International Ballet Competition and its non-profit foundation

Join us and become a member of the American Friends of the Prix de Lausanne. Help underwrite the future of a young dancer and attend the Prix de Lausanne as a VIP guest. Find out more here below and by clicking on one of the fundraising categories in our profile, or by contacting us at demian.vargas@prixdelausanne.org

Please join us for the thrilling culmination of the **53rd edition of the Prix de Lausanne!** The busy weekend, **from Friday the 7th to Sunday the 9th of February, 2025**, is a highlight of Lausanne's cultural and social season and will include studio visits and privileged behind-the-scenes access, the selection of finalists followed by a festive announcement cocktail, the extraordinary finals competition, an exclusive celebratory dinner at the historic Beau Rivage Palace gathering esteemed artists, jury members, prize winners and international patrons, and the delightful Rising Stars performance, featuring some of today's biggest international names and most promising talents.

One of the world’s most prestigious and highly anticipated dance events, the Prix de Lausanne is an annual international competition open to dancers aged 15 to 18 from all over the world. Unique in its kind, the Prix de Lausanne has been recognized worldwide for over 50 years as a symbol of excellence and a role model for its exemplary ethics and focus on the dancers' wellbeing. Over the course of one intense week, it allows a selection of high potential artists to strengthen their skills through classes and coaching with world-class professionals, to reinforce their abilities on stage and, finally, to continue their training thanks to an annual scholarship or apprenticeship at one of our top-tier partner schools and companies.

The Prix de Lausanne enjoys key relationships with many American companies and their schools, such as American Ballet Theatre, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, San Francisco Ballet and the School of American Ballet, as well as the Paris Opera Ballet and the Royal Ballet, among other prestigious institutions. Your support as a Patron or Benefactor will help ensure that prize and scholarship winners continue their training at the highest level and join the ranks of the world’s finest dancers, following in the footsteps of Julie Kent, Darcey Bussell, Carlos Acosta, Gillian Murphy, Ethan Stieffel, Marcelo Gomez, Precious Adams and so many more.

***In addition to the life-changing scholarships offered each year to the prize winners, the Prix de Lausanne also offers substantial support to dancers who need financial aid to attend the competition, as well as stipends to the dancers and coaches who enhance their training and visibility by participating in the Choreographic Project and Young Creation Awards.***

**If you are unable to assist in person, we invite you to help underwrite the future of a young artist by making a tax-deductible gift to the American Friends of the Prix de Lausanne Fund**.*

KEY DATES 2025
53rd edition of the Prix de Lausanne: February 2-9, 2025
Competition's Finals: Saturday, February 8th, 2025 at the Beaulieu Theater
Gala Dinner: Saturday, February 8th, 2025 at the Beau Rivage Palace
Rising Stars Closing Performance: February 9th, 2025 at the Beaulieu Theatre

More about the Prix de Lausanne:

Since 1973, the Prix de Lausanne has successfully worked to promote the art of dance and choreography with the help of donations and grants to support young talented dancers in their pre-professional journey.

As a non-profit foundation, the Prix de Lausanne works year-round beyond the main competition to develop leading and inclusive educational programs with high added value for young dancers, such as the top-rated International Summer Intensive Program, the Partner School Choreographic Project, the Swiss Workshop, or the now famous Young Creation Award. Our international preselection rounds in Latin-America, Asia, and other regions, aims to support young dancers from underprivileged areas while promoting equity, diversity, and inclusion in the dance world.

A pioneer in innovation, the Prix de Lausanne has developed a digital platform connecting its vast network of schools and companies with its candidates from around the world, allowing them to receive offers of scholarships and apprenticeships through their participation. Recently, the Prix de Lausanne has collaborated with the prestigious EPFL (Ecole Polytechnique Federal de Lausanne) to expand its innovation projects and explore new ways of virtual reality and digital interactions within dance and its audiences.

OUR FOUNDATION'S MISSIONS ARE:
• Discover exceptionally talented young dancers from all over the world, allowing them to be seen and recruited by renowned professionals and directors;
• Support their education and develop their talent by awarding them full training scholarships to the best schools and companies;
• Promote their school education (the dancer’s career is short, from around 18 to 38 years old, on average) by ensuring that they obtain an end-of-studies certificate;
• Raise awareness among young dancers on the absolute priority of their physical and mental wellbeing by applying a strict health policy and promoting exemplary ethics in the field of dance;
• Foster diversity and inclusion, promote contemporary creation and emerging artists;
• Encourage and develop outreach actions through community initiatives and local partnerships.

*Thanks to the American Friends of the Prix de Lausanne, U.S.-based individuals and organizations can make payments of any amount via credit card, check, or wire transfer; all contributions are tax-deductible to the fullest extent allowed by the United States Tax Code.

American Friends of the Prix de Lausanne

Uplifting the community, one child at a time, through the performing arts.


Amoyo Performing Arts Foundation (Amoyo) is a Cape Town based educational and developmental non-profit, founded in 2015 that offers an effective, scalable and replicable after-school and holiday performing arts programme that is age-appropriate.  Our core mission is for each beneficiary to transition from Amoyo as success driven, integral and foremost employable young people who have acquired core values, life and communication skills that seems to lack in most of our impoverished youth. Since our founding, we have successfully enrolled and trained more than 300 young people (aged 5 – 19) from poor communities into our project through the generous financial support of our co-founder and Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Kim Conley, a private fund loan, National Lotteries Commission of South Africa and other donors and sponsors. In November 2017, Amoyo won a ministerial award from South Africa's Department of Social Development for Excellence in Youth Development.  Our long-term goal is to have a 4-6 studio facility with a dedicated kitchen and dining area, tutor centre, computer room, counseling room and suitable bathroom and changing facilities and a small bus so that we can bring more children from outer lying areas to also benefit. 

Amoyo Performing Arts Foundation 

A unique, cutting-edge, and ecologically sensitive multi-media art space and cultural ecosystem in Uganda.

Since its inception in 2006, Bayimba has been working towards the sustainability of its programming that has shaped Uganda’s cultural landscape and influenced a vibrant creative industry within the East African region. Championing platforms like the Bayimba International Festival, the Kampala International Theatre Festival, Amakula International Film Festival and DOADOA: a regional network of professional stakeholders. Over the years, more than 5,000 artists have shared stage at the Bayimba events, and more than 15,000 industry professionals have been skilled for the market through the Bayimba Academy.

Through its hard work, careful saving and individual givers – the organisation managed to acquire Lunkulu Island - a leafy 92-acre semi-attached island in the midst of a lush environment at the shores of Lake Victoria in Mukono and Buikwe districts, with an idea of developing it to become a cutting-edge multi-media arts centre that uniquely serves the creative community from across the globe. 

From 2018, Lunkulu Island purposely accommodates Bayimba’s growing annual festivals and events, contributing to the long-term sustainability of Uganda’s creative arts. The development of physical structures is deemed necessary to further provide artists with a holistic safe-space that will enhance innovation, collaboration and creative development in East Africa. With a combined community of all mediums of art, professionally presented in one space where visitors can get a comprehensive artistic experience, creating jobs for the youth, preserving the local culture to a year-round tourism eco-system – the Bayimba Centre will be a hotspot for entrepreneurs where art, culture, and sustainability intersect—a place where creativity knows no bounds. 

But we can't do it alone. We need your support to make this vision a reality. Join us with a donation in building a brighter future for Uganda—where creativity, sustainability, and community thrive – so that together, we can create something truly extraordinary.

Bayimba Cultural Foundation Limited

Harmony Theater is an organization focused on performing arts for people with disabilities based in southeastern PA. 

Harmony Theater

We are a world-class space where culture, education, and the arts are the driving force behind social transformation

We are a space where culture, education, and the arts are the main driving force behind social transformation, in support of our communities. 
**Our Mission**
To create meaningful artistic experiences and enable children and young people to embrace the spirit of excellence that the arts and their foundational values make possible.
When individuals and communities gain access to the arts, cultural diversity is enriched, and mutual understanding is promoted. This access not only reduces cultural gaps but also fosters critical thinking, empathy, and imagination, strengthening creativity as an essential skill for human and collective development.

Ensuring that the arts are accessible requires eliminating physical and economic barriers, encouraging comprehensive artistic education, and promoting diversity in the creation and dissemination of the arts. By doing so, we not only enrich people's lives but also build a more just, resilient, healthy, and prosperous society.

Fundacion Teatro del Lago

Vashon Events is a dedicated to building community and supporting artists-musicians on Vashon Island, WA. 

Our mission is to create, provide, and expand positive life experiences through music and art for all. We provide an information hub for Vashon Island including a business directory, information about events and classes happening on the island, and programs that support arts and local music. We believe that keeping Vashon Island vibrant means supporting our local businesses and artists.

Our programming provides critical and unique support for artists and musicians. We also produce concerts and other performing arts events at festivals, showcases, concerts in the park, and venues all over the island. We believe the arts should be accessible to everyone, therefore all our events are free or low-cost. At the same time, at every event we provide, we ensure that musicians and other performers are fairly compensated.

We support local musicians and artists by providing programs and services dedicated to helping them succeed in making their art. 

Music Instrument Library - Vashon Events’ musical instrument lending library provides free access to musical instruments for children and adults. We loan amplifiers, cords, tuners, and other accessories needed to make music.

Music Teacher Directory - Vashon Events’ Music Teacher Director provides a portal for information about local music teachers so students of all ages can learn to play music on a range of instruments.

Vashon Events

Youth education programming and Library in Mozambique, Africa
 
                                                         

We've been providing free classes in literacy, English, Math, and health to ~150 underserved youth annually for the past 3 years and need your support to continue to serve.

The Moz Library Project operates the first and only public library in a small village in Africa.

Learning how to read and write can change lives. In Mozambique, 47% of the population over 15 years old are unable to read and write. Literacy equips individuals with the ability to access information and engage in critical thinking. Furthermore, literate individuals are more likely to secure better job opportunities, leading to improved economic prospects and poverty reduction. Education also enhances public health awareness, enabling individuals to make health-informed decisions.

By investing in education, you can empower youth in a small village in Africa to build brighter futures.

Courtney Johnson was a Peace Corps volunteer from 2015-2017 and worked as a teacher in Ile, Mozambique. Illiteracy was a known problem but there was an acute lack of resources that prevented the existing institutions from tackling this issue. Some of her students who knew the material verbally, turned in tests with only strings of letters and consonants. In 2015, Courtney began to work with the local government to develop a program that would work alongside the existing education system providing supplemental literacy education to close this achievement gap.

The Library is run by local staff providing employment opportunities to 3 full time and 10 part time staff members.

The 4 Pillars
1) SAFE & HYGENIC SPACE: The Moz Library was built from scratch from 2015 to 2017. The library has to electricity providing the ability to study safely after dark. The library has access to clean water and hygienic indoor & outdoor bathrooms. 
2) PUBLIC RESOURCES: Free and Public access to resources including books, pencils, paper, electricity, and computers.  
3) FREE EDUCATION: The Moz Library offers Free and Public lessons in literacy, English and Math using a simple, replicable, and interactive literacy curriculum that serves a diversity of learning styles and individualized attention. 
4) HEALTH: The Library leverages opportunities to disseminate public health information through classes, murals, and public theater.

The library is in Mozambique, a country which sits on the southeast coastline of Africa sharing a boarder with South Africa to the south and Tanzania to the north. Ile is a medium-small town with a population of approximately 15,000 people. Ile has 5 elementary schools, 1 high school, a soccer field, a hospital, several stores, and an open-air market. The coordinates of the library are 16"02"15"S and 37"10"35"E. 

Help us close the achievement gap!

The Moz Library

The NLF dba The Greatest Gift Catalog Ever focuses on raising awareness for nonprofits in Tarrant County, Texas.  

Giving through The Greatest Gift Catalog Ever (a program of The National Leadership Foundation) is the best way to give to benefit Tarrant County neighbors in need.
Gifts are matched dollar for dollar, and those dollars are leveraged by each orgnization in amazing ways.  Matching funds are directed to the nonprofits at a rate of 100%.

Each page in the catalog, or on the website, shows where the money goes, and how it is matched.  For example, for every $1000 donated, a neighbor with a long term disability such as cerebral palsy or demetia can be enrolled into a lifetime of attendant care services valued at over $26,000 a year or an estimated lifetime value of $650,000 per client!

Supporting local charities can be a wonderful gift idea as well.  We have a gift card program where the donor gives a set amount, and gifts that amount to a co-worker, family member, friend, neighbor, teacher, or client so that they can read all about the opportunities to give and then decide where that donation should be directed.   It's the gift that puts a smile on more than one face!
.  

The National Leadership Foundation

Storycatchers Theatre serves justice-involved youth in Illinois through a healing centered performing arts methodology.

Storycatchers Theatre guides young people to transform their traumatic experiences into powerful musical theatre, developing the courage and vision to become leaders and mentors. By creating support for youth within the criminal justice system, Storycatchers prepares them to change their lives and emerge successfully from court involvement.

Storycatchers was founded in 1984 and originally conducted residencies in the Chicago Public School system to create and perform original musicals inspired by the stories of students. In 1990, the company began developing its immersive residential program model for justice-involved youth at the Cook County Juvenile Detention Center. It was at this time that the methodology expanded to incorporate the youth into the full process of writing and performing as a way to explore and begin to move beyond past trauma.

Storycatchers initiated a remarkable, longstanding partnership with the Illinois Department of Juvenile Justice (IDJJ) in 2002 when the company moved into what was then the state’s only secure facility for girls in Warrenville. It was at the Illinois Youth Center (IYC)-Warrenville that Storycatchers established its nationally recognized, award-winning process of delivering creative youth development programs through a trauma lens. Storycatchers has been conducting residential programs in three separate facilities on a year-round basis since 2010. In 2014, in recognition of the need for trauma-informed post-release support, the company expanded into employment for young people returning home to Chicago with the Changing Voices performing arts jobs program. 

Storycatchers structures all programs to guide justice-involved youth to accomplish the following objectives:   
*Create meaningful, entertaining performances that educate the community about the challenges these young people face, and how individual and institutional resources might better meet their singular needs;
*Develop improved behavior management, communication, and leadership skills to navigate court involvement and reentry successfully, and become productive, engaged citizens.
In addition, Storycatchers designs its post-release jobs program to guide each youth participant to develop an action plan to follow upon program completion to next-step education and/or employment opportunities.

Storycatchers designs its programs to address the unique needs of justice-involved adolescents and emerging adults. These youth are disproportionately impoverished, poorly educated, exhibit high rates of exposure to trauma, and lack positive social networks. Their ACE (Adverse Childhood Experiences) scores range from 4-7, reducing life expectancy by an average of 20 years. They are also overwhelmingly people of color -- according to the IDJJ 2020 internal report, the population of incarcerated youth in Illinois averages 71% African-American, 9% Latinx/Hispanic, and 2% Biracial or Other. Most come from lower-income homes, frequently located in communities affected by decades of structural racism and low public investment. 

A wide range of challenging issues characterizes this demographic, including risk factors for psychiatric disorders and suicide, and high experience rates of verbal, physical, and sexual violence. Their emotional lives have been shaped by disproportional rates of complex trauma. Sources such as the National Child Traumatic Stress Institute and the Northwestern Juvenile Project state that over 92% of youth in the juvenile justice system have histories that include exposure to trauma. Even prior to detention, 74–90% of justice-involved youth have childhood histories that include high levels of maltreatment, victimization, and abuse. This pre-existing trauma is then compounded by the dehumanizing environments of secure facilities, which rob boys and girls of their still-evolving sense of dignity, autonomy, and selfhood. It is unrealistic to expect these young people to work and live productively unless they have access to meaningful support during incarceration and upon release. 

Storycatchers has achieved widespread recognition for its work with justice-involved youth, with profiles on National Public Radio, in the Chicago Tribune and other local media, and in academic studies and documentaries such as the award-winning 2009 film, GIRLS ON THE WALL. Nationally recognized figures such as Shirley Brice-Heath, Professor of Linguistics and English with the Stanford Center on Adolescence, and Ira Glass, host of WBEZ’s THIS AMERICAN LIFE, praise Storycatchers as an example of creative youth development programming that works. The company was honored by the White House in 2013 with a National Arts & Humanities Youth Program Award from the President’s Committee on the Arts & Humanities. Storycatchers’ leadership and innovative programming is consistently acknowledged through fellowships, grants, and other forms of recognition, both locally and nationally.

There is considerable established evidence that performing arts programs are effective at preventing violence and improving behavior, particularly in youth. One of the most significant reports on this subject is Shirley Brice Heath’s “Living the Arts Through Language and Learning: A Report on Community-Based Youth Organizations,” a landmark 10-year study on the effectiveness of after-school community programs. Brice Heath found overwhelming evidence that youth arts programs were more successful than other programs at helping young people develop self-reflection, leadership abilities, and respect for themselves and others. She concluded that participation in the performing arts is particularly beneficial to at-risk youth because these programs demand that youth find a positive way to channel anger and aggression as a condition of participation in the collaborative process.

According to psychiatrist Judy Herman, a pioneer in the understanding and treatment of complex trauma, “Restoration of the breach between the traumatized person and the community depends, first, upon a public acknowledgment of the traumatic event and second, upon some form of community action.” Through Storycatchers, these young people share their experiences without attendant shame and receive public recognition for overcoming their challenges. 

In July 2020, Governor J. B. Pritzker unveiled a plan to transform Illinois’ juvenile justice system, moving detainees from prison-like facilities into more residential-style homes. Storycatchers was specifically named by the governor during his announcement of this policy as an organization that had “dedicated years, if not decades, to lighting the way for the change that we are making.” This transformation will take place over a four-year transition period, and Storycatchers anticipates taking an active role as a resource to young people at all stages of court involvement. The company’s program model is uniquely adaptable and scalable to secure facilities, group homes, and expanding post-release employment.

Storycatchers Theatre’s long-term vision is a statewide network of residential programs and multiple Changing Voices ensembles operating from different anchor sites. The Governor’s Plan for Transformation offers a promising template upon which to pursue that vision. 


Storycatchers Theatre

The Peace Studio develops artists and journalists who seek to inspire hope and catalyze transformative change in local communities

The Peace Studio

A democratic ensemble of L.A. theatre artists dedicated to creating high-caliber, original work.

Theatre of NOTE is a democratic ensemble of L.A. theatre artists dedicated to creating high-caliber, original work that challenges both its ensemble and audiences.  We aspire to more accurately reflect LA's cultural make-up, to make our work resonate more deeply and honestly with our audiences, and better enable NOTE to tell more culturally diverse stories.

Theatre of NOTE is a non-profit democratic company that stagedives the arena of theatre arts. Founded in 1981, our ensemble-based organization is dedicated to providing a creative environment in which to collaborate and develop maverick theater.

NOTE produces an average of four mainstage shows a year, with a focus on premiere productions — shows that are brand new to the world, to the West Coast, to California, or to Los Angeles. NOTE also produces the annual Hollywood Performance Marathon, the NOTEworthy new play development workshops, and our educational outreach program, the Young Writers Project.

NOTE has consistently been commended by both Los Angeles and national press, including American Theatre Magazine, and has earned countless accolades, nominations, and honors from every award-granting theatrical organization in Southern California.

Stick your hand in L.A.’s NOTEorious black box theatre — you never know if you’ll get licked… or bitten.

Theatre Of Note

ARTNOIR is a female-majority and Black + brown owned, with a mission to celebrate and highlight the work of creatives of color.


ARTNOIR is a female-majority and black + brown owned, NYC-based global collective and 501(c)(3) with a mission to celebrate and highlight the work of creatives of color while catalyzing cultural equity across the arts and culture industries. 

We seek to empower artists, enthusiasts, curators, forward-thinking organizations, storytellers, designers, and patrons to explore alternative perspectives to the traditional arts narrative while leveraging the intersectionality of art and culture to develop new access points for discussion, exploration, and collaboration.

Over the last 10 years, we have worked with artists, organizations, brands, and collectors around the world, including Hank Willis Thomas, Derrick Adams, Nina Chanel Abney, Mickalene Thomas, Kehinde Wiley, Harvard University, Airbnb, Google, UBS, Sotheby’s,  The New Museum, Coca Cola, KITH, and Essence to name a few. We have been featured in press outlets such as CULTURED, Artsy, Complex, and Black Enterprise. 

We were listed in ARTnews's “The Deciders” issue in 2021 as an institution currently contributing to the cultural conversation in a pointed way. 

ARTNOIR has cultivated a global community of over 30,000 people actively working to change the paradigm of the global arts and culture ecosystems while creating forums for all creatives of color and communities of color to thrive and succeed. 

The ARTNOIR Jar of Love Fund is intended to provide relief for artists, curators, and cultural producers of color. The Jar of Love Fund has distributed over $100,000 USD and was first launched in 2020 in response to the unprecedented times of uncertainty, unrest, and the subsequent adverse impact on our community.  

As an organization based on the foundation of community first, we want to do our part to provide love and care for artists, curators, and cultural producers of color when they need it most. 



ARTNOIR

CCC is the creative cog in the Spartanburg community by providing major funding & support for local arts & cultural organizations.

Chapman Cultural Center is more than just a destination. As a Local Arts Agency, our organization provides major funding and support for many of Spartanburg’s arts and cultural organizations. Our educational programs serve more than 40,000 public and private school students throughout Spartanburg County (SC), with residencies by professional artists in the disciplines of music, dance, visual arts, literature, media, theatre, and crafts. We are the creative cog of Spartanburg's Arts & Cultural community. We let Spartanburg's professional arts organizations run the show while we provide the financial support to ensure they succeed. 

Chapman Cultural Center

National human services organization. Our mission is to foster stability and resiliency, and provide a safety net for performing arts and entertainment professionals over their lifespan.

Founded in 1882, we serve all professionals—and not just actors—in film, theater, television, music, opera, radio and dance through programs that address our community's unique and essential needs.

Employment in any division of the performing arts and entertainment industry is unpredictable. Work is erratic, security is fleeting and health insurance is often just a dream. For all of these reasons and many more, The Actors Fund is an indispensable and deeply significant part of the entire entertainment community.

As a national organization with offices in New York, Los Angeles and Chicago, we directly serve thousands of performing arts and entertainment professionals across the country every year, in person and via our online resources. Our programs are wide in scope, responsive in nature and produce significant results.

Entertainment Community Fund (formerly The Actors Fund)

Teaching teens to relentlessly fight for positive social change through practical application of the performing arts since 1999.

A BRIEF HISTORY & MISSION
Developing Artists (DA) teaches undervalued teens to relentlessly fight for positive social change through practical application of the performing arts.  We help diverse students to proclaim themselves as artists and activists, to find their place and their connection in their community, and to bring about positive social change through participation in the arts. 

DA offers rigorous theater education to underserved high school students (aged 13-19) in the New York City metropolitan area and produces REBEL VERSES Youth Arts Festival. Our goal is to provide young people with professional performing arts training that will equip them with valuable artistic and life skills, and the confidence to take action in their lives. 
DA was founded in 1999 with a simple act of protest against youth discrimination. Following Artistic Director Jill DeArmon's experiences teaching performing arts in NYC public schools and established studios, she was astonished by the lack of freedom students were given to create and empower and felt they were censored rather than amplified and trusted. While teaching at one of these institutions, she was threatened to either stay and stick to the status quo or be fired. Jill told her class that she was leaving, because she could not accept ageism towards her students. Every student decided to follow her out and the first DA Ensemble was born. In collaboration with the ensemble, Jill offered classes where teens could be heard, with support to create original work that tackles important social issues. She committed to empowering students through art by giving them practical tools to express themselves and learn to collaborate.

THE NEED OR PROBLEM WE WORK TO ADDRESS 
We impact students by creating a forum to navigate life's increasing challenges (e.g. age discrimination, social injustices, gender inequality, institutional racism, economic disparity, sexism); to use their voice in dealing with these issues; and channel that energy into self-expression and self-confidence. DA has a track record of engaging positively with those who face significant barriers in their daily lives. 

Developing Artists serves students aged 13 to 19 from all five boroughs of New York. 35% of our students identify as Latinx, 40% as African American, 20% as Caucasian, and 5% as Asian/other. Most of our students face socio-economic challenges; many experience physical, sexual or emotional abuse. We are committed to invite and include all of these young artists so their voices can be heard, their lives healed and their lifetime trajectory changed. 

We can confidently say that participation in our programs has a life-changing long-term impact on the young people we serve – 95% of whom go onto college. We know that our students subsequently utilize their arts training in their careers in a variety of different ways – as professional artists, writers, producers, drama therapists, etc. In our recent past, we helped DA students get into notable high school and college performing arts programs, and some have gone on to study at prestigious institutions such as The Juilliard School, University of North Carolina School of the Arts, New School, Royal Conservatory of Scotland, Liverpool Institute of the Performing Arts, Fordham University, Rutgers University, NYU Tisch School of the Arts, AMDA, Elon College and Yale Drama.

In the past, we charged for classes while providing full or partial scholarships for students in need (about 85% of students received a full or partial scholarship). In 2018, Developing Artists began making all classes 100% FREE so that we could abolish this financial barrier once and for all, and serve those students who were overlooked by so many other programs.

As emphasized in our mission, equity, access and inclusion are some of our primary objectives.  The last three years also helped solidify the identity of DA: Our ensemble engages with individuals on the frontline of important social issues then utilizing various performing arts, we bring to light these issues to a broader audience as we seek allies along the way to impact positive social change. Developing Artists was tapped to perform in numerous events including: We Rise: A Celebration of Resistance at the Delacorte Theatre (Public Forum in Collaboration with Resistance Revival Chorus), New York Women’s Foundations Celebrating Women Breakfast 2019, City Hall rally hosted by New York 4 Culture and Art to protest the proposed 6 millions dollar cut in cultural and arts funding. Developing Artists’ trajectory is leading us to connect and work with many social justice organizations for our future projects. 

Through the years, DA has directly served over 3,000 students and thousands of audience members. DA fostered a community of diverse artist citizens and maintains ongoing connections with our alumni network, some of which return as Teaching Artists. One alumnus, Julian Elijah Martinez, recently made his Broadway debut in NETWORK starring Bryan Cranston and was one of the stars of WU-TANG: AN AMERICAN SAGA on Hulu. Another alumna, Jessica Asch, Program Creator and Lead Clinician at Shine MSD, Inc, became a licensed arts and drama therapist whose work with at-risk youth has included developing and implementing a creative arts therapy program around collective healing in Parkland, Florida.

REBEL VERSES Youth Arts Festival
Founded in 2001, REBEL VERSES is a 2-week festival of performances by some of the best youth companies in NYC & beyond. This festival was born out of the dire need here in New York City for new voices in theater.  It is a journey into the unapologetic, unrelenting creativity of the next generation. Since the festival’s inception, REBEL VERSES has provided youth companies with the opportunity to collaborate and network with their peers and prominent artists, encouraging the development of new works in theater through this two-week event.  In 2017, Developing Artists began a partnership with the notable Vineyard Theatre to co-produce REBEL VERSES. The Vineyard Theatre (108 East 15th) hosts RV at its 132-seat off-Broadway venue and provides technical, management, audience development and promotional support, resulting in increased visibility, participation and audiences for REBEL VERSES.

TESTIMONIAL
"I’ve been continually impressed with these students’ critical engagement with the most pressing issues of our day: social responsibility, economic access, representational inequity, voting rights, and much more. On top of their mastery of civic literacy, they are astonishingly talented artists, both as writers and performers.

These teens’ capacity for this level of discourse and creativity is clearly traceable to their training and experience through Developing Artists. Jill and Jinn’s personal and professional dedication to the holistic development and success of each student is total. Their high expectations elicit excellence, dedication, maturity, and long-lasting relationships across a wide diversity of backgrounds. They’ve formed a family commitment to one another that far exceeds any after-school arts program I know."

Kenneth J. Cerniglia, PhD
Former Literary Manager and Dramaturg, Disney Theatrical Productions Past President, Literary Managers and Dramaturgs of the Americas (LMDA) 

Developing Artists Theater Company

Theatre starring people with intellectual disabilities and autism. Actors gain confidence, social skills, friends.

Mission: Through collaborative performance and lifelong learning opportunities, people with intellectual and developmental disabilities gain the skills and confidence to engage with the world.

ArtStream fuels students' imagination, creativity, and focus. We offer over 850 classes and workshops each year for 1,617 participants, six Theatre Companies totaling 90 participants and four Cabaret Companies totaling 30-40 participants, all of whom create and perform original theater works.

WHY ARTSTREAM?
People with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities - including Autism - frequently face isolation or marginalization, and are excluded from activities and spaces where community, friendships, and connections are made. Creative opportunities are even fewer and farther between. In ArtStream’s drama and performing arts classes, workshops, and theatre companies, participants learn skills that apply to all aspects of life, including how to be present, pay attention, listen to instructions, participate in the activities that the class is doing that day, and perhaps most important of all, build friendships. 

Performance is transformative for every actor. This is also true for people with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities, including Autism. Whether in classes, workshops, or rehearsals, ArtStreamers play theatrical games that require them to listen, to engage, to communicate, and to collaborate with each other; and improvisational games that teach them how to make eye contact, think on their feet, make connections, synthesize information, and solve problems. ArtStream’s demanding and very entertaining process encourages ArtStreamers to discover their creativity and strengths, and perform with confidence! What’s more, at ArtStream, our participants create their own scenes, dances, and songs for their performances, whereas most other theaters and non-profits serve people with disabilities by enacting or adapting plays or scenes written by professional playwrights. This is the “ArtStream difference.” 

A 55-year-old, 15-year ArtStream veteran expressed it better than we could ourselves: “I don’t get nervous on stage because I feel such happiness. I like to perform 24 hours a day! I love this place! ArtStream is making me happy!” 

ArtStream’s collaborative programming gives people with interest, talent, drive, and creativity – but few opportunities – a unique chance to build skills they will carry with them throughout their lifetimes. Our retention rate is 90%, attesting to the effectiveness of our organization in carrying out our mission. 



ArtStream, Inc.

We are a community based social enterprise on a journey to build the first sustainable rural city in Uganda. 

Invest in us as we build the sustainable rural city in Africa! 

Our work is premised on the belief that using a holistic and participatory development approach to design and implement community initiatives can empower local communities and create prosperity. Since 2019, our ecosystem of 20 social businesses and community projects serves 10,000 clients through the targeted provision of services/products across the education, health, agriculture, tourism, and finance sectors.  So far, 2,000 learners have benefited from our functional adult education, primary education, early childhood education, and vocational skilling activities. 8,000 patients have been treated at our health facility. 100 women who are members of our Shea butter Coop have seen their daily household incomes triple from under $1 to now $4, etc. Moreover, our interventions are successful because we actively involve the community in discussing their needs, views, and priorities while giving them the tools they need to solve their own challenges. Across and beyond Okere, the impact of our work shines bright and the international media have comprehensively covered our radical approach to rural transformation.  Okere City's initiatives are driven by actual community needs and the implementation of project activities is led by community members. Overall, Okere City strives to be a community organization and social enterprise that creates multiple opportunities for agrarian reforms and rural transformation in Okere Parish by encouraging open and forward-thinking, mobilizing, organizing, and training the rural population through a series of innovative projects, activities, and techniques so that they are able to develop practical solutions to the day to day challenges they face. Okere City seeks to be an enabler for the rural community in the parish to be more imaginative, cooperative, creative, innovative, and enterprising as prerequisites to make them more progressive, empowered, and successful. At the core of our work is ensuring that we strengthen the dignity of our rural community members by providing the support infrastructures that enable them to become responsible for shaping and designing their own futures and destinies.  Our current strategic direction is being guided by the Okere City 2030 Strategy which aims to build the first sustainable rural city in Africa.  
Okere City is certified by NGOsource as equivalent to a U.S. public charity under the International Revenue Service's Equivalency Determination standard. 

Okere Community Development Project

The Tony Award-winning Old Globe is a renowned regional theatre in the USA. Visit us at www.TheOldGlobe.org.

The Old Globe believes that theatre matters. Our commitment is to make it matter to more people.

The Tony Award-winning Old Globe is one of the country’s leading professional regional theatres and has stood as San Diego’s flagship arts institution for over 85 years. Under the leadership of Erna Finci Viterbi Artistic Director Barry Edelstein and Audrey S. Geisel Managing Director Timothy J. Shields, The Old Globe produces a year-round season of 15 productions of classic, contemporary, and new works on its three Balboa Park stages, including an internationally renowned Shakespeare Festival. 

More than 250,000 people attend Globe productions annually and participate in the theatre’s artistic and arts engagement programs. Numerous world premieres such as the 2014 Tony Award winner for Best Musical, A GENTLEMAN’S GUIDE TO LOVE AND MURDER, METEOR SHOWER, BRIGHT STAR, ALLEGIANCE, THE FULL MONTY, DIRTY ROTTEN SCOUNDRELS, and the annual holiday musical DR. SEUSS’S HOW THE GRINCH STOLE CHRISTMAS! have been developed at The Old Globe and have gone on to enjoy highly successful runs on Broadway and at regional theatres across the country. 

The Old Globe's mission is to preserve, strengthen, and advance American theatre by: creating theatrical experiences of the highest professional standards; producing and presenting works of exceptional merit designed to reach current and future audiences; ensuring diversity and balance in programming; and providing an environment for the growth and education of theatre professionals, audiences and the community at large. 

The Globe recognizes that while it has made progress in advancing racial equity over the years, efforts have been inconsistent and have fallen short. The 2019 Strategic Plan articulates a pledge to deepen and expand existing efforts in building equity, diversity, inclusion, and accessibility. Now, amid urgent calls for a real response to these issues in all sectors of society, and with input from BIPOC community members, artists, staff, and others, the Globe embarked on a series of reforms to intensify and accelerate change at all levels of our operation with the October 2020 launch of its Social Justice Roadmap.

The Old Globe

Arizona's Premier Performing Arts Center! 

We are Arizona’s center stage, engaging the community through diverse arts experiences that ignite emotion, stimulate conversation and inspire connections to the arts.

We achieve this by adhering to five guiding principles:
- Maintain an award-winning venue with a variety of well-equipped and versatile spaces
- Provide an exceptional guest experience for all visitors
- Partner with — and support — our resident performing arts companies as well as other local and national artists and arts organizations
- Deliver quality education and outreach programs to thousands of children
- Make the arts accessible and available to our whole community

Herberger Theater Center

ACT is the destination for contemporary theatre in downtown Seattle. We are where artistic ambition and civic engagement unite.

ACT envisions a world where the power of theatre expands our collective understanding of community and our own humanity. 

One of the great benefits of having a contemporary theatre in our community is that we ensure all artists shaping our culture have a voice in driving the theatre of tomorrow. Over the last 55 years, ACT has supported these voices as they sharpen and grow and has honed its mission around nurturing the theatre makers of the next generation. 

Our renewed commitment to New Works by local playwrights leads our theatre back to life during this extraordinary time of transition bringing Seattle’s voice beyond our stage into the national conversation. ACT’s dedication to producing bold, relevant, works on contemporary themes sparks an authentic curiosity about the human condition matched by an audacious spirit fueled by groundbreaking work.

ACT has produced more than 300 plays and musicals including over 45 World Premieres and is dedicated to producing dynamic and provocative works supporting local excellence reflective of a collective community spirit.

ACT Donors are our most engaged advocates and supporters. Your investments provide the funding ACT depends upon to support bold New Works, local artists, and robust education programs. Among ACT’s many donors, over 25% have 5+ years of uninterrupted support!

As the leading voice for contemporary theatre in the Pacific Northwest, ACT is honored by the sustained groundswell of support from donors who power audacious theatre. Donors bring to bear the resources we need to gather our community closer together around inquisitive, heartfelt, and adventurous productions.

ACT Theatre

Supports movement-based artists through new and adaptive approaches to producing, presenting, education and community engagement.

New York Live Arts is a center of diverse artists devoted to body-based investigation that transcends barriers between and within communities led by world-renowned artist Bill T. Jones. We are a place that brings people together to explore common values through live gathering and performance reminding us of our humanity and elevating the human spirit.

We are an institution with an unequivocal commitment to supporting the creative identities of people living together in creative community. We provide much-needed resources to artists at every stage of their career, in a world where funding for the arts is increasingly reliant on the generosity of individuals.

We enable the creation of work by Artists at every level: from emerging talent being seen for the first time, to the mid-career artists who will be our next great masters. We foster artists who participate courageously in the world of ideas and ask difficult questions.

We believe the artist plays a distinct role as a witness to truth, by participating in free speech and expression that often comes at personal risk. We believe that live art has the ability to create communities, confluences, and platforms for the exchange of ideas.

We are living in a critical moment in which the social, political, and cultural tides are changing and these challenging times call on us to convene in a central place devoted to bringing people together in exploration of our common values.

With all that is happening globally and within our borders, we believe even more in our vision to be a conduit for engagement through the arts. The repertoire we present and the conversations we host, work to address themes spanning personal and communal responsibility, racism, gender equality, and civil liberties.

We are asking those who share our values to join us as we build the community of this important space for live gathering in the heart of New York City and to continue to elevate live performance – an act that has the power to remind us what humans are capable of.

“Where thinking and movement meet the future.” — Bill T. Jones

Located in the heart of Chelsea in New York City, New York Live Arts is an internationally recognized destination for innovative movement-based artistry offering audiences access to art and artists notable for their conceptual rigor, formal experimentation and active engagement with the social, political and cultural currents of our times. At the center of this identity is Bill T. Jones, Artistic Director, a world-renowned choreographer, dancer, theater director and writer.

We commission, produce and present performances in our 20,000 square foot home, which includes a 184-seat theater and two 1,200 square foot studios that can be combined into one large studio. New York Live Arts serves as home base for the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Company, provides an extensive range of participatory programs for adults and young people and supports the continuing professional development of artists.

We acknowledge and offer deep gratitude to Lenapehoking where our theater sits – the land, and waters of the Lenape homeland.

About Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Company
Founded in 1982, the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Company was born out of an 11-year collaboration between Bill T. Jones and Arnie Zane (1948–1988). During this time, they redefined the duet form and foreshadowed issues of identity, form and social commentary that would change the face of American dance. The Company has performed worldwide in over 200 cities in 40 countries on every major continent and is recognized as one of the most innovative and powerful forces in the dance-theater world.

New York Live Arts

We believe that every child deserves the opportunity to participate in sports and extra curricular activities no matter what their financial status.

Opportunity4Kids believes that no child should be deprived of the opportunity to participate in any out-of-school time activity solely on the basis of their financial status.

Opportunity4Kids is organized to change the lives of children; to foster sporting and extracurricular participation; to promote healthy and active lifestyles; to further mental and social development; and allow equal opportunities for all children.

We raise funds to provide necessary fees, equipment and uniforms to underprivileged AZ youth.

Help us level the playing field and give these kids the opportunities they deserve!

Opportunity4Kids

A unique and transformational public charter school focused on Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics (STEAM).

Since 2015, the public charter school Orange County Academy of Sciences and Arts (OCASA) has carried out its mission to place an emphasis on the academic, social and physical development in the areas of Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics (STEAM). We believe high-quality, accessible, and equitable education is a human right. As the world around us evolves and advances, so must our schools, who are teaching the future leaders of our communities, states, and nation. STEAM skills are in high demand. As stated recently by the U.S. Department of Education STEM Department, to create a nation where our future leaders, neighbors, and workers can understand and solve some of the complex challenges of today and tomorrow, and to meet the demands of the dynamic and evolving workforce, building students' skills, content knowledge, and literacy in STEAM fields is essential.

About OCASA
OCASA operates under four guiding principles of teaching and learning: 
1.	Every child is unique; 
2.	We learn by doing; 
3.	A commitment to equality and diversity is vital; and
4.	A thriving community nurtures thriving students. 

We serve approximately 500 students annually across two campuses in Orange County, California: OCASA Elementary serves students K-5th grade in Laguna Niguel, and OCASA College Prep offers 6-10th grade classes (eventually to 12th grade) in San Juan Capistrano. Both OCASA campuses offer unique and innovative curriculum designed to help youth launch a STEAM-focused future. Through STEAM education, students are empowered to be curious learners who seek creative solutions to questions they can’t just search for online, leading students to develop the soft and hard skills necessary to succeed in college and in their careers. Additionally, our schools provide an environment that is welcoming of students and their families to learn in harmony favoring a multi-cultural spirit and awareness of the world we live in.

At OCASA, all classes are single-grade level. In addition, each student is assigned a mentor and a Self-Directed Learning (SDL) period to work on individual goals, group projects, and teacher-directed workshops. One-to-one mentoring is one of the important pillars of instruction at OCASA College Prep as we know how important it is for children to be truly connected with and cared for by the adults at their school. All students are paired with a mentor who acts as their advocate both inside and outside of the classroom. Mentors meet with their students one-on-one regularly to support their students in their progress towards their short-term and long-term academic and personal goals. The educational program at OCASA College Prep utilizes instructional practices that are proven to promote student learning. Teachers and administrators develop and implement an innovative educational model that addresses the needs of the whole child and emphasizes academic, personal, social, and emotional development.

OCASA Elementary and OCASA College Prep offer all required courses at each grade level including Math, English Language Arts, Social Studies, Science, and Physical Education. In addition, we have a number of specialty classes that vary by grade level and campus such as fine arts, music, engineering, design & modeling, computer science, and Spanish. Both OCASA campuses are classroom-based, personalized learning schools. The goal is to provide adaptable instruction to each student regardless of their age or grade-level.

What OCASA Aims to Solve 
The pandemic created an unprecedented educational rupture, the ramifications of which could last a lifetime. Although schools have adapted to our new reality as rapidly as possible, without continued adaption, the cumulative learning loss among already disadvantaged students can be catastrophic, especially in mathematics: Students of color may find themselves six months to an entire year behind.  In addition to the imminent threat of unprecedented learning loss to contend with, there is also a looming potential for equally unprecedented dropout rates. Exit from public school systems is occurring to different degrees, but the biggest drop may be at the starting point in kindergarten.  The lack of a kindergarten experience can have profound developmental impacts influencing later academic performance and even long-term life outcomes.  Especially given that early STEAM interventions are key to capturing interest and nurturing STEAM identities that can lead, this trend of kindergarten departures is especially alarming.

Compounding this, despite the perennial growth of lucrative STEM professions, gaps in STEM labor force participation remain just as persistent— the World Economic Forum has detailed a troubling skills shortage that will require 50% of all employees to reskill by 2025.  Even still, low-income students, girls, and students of color overwhelmingly fall into the gap between their STEM education and a STEM workforce with increasingly vacant positions. 
Notably, research shows that racial/ethnic minority students tend to take fewer high-level STEM courses in high school compared to White students, despite showing similar levels of interest and confidence in STEM topics —nurturing a STEM Identity among groups historically underrepresented in STEM fields and professions, therefore, is critical to accessing this interest and confidence, countering stereotypes that preclude STEM identification, and confronting the systemic inequities that consistently keep BIPOC students, girls, and low-income students out of STEM fields and lucrative, available workforce pathways.

OCASA’s STEAM Education 
In the short-term, OCASA aims to remedy the educational rupture brought on by COVID-19. In the long-term, OCASA will meet the ever-changing needs of the community with an innovative, new school model that provides families with greater options for their children’s education. Students’ level of exposure to STEAM in K–12 is a critical reason why they choose to or don’t choose pursue STEAM fields during their college education. Elementary public school students spend very little time on science, and the state sets a very low passing score on its 8th-grade science test.

At OCASA, our STEAM learning involves looking at our world through a multicultural lens in STEAM, as well as a Spanish culture and language program. Each class meets two days a week, with all STEAM+ electives striving to be hands-on, with innovative lessons tied to other subject areas and our Inquiry Arc theme. Inquiry Arcs are discrete units of study that utilize inquiry to drive learning and build students’ agency. They provide broad context and room for exploration around an interdisciplinary theme, and allow students to identify patterns and connections in their learning. Students at OCASA Elementary have meaningful time for tinkering, prototyping, and building through our on-campus lab spaces, as well as resource-rich experiences in music and the arts.

The following represents the impact of OCASA’s unique educational approach:
•	Deliberate practice in the art of short-, medium-, and long-term goal setting supports students’ development.
•	Developing a student’s self-knowledge is a key building block for lifelong learning. 
•	Deep, hands-on exploration of a diverse array of subject areas, professional fields, and work-settings not only helps expose students to new experiences but also develops self- knowledge and supports an emergent sense of purpose.
•	Students with a sense of belonging in school feel socially connected, supported, and respected. They trust their teachers and their peers. They are confident that they are seen as a person of value.
•	In order to achieve their college and career goals, students need an understanding of the transition to the college and career landscape including, but not limited to, practical, financial, and logistical requirements and admission processes. 

Technology is a part of daily instruction and contributes to the application-based approach to learning. Given the world that we share, we believe that technology proficiency and judgment is critical, and that enables students to explore and propel their learning forward. 
We see our role in the ecosystem of Orange County schools as:
1.	A lab-school focused on experiential learning as well as a test bed to prototype other nontraditional educational approaches;
2.	A thought partner responsible for sharing out best practices and lessons learned, and;
3.	A collaborator working alongside other school leaders in the pursuit of providing all children with an excellent education.

About Donations
OCASA is not a private school. As a public charter school, academic instruction is funded by the State of California. However, we rely on the generosity of the individuals, foundations, businesses and corporations to fund the annual cost of our programs, scholarships, afterschool services and community outreach programs. OCASA does not charge tuition and admits all students who wish to attend unless it receives a greater number of applications than there are spaces for students, in which case it will hold a public random drawing to determine admission.

Our unique educational approach aims to prepare our diverse and underserved students for an increasingly complex and globalized world. Additionally, OCASA provides a pathway to college and a professional career for low-middle income students who may not have had the opportunity otherwise due to limited resources. Donations would allow OCASA to continue to offer its award winning STEAM curriculum to any student, regardless of income, background and residency/school district. Together, we can ensure that all youth in our community have the opportunity to thrive academically, socially and emotionally.


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